Britain's best-loved author 2008

[Tony Summerfield]

Your Land of Make Believe reference is going to cause me to digress! I have just had an email from David Chambers, who tells me that he has found another Faraway Tree story during his meticulous research, this time in Sunny Stories.

The story is 'Two Noisy Children' and I have already adjusted the Cave in several places so that it comes up under a Faraway Tree search - though at present 'search' still doesn't pick up magazine listings.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Interesting. I have that story in a couple of 1970s short story collections but I'd forgotten all about it. The Faraway Tree itself only appears briefly. Meg and Andy climb it and go through the cloud at the top into the Land of Sound-Asleep.

Anita

[Pippa-Stef]

At the moment on listen again from Radio four- A fine defence of Enid Blyton. Anne Fine defends Enid on the anniversary of her death.

Probably, sadly enough, only availble in the Uk.

[dolly]

Not o n l y Britain´s best loved author ...
I am glad to learn that Enid Blyton is still "on the top".
When I was a kid I used to play a "strange" game: I compare writing style and stories of several authors and tried to make the "perfect couple", for example Enid Blyton and Marie-Louise Fischer (boarding school stories), Astrid Lindgren and Annie M.G. Schmidt (fantasy) etc. Sounds odd, doesn´t it?
Is there another British author for children who can be compared with Enid Blyton? I know that Great Britain had a huge variety of lovely children´s books, especially the classic ones.

[Enikyoga]

This appears to be a great article about Enid Blyton



http://www.chanlilian.net/2009/03/23/wi ... -stand-up/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ming]

Thanks for the link, it was very interesting. So Enid Blyton did make it to Malaysia in the days of the child's parents.

[Enikyoga]

I guess the blogger of the article was from Malaysia rather than Blyton herself having gone there

[Ming]

That was what I meant.

[honesty]

The Independent:
Should Enid Blyton be hailed as the best writer for children?

All EB fans should read this:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 04007.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alright, the date's not exactly updated but I think it's worth looking at.

Merged with an older thread.

[Lucky Star]

Good article with many true points.

What Blyton's detractors ignore is that she was writing books for children (she has said herself she was not interested in the view of any critic over the age of 12) and never intended her tales to be probed for their realism or examined as the cultural artefacts of their era.


I liked this quotation. This is the point overlooked by all those literary snobs who put down her work and decry the "simplistic" plots and supposedly unchallenging language. They are just rollicking good stories which have entertained generations of children and continue to do so.

[Eddie Muir]

A great quotation, John.

Thanks for the link, honesty. I had a senior moment when I checked the website, thinking that the poll was done in 2013, when in fact it was 2008.

[Daisy]

Thanks for the link, honesty. I had a senior moment when I checked the website, thinking that the poll was done in 2013, when in fact it was 2008.

That's when you weren't quite so senior, Eddie!

[Moonraker]

...Or had so many moments!

[Daisy]

Nigel - I wouldn't know about that!

[Poppy]

So should we rush out and buy her books?

...No...

* Her books blame working mothers for not loving their children enough to stay at home to bake biscuits for them

* Children are not simple and needn't be patronised with simple writing

* Updating Blyton's books has corrected the frequent racist overtones but done little to address gender and class issues

These comments were written at the bottom of the article, honesty posted earlier. Does anyone agree with any of these?; The first, I took as a joke, though I'm not sure if this was the result intended. It sounds like something Fatty would say to get his mother to bake him some biscuits! On a serious note, I have never come across this quote, but even if I had, I would have laughed! The second, I disagree with. The books are aimed at all different age groups; of course the books aimed at the younger children are going to seem simple and 'easy-to-read' for older children. I have never thought Enid's work was patronising - more atmospheric and 'cosy' to read. And the third; I can't make out; are they agreeing or disagreeing with the edits? I get the feeling these points haven't been well thought out, and are a little rushed and inexperienced. There were three positive suggestions too, which aren't much better.