60 years ago this week...

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks Tony - and I love the word 'Journalise' as a verb!

[Katharine]

We never noticed that Enid Blyton wasn't encouraged - so maybe things were different depending where you lived. Of course, I'm also not exactly sure which era you are talking about.

I was at school in the 1970s.

It's hard for me to give an exact answer as why I felt she was an author to avoid. Certainly at home Enid Blyton was very popular. It was at high school she was discouraged. I think there were one or two FFO books in the small school library. I just have this strong feeling that my English teacher made an anti-Blyton comment. I'm pretty sure none of my friends were reading her by high school age, if they had even read her. Nowadays I usually encounter the 'she was a horrible mother' or 'she wrote racist books' if I mention I'm a fan of Enid Blyton.

[Eddie Muir]

Great stuff! Many thanks, Rob and Tony.

[Rob Houghton]

Its fascinating to read other people's personal experiences. Of course, by secondary school (which I attended from 1982) Enid Blyton was a name you didn't utter, just because it was 'babyish' but throughout my Primary school life from 1975 - 1982 Enid was very popular and certainly wasn't discouraged.

These days, when I mention I collect Enid Blyton books, most of my friends come over all dewy-eyed and nostalgic and have nothing but praise for the books of their childhood which they remember fondly. Perhaps this varies throughout the country, and 'The Midlands' was always quite EB-friendly.

Great stuff! Many thanks, Rob and Tony.

Thank you Eddie.

[sixret]

Thank you so much, Tony. Very delighted!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I have added the first uncollected story to the Cave and will add the other two when I have a couple of hours to spare - a bit difficult when I am trying to Journalise at the same time! Unless you have a good run of Enid Blyton's Magazine you won't have seen this story before as it really is uncollected, but Enid did use the same title in two other stories which came from Sunny Stories No. 406 and No. 440 and both of these stories have been used in short story collections.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=895" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck with the "Journalising", Tony! An enjoyable tale but is 'Tit for Tat!' still acceptable as a story title, I wonder?

[Courtenay]

An enjoyable tale but is 'Tit for Tat!' still acceptable as a story title, I wonder?

Considering Titty is no longer acceptable as a name in the recent film of Swallows and Amazons, I don't have high hopes...

[John Pickup]

Another great review, Rob. I had a few Dinky Toys when I was younger and looking at the prices some of them command now in their original boxes, I wish I'd kept mine. I wanted a microscope too, but I didn't get one.

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks John! I had lots of Dinky toys as a child, plus a Hornby railway set with a Queen Elizabeth engine, and lots of trucks and carriages, given to me by a Great Uncle, as they had been his son's as a child, but unfortunately I played with them rather too often and they are now very much the worse for wear.

[Kate Mary]

Tit for Tat is an enjoyable little story but Uncle Elbur looks a bit scary in the illustration, perhaps he is a gangster back in the US?

[Courtenay]

Ooer, yeah, he does too.



One for the Caption Competition, maybe??

[Julie2owlsdene]

He does look a bit of a gangster style of man. Must be rich to be able to afford a cigar too.

All these stories we're hearing of and reading, Enid certainly had a great imagination and ability as an author.

Thanks Tony and Rob, for showing us these articles.

[Rob Houghton]

I agree he looks like a bit of a gangster - and its interesting to see the positive use of the cigar - smoked by a hero and not a villain. These days I doubt if heroic characters would be depicted smoking, and maybe not even villains!

[Courtenay]

Well, Churchill was famous for always having a cigar, and most people in that era saw him as a hero — and the health risks of smoking weren't widely known then either — so I guess it was a time when cigars could fairly easily be portrayed in a positive way. I suppose it was meant to show Uncle Elbur as rich and stylish!

[Tony Summerfield]

I have added the first uncollected story to the Cave and will add the other two when I have a couple of hours to spare.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=895" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;