The Enid Blyton Society

What great ideas, I particularly like Julie's plans for Green Hedges, and Farwa's thoughts about copyrights.

Great replies, very enjoyable to read!

Robert Houghton wrote:One question I would definitely ask her is 'of all the books you wrote - which one's your favourite?'

I'd love to know the answer to that too!

Julie2owlsdene wrote:

Moonraker wrote:I would take her to EBS HQ and ask her to sign all of Tony's Blyton's. He'd be worth a fortune, then.

Fancy Nigel coming up with a brilliant idea like that. I'd get her to sign all my books too!

Most of my Enid Blyton books date from the 1970s, so if I got Enid to sign them people would assume the signatures were forged!

Farwa wrote:I would ask her to change the holders of her copyright, or something else to prevent any more of the horrible updating.

A thoughtful point, Farwa. I wonder if it would have been possible for Enid Blyton to put something in place to prevent her writing being altered, if she'd thought that far ahead? Has any author ever managed to do that, I wonder?

Oh yes, that's a thought. If I could also have Enid visit me for 24 hours when I'm in Australia, I'd take her to see my mum and dad too! They'd also love to meet her. Then we'd all go for a picnic along the coast near where I grew up, where there's a beautiful stretch of coastline (part of it now a Marine National Park) with picturesque coves and sandy beaches and towering cliffs and exciting caves and wonderful rockpools to look into. (Or if we had time, we could take her west of Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road, which is even more spectacular.) Then I'd suggest she could write a new book - maybe an addition to the Adventure Series - set in Australia, of course!

And yes, I also appreciate Farwa's suggestion of getting Enid to do something about her copyrights. It would be fascinating to show her some of the "updating" of her works and see what she herself thought. I don't think she'd mind a few minor edits here and there (some did happen within her lifetime, presumably with her approval), but the wholesale rewriting of books like the Famous Five, or the total removal of all golliwogs - wonder what she'd say to that?

Had Enid signed a no-update clause, sadly her books wouldn't be available today, so be careful for what you wish.

Good point, Nigel. But what if she'd chosen more sensitive publishers who understood that her books are classics in their own right - and that most children ARE intelligent enough to understand and appreciate books that were written and set in "the old days", even if the language and settings and cultural mores are somewhat different from the world of today?

Think of all the other children's classics - some well before Enid's time - that are still in print to this day with no or very minimal updating. Beatrix Potter; Winnie-the-Pooh (still as readily available in the original as in Disneyfied forms); the two Alice books (ditto); E. Nesbit's The Railway Children and Five Children and It; The Wind in the Willows; The Secret Garden; Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (N-words included!); Rudyard Kipling... the list goes on.

Most of those are ones I've read and love as much as I love Enid Blyton (or nearly!), and most of them are out of copyright, meaning publishers can do with them whatever they jolly well like. And in all cases, even where there are modernised or simplified versions available, the originals are still in print - deservedly so - and will most likely never be out of print. Why (oh why, oh why) do Enid's books not get anything like the same degree of respect???

Publishers might think that today's children can't cope with the slightly old-fashioned language, but in my experience that's a fallacy. My daughter read Enid Blyton books with the original text around 1999 - 2003, and my son around 2006 - 2008. Neither of them had any problems with the phrasing and vocabulary because anything that was unfamiliar could be worked out from the context.

My children also read some of the classics listed by Courtenay as well as several more E. Nesbits, the Chronicles of Narnia, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, the Sherlock Holmes and Just William stories, What Katy Did, Treasure Island, Little Women, a handful of Noel Streatfeilds, the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, short stories by Oscar Wilde and Hans Christian Andersen, etc. Occasionally they asked the meaning of a word or were puzzled or surprised by a reference or happening, but that didn't prevent them enjoying the books. On the contrary, it gave them food for thought.

My grandson is 5 and he understands perfectly. Of course, as I read to him, if he asks I tell him.

All these ideas are fantastic...but it does pose one or two questions - would we actually like Enid if we met her?...would she like us?! Would she find it absurd that a bunch of adults were fans of her stories? After all, she always maintained she wrote for children and wasn't interested in what adults thought. It's rather like having a particular image of a pop star or film star and then finding they are nothing like we imagine when we actually come face to face with them. As we know, Enid was very keen on showing a 'public image' and various writers and critics and documentaries have attempted to smash that image apart over the years. Are we each imagining the Enid of her books, or the real person? I'm sure that all our fantasies about meeting Enid (mine included) revolve around a slightly perfect version of who she really was. Who knows?

That's a very good point Rob. She may well be very bemused ... and amused too perhaps! Whether she would appreciate our company is another thing.... Poppy excepted, as she is nearer the age for which she wrote.

A great point, Rob. I've met a few celebs over the years, but they've all been a little disappointing...bar Norman Wisdom, who was a genuinely lovely chap! If I did meet Enid & She wasn't a pleasant person, then it would answer a few questions regarding her personality portrayed by the media, etc. It would be disappointing, but that's life!
Some great reactions & thought provoking debates so far. It's certainly made a few people think!

I would say, a very good topic, number 6. Well done!

Very enjoyable read. Very imaginative. I like Poppy's, Farwa's, Anita's, Katharine's, Robert's and Courtenay's. Very good indeed!

Poppy, at such a young age, your writing is very good. You have a talent in writing. Keep on writing!

I don't know your age Farwa so can't say much.

So many great ideas here, 24 hours just isn't going to be long enough is it?

Glad to see so many positive remarks about the copyright idea!

Enid Blyton would be very sad at the updating, I'm sure - it's a real pity. If the publishers care so much, they could simply leave the books as they are, and write a little note in the starting, reminding that Enid Blyton was from a different era, where different things were prevalent. I'm sure the only children who don't enjoy her then are the ones that don't even like to read anyway.

Fiona1986 wrote:So many great ideas here, 24 hours just isn't going to be long enough is it?

Yes, I totally agree, Fiona. 24 hours isn't long enough, but it just makes you think harder as to what you really want to ask Enid before your day was up! Puts you on the spot, doesn't it?!

It sure does!