60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1958

[sixret]

Thanks, Rob. I didn't realise there were a few discrepancies as well.Those changes must have been added by the editor with or without Enid's consent. They were so minor and I bet Enid had not realised the changes made even back then! She was too busy typing the new stories.

[pete9012S]

Thanks Rob.That was very interesting. Seems like some changes occured before the book finally went to print!

[pete9012S]

Five Get Into A Fix - Serial v Novel Comparison

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... =16&t=7989" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This may be of interest to compare!

[Rob Houghton]

another mistake - a printing error, is the word 'yellow' in the magazine, which is spelled 'yellwo'

[Tony Summerfield]

I am sure I have commented on this before and I don't want to bore you by repeating myself, but I have got Enid's original typescript of Five Get Into a Fix in the archives. I can't remember offhand but I believe Barnard is mentioned about six times and I guess this is the same in EBM. The book was down to one or two as far as I remember, but I read it about 20 years ago! In a letter that I have seen, Enid blamed the editor for Barnard, but I am not sure if she meant in the book or Magazine. I think this is a case of passing the buck as she was the person who typed it in the first place!

[pete9012S]

Thank you Tony.
I have been searching the forums for your original post on this matter but I could not seem to find it anywhere.

[pete9012S]

That puts me on the spot Georgie, so I guess I have to answer it! We had many a speculative article on it in early Journals until I finally ended it in Journal 9 with - Barnard vs Kirrin - The Last Word.

You are right that no surname is mentioned in earlier books, whilst Kirrin is used in later books. As you say Kirrin is Fanny's Family name - but Quentin is also called Kirrin - coincidence, cousin or incest!?

I must now try and find Journal 19 and read that article!

[Tony Summerfield]

In the Journal, Pete, check No. 7 page 24 and No. 9 page 4.

[pete9012S]

Will do!

Cheers Tony

[pete9012S]

Those articles clear things up quite nicely.

Many thanks Tony.

(Yet another reason why a subscription to The Enid Blyton Journal is such a good idea for all Blyton enthusiasts)

Click here to subscribe:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/subscribe.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

The cover shows an illustration from the first uncollected short story Lost - A Big Black Dog! - its a really nice story I thought - with some lovely illustrations. I guess, in today's society, the name of the dog - Nigger - is unacceptable - but it did make me realise that mostly this name was given to dogs in Britain because it was looked upon as a friendly name, rather than an insult. You'd hardly call a much-loved dog 'Nigger' if you thought the name had bad connotations. At least, that's the way I see it - which sort of proves that (in Britain at least) the name wasn't viewed in the 1950's in the same negative way it became viewed later. It was such a widespread name, for dogs, the colour of trousers and skirts and coats, etc, that people probably gave the meaning very little thought - except that it meant 'black'.

Anyway, that aside, its an entertaining and heartwarming story - my favourite of this 'number' as Enid called it.

Good points about the dog's name, Rob. Attitudes were different back then as you say, and stories written some time ago need to be read with that in mind. I agree that 'Lost - A Big Black Dog!' is a heartwarming tale and it's refreshing to see Enid Blyton writing about a labrador, as spaniels and terriers tend to predominate in her stories. I love the phrase "Jumpy thinks Peter is the King of Boys." It captures the utter devotion of a dog to its master or mistress.

'Ian's Pound Note' is enjoyable too, though I imagine the note would have been nibbled to the point where it wouldn't have been possible to exchange it at the bank - and fancy being asked into the bank manager's office just for that! It reminds me of when I went inter-railing with my friend Vanessa in 1989. We were in Milan and wanted to change a £20 travellers' cheque into lira. We popped into the nearest bank, not realising how grand it was, and were immediately ushered into a private room and invited to discuss our financial needs! We got the feeling that the staff at the bank weren't used to dealing with people like us!

In her Editorial Letter this week, which can be read by following the link, we hear more about those silk worms that children could send away for in the post - and also about a little girl who is a 'Busy Bee' and is offering stick insect eggs. I can't help thinking all this would be frowned on today. Not only the fact that insect eggs might get damaged in the post, but because the children who wrote off for them might ill-treat them, leave them to die, not look after them. I wonder how many children took up the offer and really looked after these insects well? Hopefully a few did, as we are talking about Busy Bees and Enid Blyton fans - but I'm sure there were a few who didn't.

I can't help wondering about that as well. Incidentally, it's interesting to learn that Enid Blyton kept stick insects as a child.

Interestingly enough, the book [Five Get Into a Fix] is slightly different to the magazine... I'm surprised because I didn't realise there were differences between magazine versions and the novel version - even if only small changes.

I found the same thing with The Ragamuffin Mystery:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... yll#p32348" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

Thanks again for a good read, Rob and Tony! I really enjoyed both stories. Yes, the dog's name makes one wince now — I've only ever known that word as a very insulting racial term — but as a few people have said, it does go to show that many (white) British people in the 1950s were genuinely unaware of the offensive context. Anyway, I loved the story, though I'm a bit surprised Peter's parents apparently didn't notice he was keeping a large dog in the garden shed for several days!

I also think it sounded a little far-fetched that the bank would exchange a pound note that was so completely chewed up, but hey, it's an Enid Blyton story. At least it was a reminder to children that a damaged banknote could be replaced (a less common problem now with the new polymer notes!). The bit about going to see the bank manager isn't so far-fetched, though, I think, if you remember the days when banks regularly provided real customer service, especially in small towns. I remember when I turned 15 my mum took me to the bank to open my first-ever account and I got to meet the bank manager, whom my parents knew well, in his office. I felt very grown-up at that!

