"The Making of an Empire"

RainbowJude · Post by **RainbowJude** » 02 Sep 2015, 04:39

My meanderings through the early works of Enid Blyton in the Cave of Books led me to the title of a play in The Teachers World: "The Making of an Empire".

Has anyone here ever read the play? What is it about? The quotation in the Cave certainly is intriguing:

John: What a lot of pink there is on this globe! We have got a lot of land, haven't we, Marjorie?

Looking forward to your replies!

David

Post by **Tony Summerfield** » 02 Sep 2015, 10:39

I do have a copy of it in my files, David. I will see if I can dig it out and load it sometime. It is only a short play, two full pages each with three columns.

RainbowJude · Post by **RainbowJude** » 04 Sep 2015, 03:53

Wow, thanks, Tony - that'd be fantastic. I imagined it was only a short piece, and I imagine it's something to do with making a map or a model of the Empire. I've just been finding it so interesting reading these early Blyton pieces and seeing how ideas that would find form again later in her work pop up, for example Peronel and "nature's glue" reappearing in the Pip stories.

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of these periodicals, Tony. They are great to read.

David

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 04 Sep 2015, 08:40

When I first read your opening post, David, the quotation sounded somewhat familiar and I thought I must have read the play in question. However, I realised that wasn't possible because I don't have The Teachers World. I was actually thinking of another play, 'The Union Jack', which is in Volume 2 of The Teacher's Treasury (1926). It's a one-act play for Empire Day and it begins in a similar way, with two children (Jack and Mollie) sitting at their desks looking at atlases. Jack remarks, "Australia, India, Canada, New Zealand, my goodness, what a lot of land belongs to our Empire!" He pulls a Union Jack from his pocket, saying, "It's a jolly fine flag and a pretty one too," and Mollie says she'd like to know more about it. Father Time appears and introduces a succession of figures from history who explain how and why the Union Jack was put together.

It would be great to have the chance to read 'The Making of an Empire' if you're able to add it to the Cave, Tony.

A few Empire Day pieces from The Teachers World are already in the Cave and they make for interesting reading:

'Builders of the Empire - A Story for Empire Day':

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... &perid=243" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A story called 'The Very Loyal Dog' and a poem called 'Empire Day':

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... perid=1294" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enid Blyton's dog Bobs was born on Empire Day and I seem to remember reading somewhere that he was named "Bobs" after Lord Roberts of Kandahar. I'm not sure where I read that though, as I can't find any mention of it in Barbara Stoney's Biography!

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 04 Sep 2015, 11:45

Thanks for those links, Anita, I've just read and really enjoyed all of those stories and poems. I especially like the one called The Very Loyal Dog starring Bobs!

I would also be interested in reading this play The Making of an Empire: it sounds very interesting.

Post by **Tony Summerfield** » 04 Sep 2015, 13:22

Poppy wrote:I would also be interested in reading this play The Making of an Empire: it sounds very interesting.

And now you can!

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyt ... e&perid=12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

pete9012S · Post by **pete9012S** » 04 Sep 2015, 14:14

That's great Tony thanks.

Wouldn't it be good to perform the play the next time we all get together.
I wonder who would fit the roles in the play best from the forums?

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 04 Sep 2015, 16:52

Tony Summerfield wrote:I wonder who would fit the roles in the play best from the forums?

Interesting thought!

I really enjoyed reading the play; thanks for uploading it Tony. I thought it was a very unusual and interesting way to describe the roles of these historical figures.

John Pickup · Post by **John Pickup** » 04 Sep 2015, 17:43

It says that Merlin is a girls part so Anita would be the obvious choice to play it for me.
Thanks for uploading the play, Tony. I enjoyed reading it.

Courtenay · Post by **Courtenay** » 04 Sep 2015, 18:09

A play that wouldn't be at all politically correct these days, but a very interesting little piece nonetheless. I thought it was quite clever of Enid to remind everyone that America was originally part of the British Empire too, while tactfully leaving out the fact that they ditched the British crown a very long time ago!

My only gripes, as an Australian: Captain Cook's given name was James, not William, and Enid might have had the decency to give names to the "1st Sailor", "1st Explorer" and "2nd Explorer" who followed him. "1st Sailor" would have to be Captain Matthew Flinders, the first to circumnavigate Australia. "1st Explorer" could either be Robert O'Hara Burke (who crossed Australia from south to north in 1860 but died during the return journey, along with most of his party) or John McDouall Stuart (who did the same two years later but survived). "2nd Explorer" could be Edward John Eyre, Charles Sturt, or a number of other people. But I guess they weren't necessarily household names in 1920s Britain, even though they still are in Australia!

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 04 Sep 2015, 18:44

A fascinating insight into the sentiments of the day. Interesting to see the Phyllis Chase illustrations too. Thanks for uploading the play, Tony!

John Pickup wrote:It says that Merlin is a girls part so Anita would be the obvious choice to play it for me.

Simply wizard!

I can't honestly see us performing it but you'd look good in the costume of one of the explorers, John!

Post by **Tony Summerfield** » 04 Sep 2015, 18:48

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Enid Blyton's dog Bobs was born on Empire Day and I seem to remember reading somewhere that he was named "Bobs" after Lord Roberts of Kandahar. I'm not sure where I read that though, as I can't find any mention of it in Barbara Stoney's Biography!

I can tell you where you read that as I read it too! People tend to forget that I loaded quite a few of Enid's earliest Letters to Children in 1927, and one of those was all about Bobs.

http://enidblytonsociety.co.uk/blyton-p ... &perid=342" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **Anita Bensoussane** » 04 Sep 2015, 18:56

Thanks for the reminder, Tony!

That's a lovely account of Bobs as a lively young dog and I like the idea of him being "the sort of dog that adventures come to."

Courtenay · Post by **Courtenay** » 04 Sep 2015, 19:04

Oh yes, what a delightful account of Bobs! I love Enid's description of him having "quite the lovingest eyes I have ever seen in a little dog", as well as all his youthful antics. I had to laugh at him trying to catch and kill his own tail, giving it "such a bite that he hurts himself and lets go in a hurry with a sharp yelp!" We once had a poodle, Harpo, who used to do something similar as a puppy — except when he did catch his tail (not easy for him, as it was short), he'd hang onto it with his teeth and go around and around in circles like some sort of canine ouroboros!

Paul Austin · Post by **Paul Austin** » 04 Sep 2015, 19:43

Wasn't the British Empire crimson on maps?

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