The name 'Fatty'

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, I like the way Fatty is so comfortable with himself too. Even when he considers losing a bit of weight in The Mystery of the Missing Man, his motivation is that he'd like to be able to run around the court faster while playing tennis. He doesn't have a negative attitude towards his body shape.

[Boatbuilder]

Nicknames stick, as they tend to do in real life, even if the person has changed from the character they were that gained them that nickname. So in Fatty's case he could still lose weight but his nickname from when he was fat would undoubtedly stick, maybe for his entire life, as these things tend to be passed on through time even if acquaintances change over the years. As long as the person is happy to be called by it, then I don't see any problem.

[Anita Bensoussane]

You're right, John (Boatbuilder), and I imagine Bets et al would always call Fatty 'Fatty' (as a term of abiding affection), even if he slimmed down.

[tix]

Anita: Thank you for the info. I take it that Fatty is still illustrated as oversized.

Splodj: Interesting to see there have actually been alterations.

Debbie: Guess you have a point. Perhaps Fred was originally plump in order to make him stand out a little more. Children of those days often poked fun at others who were a trifle overweight and Enid Blyton may have taken this into account so that an amount of harassment could be employed. She knew what the kids wanted and verbal insults between 'dramatis personae' always adds interest. Fatty of course could take invective in his stride, whereas Goon was a different kettle of fish.

Barnard: "If Fatty is no longer ‘fat’ it seems pretty pointless calling him Fatty."

All rather silly isn't it? I stick to the old books because you know where you are with them ...... and Treyer Evans was the personally preferred artist.

Incidentally Fatty's many talents added to his all-round dominance and readers may have noticed that apart from Bets and her relationship with him, the other characters faded somewhat.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I take it that Fatty is still illustrated as oversized.

The Find-Outers books haven't had internal illustrations for over twenty years. The current covers each have the same Timothy Banks image as the 2014 Egmont editions, but with no white border and the title at the top. One of the boys on the covers does look a little plumper than the other children and I expect readers will realise that's Fatty, even though his size is no longer mentioned in the text.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

If the current editions had the original artwork, modern readers would struggle to see a 'fat' boy anywhere!

I think the honest (if unkind) comments about Fatty in the first book should stay, because the children soon come to realise that rotundness of figure tells you nothing about content of character (to mis-quote MLK).

What ever happened to needing a role-model?

Incidentally, my ex and business partner, Mark, was 6'5" and ran hurdles for Bournemouth athletics club. His nick-name in the club was "Stick" because he was so thin.

Not that I'd ever have guessed by the time I got to know him