The Enid Blyton Society

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Which books have you tried, Rob? The Lone Pine series seems to get discussed most but I prefer the Jillies series (Redshank's Warning, etc.)

Not many to be honest - maybe I picked the wrong ones - 'Mystery at Witchend', 'Seven White Gates' and 'The Gay Dolphin Adventure'. The one I read most of (about half!) was Seven White Gates.

I read most of the Lone Pine books that were around, while I was still young and I'm not sure I agree with Rob about Seven White Gates. I abandoned it at first and only appreciated it when I read it again years later as an adult. The others I managed to read right through, but as happened so often, that series too was not read in order by me.
I like the Jillies and also the Nettleford books equally well. The Susan and Bill books, I find, like Nigel, to be more on the Secret Seven level - nice enough stories though.

I found Seven White Gates slow and unappealing but I've only ever read it once so I ought to give it another go.

Does anyone else like The Master of Maryknoll? It's the first title in the Buckinghams series and I love it - it was one of the few Malcolm Saville books I had as a child. Charles Renislau is a wonderfully romantic character.

Without doubt, the Jillies books are my favourites. Strangers At Snowfell is a wonderful adventure in the snow but the description of the journey from London to Shap in the train is a dramatic piece of writing. Master At Maryknoll is a book I also like but the last two in that series I didn't care for, probably because they're set abroad mostly.

Funnily enough I think I've only ever read the first four titles in the Buckinghams series, John. Mine are mostly paperbacks but I see that the hardback editions of the first four books were illustrated by Alice Bush, who also did some lovely illustrations for short stories in Enid Blyton's Magazine:

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

(The link leads to the home page of the Malcolm Saville site but from there it's possible to click on "Artists" and then "Bush, Alice".)

John Pickup wrote:Without doubt, the Jillies books are my favourites. Strangers At Snowfell is a wonderful adventure in the snow but the description of the journey from London to Shap in the train is a dramatic piece of writing. Master At Maryknoll is a book I also like but the last two in that series I didn't care for, probably because they're set abroad mostly.

Right! Considering that you and I share quite a few 'favourite books' - including 'The Rubadub Mystery' then maybe I should try Strangers at Snowfell...

The last two books in the Buckingham series were published by Collins in 1971 and 1974. Neither of them had any internal illustrations. The first four books were published by Evans, I've got all of them in hardback.
The link you've provided, Anita, leads to John Allsup's wonderful Saville Centenary site which is far better than Witchend, the official Saville website. John Allsup is a lovely chap who I've corresponded with, he has produced the Armada paperback site with help from Tony and others.
Rob, I know that you don't like long chapters but I do recommend Strangers At Snowfell. I suggested this book to Nigel and he told me it is his favourite Jillies book too.

I'll definitely bear it in mind! However, Saville's books are so darn expensive! On eBay even paperbacks are £5+ for that title!

I've read and liked 'Master of Maryknoll', which is set around Ludlow and Hereford where I used to go for holidays in the 1970s. Also 'The Buckinghams at Ravenswyke', set around Whitby like the Lone Pine book 'Mystery Mine', and their successors 'The Long Passage' (Brighton - I visited the Pavilion and was told about the eponymous passage there as a child) and 'A Palace for the Buckinghams' (Hampstead, London, plus the finale near Saville's home outside Lewes in Sussex). But as with the Lone Pine, Jillies and Nettleford series, what I read when was haphazard and dependent on what Armada paperbacks I could get hold of at the time, in the 1970s.

I found the teenage boy/girl relationships in the Buckinghams and Jillies series (ie Charles/ Juliet and Mandy/Guy) less awkward and more realistic than the central David/ Peter relationship in the Lone Pine series. Perhaps because the latter was meant to be the central relationship of the LP series and had a degree of emotional intensity that MS was not that good at describing, it always seemed a bit awkwardly written. In the LP series I preferred the teasing and at times squabbling relationship of Jon and Penny - and as has been remarked it was unusual and a mark of thoughtful/ adult writing to have the villains' characters and motivation sometimes investigated. The greedy but genuinely short of money young scientist 'Robens' and the shifty and unscrupulous treasure-hunter 'Dog-Kicker' Les Dale in the Lone Pine series come to mind, plus the 'tweedy gorgon' Miss Ballinger with her various schemes.

I sometimes think Enid could have been a bit more daring and portrayed mildly incompetent or mistaken teachers in the MT and St C series to be realistic, as she is with her portrayal of flawed girls like Alicia. Perhaps her publishers would not have approved! Compared to Antonia Forest's Miss Keith with her blatant favouritsm and unjust punishments, Enid's Miss Grayling and Miss Theobald never get anything wrong (except perhaps Miss T being too lenient to Angela).

There are a few flawed teachers, notably Miss Willcox in Fifth Formers of St. Clare's who is unjust, mocking and quite spiteful. Miss Kennedy in The Twins at St. Clare's has trouble keeping order and considers resigning from her job, while Mam'zelle Dupont in the Malory Towers books favours the pretty, dainty girls and is too easily persuaded to babble on about her family in France instead of teaching French (or is it the St. Clare's Mam'zelle who babbles on like that? Maybe it's both!)

I agree. I've only read Malory Towers and St Clares series once - need to read again soon! - but my overall impression of the teachers was that there were a few who were less than exemplary at their job! I particularly remember the teacher who called herself by one name when in fact she was called something else (I forget the details - Daphne or Deidre?) and also those you've mentioned, Anita.

It was Miss Willcox who called herself Deirdre, but whose name was really Doris.

Thanks Daisy! I really need to do a reread!

I must admit these school books have never appealed to me as much as other EB books, as they are all girls with very few male characters!!

There's also the episode involving Mam'zelle Dupont and Mam'zelle Rougier in The Second Form at Malory Towers, when they fall out over the casting of the French play and behave most unprofessionally.

Rob Houghton wrote:Thanks Daisy! I really need to do a reread!

I must admit these school books have never appealed to me as much as other EB books, as they are all girls with very few male characters!!

But you have bought First Term in Malory Towers in good dust wrapper!