The Enid Blyton Society

I've just bought this book for the princely sum of £3.45.
I may have read it from the library when it first came out ,but I can't remember it at all.

Does anybody have it? What can I expect?

It's available on amazon at reasonable rates too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... d&qid=&sr=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't know much about Bob Mullan.Found a little biog about him here:

Bob Mullan
Director / Writer

Gizmo Films was founded by Robert Mullan, a well-known and critically acclaimed author, screenwriter and director. Bob has produced over 40 documentary films for Channel 4, BBC 2, Discovery, Vision TV, and ZDF, including both the award-winning The Man Under the Sea, which follows the last few months in the life of Norwegian writer, Axel Jensen and Bhagwan: My Dance is Complete, a unique glimpse inside the ashram of the late Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. He’s the author of 21 non-fiction books, including Mad to be Normal, Voices of Pain, Consuming Television, Zoo Culture, Therapists on Therapy, The Enid Blyton Story, and R.D.Laing: A Personal View and has a variety of completed feature scripts for film and television.

http://gizmofilms.com/about/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, I've got a copy of this book. I've read it a couple of times but I can't actually remember much about it, expect that it contains quite a lot of nice artwork. It is separated into chapters which talk about different genres of Enid's writing, involving a lot of quotes and some colour illustrations of original front covers, etc. It also deals with a few aspects of Enid's own life including her childhood and marriage, but the book mainly focuses on her writing. It is a really interesting book and it is definitely worth a read. I hope you enjoy it Pete.

Thanks Poppy.Sounds like I haven't wasted my £3.45.
I suppose it must have cost more than that around 1987 when it first came out!

I own a copy and it's certainly a nice book to have in your collection. It has some great photos and pictures, although many have been reproduced in better quality elsewhere, and many books are represented only by their modern (at the time the book was printed - 1987) paperback cover designs. Its text borrows heavily from Barbara Stoney and Sheila Ray, and particularly Ray, as she is quoted quite often.

My one overriding memory of this book, as I haven't read it for quite a few years, is that generally it is fairly negative, picking holes in a way that seemed to be popular at the time - the racist, classist, sexist arguments, most of which the author seems to go along with and supports - for example, he talks about Enid's 'obvious sexism' and her 'undeviating allegiance to middle-class values' and states that she is 'disparaging about the working classes and foreigners' (page 79) - none of which I agree with. He tries to present a balanced view, but in the end it's very much a book of its time, and tends to go along with the criticisms being levelled at her during the 1970's and 80's.

I have a copy of this too and haven't looked at it for several years, but would agree with Robert's assessment. It is an attractive looking book though.

Thanks for the overview Rob & Daisy.I've spent more than £3.45 on some carrot cakes so it doesn't sound as if I have been overcharged for this book!

This book has a chequered past as I know there was a major falling out between Bob Mullan and Darrell Waters, which I guess was something to do with copyright. The result was that DW destroyed all their copies of the book that they received from the publishers.

pete9012S wrote:Thanks for the overview Rob & Daisy.I've spent more than £3.45 on some carrot cakes so it doesn't sound as if I have been overcharged for this book!

You certainly haven't! I paid £25 for my first edition copy at an Enid Blyton Day!

I've got a copy but I've never read it. I also can't remember how I got it. Probably a gift as I don't recall buying it

Robert Houghton wrote:Its text borrows heavily from Barbara Stoney and Sheila Ray, and particularly Ray, as she is quoted quite often.
... generally it is fairly negative, picking holes in a way that seemed to be popular at the time - the racist, classist, sexist arguments, most of which the author seems to go along with and supports - for example, he talks about Enid's 'obvious sexism' and her 'undeviating allegiance to middle-class values' and states that she is 'disparaging about the working classes and foreigners' (page 79) - none of which I agree with. He tries to present a balanced view, but in the end it's very much a book of its time, and tends to go along with the criticisms being levelled at her during the 1970's and 80's.

Doesn't sound worth bothering with to me, especially as those arguments are still pretty popular.