Lovely to hear about the stick insects, too, and all the trouble young Dorothy was prepared to take to send out the eggs to young readers! We have stick insects in Australia as well (not sure if they're identical to the British sort, but they certainly look like sticks!). I've never hatched them from eggs, but I would have loved to try that as a child. Actually, I seem to recall that when I was really little, my sister's class or another of the older classes at school did that and had several stick insects in an aquarium. I've always loved finding stick insects in the garden and marvelling at how well camouflaged they are!

[Rob Houghton]

I think we had some stick insects in an aquarium in our classroom in Junior school. I can't recall what happened to them, as it seems we only had them for a very short period! Maybe they belonged to someone who just brought them in for us to observe.

Thanks for the comments everyone - and for the link about Ragamuffin Mystery, Anita - I'd forgotten about that. Interesting to learn of books that were ever-so-slightly different in the magazine versions. I'd really assumed they would be exactly the same, so its quite a revelation!

[Rob Houghton]

Another fortnight has gone by, and here's another Enid Blyton Magazine coming to your doormat!



Let's dive right in!

The cover depicts an illustration from the first short story - What A Strange Thing! - and what a great story it is, too! I think its my favourite from this issue, and nicely illustrated by Alice Bush. Its a story all about two little girls (twins) who share their birthday with their mother, and get a very surprising birthday present from their granny! Very heartwarming indeed. You can read it if you have a copy of Enid Blyton's Bedtime Annual 1973, (World Distributors 1972) where for some reason it was re-titled 'A Tale Of Magic'.

In her Editorial Letter this week, Enid waxes lyrical about spring, and how soon it will be April, when we will turn our backs on the cold winds of March and hope that the last of the frosts have gone... I'm not so sure whether we can bank on it this year - as it sounds like there could be more snow forecast for Easter! But I'm happy to read Enid's vivid descriptions of the springtime - and her chatting about the birds that visit her garden, or the squirrels saying rude things to her cats - just as our squirrels do with our two cats.

I was interested to read about the ages of Enid's cats - Mussie, who is 15 years old (quite a good age for a cat) and Sugar who is only 2. I wonder how well they got on together.

As always you can read the editorial and other stories by following the link to The Cave -

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/maga ... ?magid=933

PUZZLE PAGE

Sunbeams Prize Puzzle -

What am I?

My first's in ship but not in boat,
My next's in horse, but not in goat,
My third's in slow but not in quick,
My fourth's in Mike but not in Dick,
My fifth's in plaice, but not in cod,
My last's in stick but not in rod,
I won't fall off if I just nod,
Cos I belong to Mr Plod.


Famous Five Prize Puzzle -

Can you find the names of girls and boys hidden in the following sentences?

a) Is your car old or new?
b) Your garden is very nice.
c) Don't frit away your chances.

A Puzzle For My Busy Bees -

Can you find the odd word out in this group?

Milk, cheese, butter, cream, eggs



Next we have chapter 12 of A Puzzle For The Secret Seven which has a rather badly-drawn illustration, in my view. Here it is -



A similar illustration appears in the book - but I think it is very slightly better drawn -



The next short story is The Spaniel and The Robin - which can be read by following the link above. Its an unusual story because its one that apparently was told to Enid by two children - and she has chosen to tell it entirely in conversation. Not sure how I like that technique. I guess its something different, but it prevents it from feeling like a 'proper' story. I didn't really feel involved in the goings-on as I do when I read a traditional Enid Blyton story.

Next we have the centre spread comic strip of Rumble and Chuff Again - Father Christmas in March? Odd!

Following on with the wintry theme, we have chapter 19 of Five Get Into A Fix - complete with two nice illustrations.






I like both of these, but I think the old woman's face was greatly improved by the novel, and also Anne looks less stern! I think I prefer the second illustration from the magazine rather than the different one in the novel (below) -





It's interesting to compare the second magazine illustration with this other book illustration - as they are very similar but, as far as I can tell, illustrate a slightly different part of the chapter -




The next uncollected short story to read is the delightful tale entitled Mrs Crosspatch. This rang a bell with me, and I should think many readers because it tells a story about an old lady who has somehow earned a reputation of being a crosspatch, so all the children in the street are scared of her. I would have identified with Donald and Mary quite closely had I read this as a child, because there were a couple of old ladies we were scared of in our road. One was a poor little old lady who we called 'the witch' - I'm sure she was nothing of the sort, but we were always scared going past her house, and once when my friend Dawn and I were outside she came out and told us off for knocking her door and running away (which we hadn't!) Then there was an elderly lady two doors away from me called Mrs Haynes. We were always scared of her because her house was next to the public 'right of way' or as we called it 'the drive', which we would run up and down or ride our bikes on, and she would often come out and tell us to be quiet (probably we deserved it!)

One day Dawn and I were riding past on small tricycles having a race, when a bunch of bananas fell out of her small window which looked out onto the driveway. We screeched to a halt and stared at them, too terrified at the thought of having to have to take them back. We were just discussing what to do - should we just throw them back through the window? When Mrs Haynes herself put her head out and asked if we'd seen her bananas which had fallen off a fruit bowl on the windowsill? We told her we had, picked them up and gave them back to her, not having time to be scared, and she promptly broke two off and gave us a banana each for being so good and honest! You might say we learned a good Enid Blyton-type lesson that day!

[Eddie Muir]

Many thanks for this, Rob. I have some interesting reading to look forward to.