The Famous Five sold us a myth of Britain

[pete9012S]

Not sure if this has been posted before here?

How the Famous Five sold us a myth of Britain—and set the stage for our Brexit fantasies
The fantasy land espoused by some hardcore Leavers doesn't come from nowhere. I've traced the source: and it's Enid Blyton..

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts ... -fantasies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Daisy]

I've never seen it before ... it's interesting, but I don't really buy into the argument. It isn't mentioned that children brought up on Blyton were also those who voted to JOIN the European Economic Community back in the 1970s. The comments are few, but make good points too.

[Anita Bensoussane]

The writer of the article, Ella Risbridger, seems bigoted to me. Didn't authors like Kenneth Grahame, Arthur Ransome, Malcolm Saville and the writers of the Rupert stories also present Britain largely as a rural idyll with woods, islands, jolly games, exciting adventures, homemade cakes and "messing about in boats"? Enid Blyton was simply writing in the same tradition.

It's strange that Ella Risbridger claims to have read almost all of Enid Blyton's novels yet still accepts the myth that the main protagonists habitually look down on gypsies, circus folk, foreigners and the working-class. What about circus boys Barney and Nobby, circus girl Carlotta and, of course, the Galliano's Circus series, Come to the Circus! and Boys' and Girls' Circus Book (all of which feature a child/children from a non-circus background joining the circus permanently)? Ragamuffin Jo comes to mind too - not to mention black African boys Mafumu and Boobanti, Prince Paul of Baronia, Kit the American, Zacky the gypsy, farm boy Jack of the Secret series, fisher-boy Andy, Ern Goon, Mr. and Mrs. Twiddle, the Enchanted Wood children (Jo, Bessie and Fanny) and a number of others.

As for the notion of Enid Blyton strongly influencing a political vote that took place nearly fifty years after her death, it's absurd. People have their individual reasons for voting a certain way in an election or referendum, and usually these reasons are many and varied. Besides, Enid Blyton's books will have been read by huge numbers of people who voted Remain or decided not to vote at all - not only by people who voted Brexit.

[Lucky Star]

A very interesting article Pete. Thanks for posting it. There is something in what the author is saying but she seems to ignore the fact that as the whole nation grew up on Blyton books then by definition many Blyton readers must have voted Remain too!

But I have always thought that many Brexiteers really are seeking to turn the clock back to the admittedly much simpler and nicer country of the fifties and sixties. They also seem to firmly believe that Britain is the centre of the world and that other countries cannot manage without us. Which fits the author's thesis. However the article has to be taken largely tongue-in-cheek as the similarity of the FF world and the Brexiteers dreams is purely coincidental. Even if Blyton had never existed Leavers would still be aspiring to return to the good old days. The FF may embody the perfect Britain but they did not invent it.

At least the author seems to actually know her Blyton and doesn't resort to the lazy snobbery that many modern writers do when discussing her work. She didn't seem all that impressed by The Six Bad Boys though. Bizarre fantasia on juvenile delinquency???

[MJE]

It's strange that Ella Risbridger claims to have read almost all of Enid Blyton's novels yet still accepts the myth that the main protagonists habitually look down on gypsies, circus folk, foreigners and the working-class.

     She seems to have a rather sour, jaundiced view of what Blyton''s books are really like. I wonder if she'd prefer a book more in keeping with modern trends, such as (to pick one I recently read about, but haven't actually read) "The Day My Bum Went Psycho" - I was tempted to summarize its plot in a few sentences, but I'm not sure it would actually be suitable for this site.

... black African boys Mafumu and Boobanti

     Just curious, Anita - which book features Boobanti? I have never come across that (or don't remember it, at least).
     I'm curious... did the publishers of the "Secret" books follow up on their proposal to drop publication of "The Secret Mountain"? What a shame if so - and I imagine it will send the prices of second-hand copies of this book quite high.

Regards, Michael.

[Daisy]

Wasn't Boobanti a fellow pupil at Fatty's school who could throw his voice - kindling Fatty's interest in ventriloquism? (Mystery of the Strange Bundle)

[MJE]

     Hmmm... still doesn't ring any bells - and that was one of the (slightly) more recently read books for me in that series (probably around 5 years ago).
     However, I suppose I was imagining a prominent side character like Mafumu (whom I certainly remember very well, even though it's a long time since I read "The Secret Mountain"); if he was just mentioned in passing by Fatty, then I often do not remember those kinds of characters some years later.

Regards, Michael.

[Lucky Star]

Wasn't Boobanti a fellow pupil at Fatty's school who could throw his voice - kindling Fatty's interest in ventriloquism? (Mystery of the Strange Bundle)

Yes that's him. He doesn't actually appear in the book personally. Fatty just mentions him one time when he is explaining his desire to learn ventriloquism to the others so not surprising that he rings no bells Michael.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, Boobanti is only mentioned in passing but it's significant that he's a black character who is portrayed as skilled and good fun, and who is admired by Fatty.

[Courtenay]

Gasp. And yet Enid Blyton herself WASN'T black — which naturally means she has no right to write about a black character — and she came from a time when EVERYONE in Britain was massively racist, so any portrayal of non-white characters by her is inherently from a position of white supremacy and therefore is obviously totally offensive and must be removed at once to spare today's children from being corrupted by it.

(I am, of course, being completely sarcastic there, but that does seem to be the mentality behind some of the modern-day editing (or outright censoring) of Enid's works.)

[Anita Bensoussane]

Anyone who reads the editorials in Enid Blyton's Magazine will see that Enid welcomed readers of all races and cultures and regarded them as part of her worldwide "family". People who believe that writers shouldn't have characters of diverse races in their books, or who view all white people of Enid Blyton's generation as inherently racist, are far behind Enid herself when it comes to respecting human beings of all colours and backgrounds and being inclusive and open to diversity.