Blyton in other fiction

[Katharine]

Anita, I'm glad it's not just me that couldn't spot the connection - maybe we need to know more of the story?

However, the positive thing is that it brings a FF reference in the modern world, so helps keep the books in the public's minds.

[Daisy]

I don't think the author was implying that George had an organic kitchen, she was just attempting to illustrate that the phrase was old fashioned, just as the days when George and her cousins were supposed to exist. That's how I interpreted it (eventually), anyway.

[Katharine]

Ah, thanks for the explanation Daisy.

It just goes to show how out of touch with the modern world I am, as I thought 'organic kitchens' were a current idea. I wonder what the latest concept is?

[Moonraker]

It just goes to show how out of touch with the modern world I am, as I thought 'organic kitchens' were a current idea. I wonder what the latest concept is?

Yes, I wouldn't class the term organic as old-fashioned!

[Daisy]

Quite frankly I'd never heard of organic kitchens until I read this book so had no idea if the author had made it all up or was reflecting a trend!

[Anita Bensoussane]

An "organic kitchen supper" is new to me too. I take it to mean a supper of organic food, eaten in the kitchen, but that may be completely wrong!

However, the positive thing is that it brings a FF reference in the modern world, so helps keep the books in the public's minds.

Yes, that's the main thing!

[Judith Crabb]

I think that references in fiction to other books should be glaringly obvious in meaning at first read, or they are simply distracting. I associate neither 'organic kitchen supper', which we are to infer is awfully pretentious, nor the term which it is implied to have superseded, 'informal dinner party', with the Famous Five.

[Daisy]

Here's another reference I have come across....
I'm reading a book by Ali McNamara called "Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies", in which the adult characters are discussing a problem they are trying to solve. One says, "If you think this is going to be some Famous Five adventure, with jolly japes and ginger beer, then you need to back out right now."
I can recommend her books of which there are a few. Google her for more information.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's interesting to hear of all these references in modern books. Enid Blyton would probably be tickled pink!

[Daisy]

My latest discovery is a bit different, but it shows Enid's influence. I've just read a few books by Dilly Court and in a short piece about the author was this comment. "She wrote her first book aged nine, very much under the influence of Enid Blyton and continued to scribble stories all through her school days...."

[Anita Bensoussane]

That's good, Daisy.

I've recently been reading The Best of Girl, a 2006 compilation of stories, articles and adverts taken from Girl comics which were published from 1951 to 1964. On page 143 of the book is an advert for the 1958-59 edition of Odhams Encyclopaedia for Children (26/- in one payment, or 5/- down and three monthly payments of 7/6 each). Part of the advert consists of an endorsement by Enid Blyton:

Enid Blyton says:

"I am delighted to see that the price is so low... this volume fills a real want, putting worthwhile knowledge within the grasp of almost every child... the illustrations are magnificent!"

[Fiona1986]

I've been keeping a list of references for quite a few years, it's gratifying how often Blyton or her works pop up, often in the least expected places.

I compiled what I've found so far into these two lists:

https://worldofblyton.com/2022/04/06/en ... r-fiction/
https://worldofblyton.com/2022/11/26/en ... on-part-2/

[Judith Crabb]

I've just spotted a Blyton reference putting her influence hundreds of centuries into the future. Tom Gauld's latest book of amusing cartoons, 'Revenge of the Librarians', has plenty of literary references but the Blyton cartoon is 'An Exclusive Preview of Scenes from the Bestselling Book of 24019 AD': 'MALORY TOWERS Education-Hive for Juvenile Post-Human Females'.

[Anita Bensoussane]

[Anita Bensoussane]

There's a reference to the Famous Five in Where the River Takes Us by Lesley Parr, when four children (three boys and a girl) set off into the countryside with rucksacks, a camera and a map:

"If one of us had a dog, then we'd be like the Famous Five," Catrin says. "Going off on an adventure."

"Aren't two of them girls?" Jinx asks.

"Yeah," Tam says. "That'll be Catrin and Jason then."

Also, I've just bought a birthday card for a relative who was born in 1943 and it lists events, items and statistics from that year. One section is 'Top Books' and it only gives two titles, one of which is The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (the other is Raymond Chandler's The Lady in the Lake).