Did Enid Really Say This?

[pete9012S]

I can't find these lines in Hike. Can you?
Did Enid ever say this? If so when, and is it from one of her books?

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've queried that "quotation" before because I don't recall reading that sentence in any Enid Blyton book either, Pete. Several newspaper and magazine journalists have splashed it about without giving the origin so I assume their articles don't contain much independent research! Although the one above names Five on a Hike Together as the supposed source, it's telling that there's no reference to chapter or page!

[Aussie Sue]

This is the dilemma we are faced with nowadays because of the internet. Anyone can say anything and then it get's spread around and is believed. And saying something about Enid Blyton gets noticed particularly if you make it controversial, it get's you lots more hits on your site!!!!

[GloomyGraham]

Enid seemed to leave things for someone in her real life, but was it a real quote?

No - fake quote. Googling says it's from 'Five on a Hike Together'. Ummmmm no...

Enid would never say anything like that in a children's book.

[Fiona1986]

It sounds like (bad) relationship advice to me. 'Leave your job/hobby for your husband but don't leave your husband for your job/hobby'...

[Courtenay]

It sounds like (bad) relationship advice to me. 'Leave your job/hobby for your husband but don't leave your husband for your job/hobby'...

The wisdom of that advice surely depends on the relative merits of the husband vs the job or hobby...

This is the dilemma we are faced with nowadays because of the internet. Anyone can say anything and then it get's spread around and is believed.

[Fiona1986]

Haha I was thinking of that Abe Lincoln quote too!

I meant bad advice in it’s so generic it clearly won’t apply to everyone - there are a lot of husbands out there that are worth much less than a good hobby!

But equally there are many good husbands who are not worth leaving to take up knitting...

[Courtenay]

But equally there are many good husbands who are not worth leaving to take up knitting...

Oh, you can take up knitting AND have a good husband. My mum is an almost lifelong avid knitter and she and Dad are still together after 45 years... (And he loves wearing the jumpers she knits, too.)

[Fiona1986]

Does he? Or is he afraid of where the knitting needles will go if he expresses his true feelings?

[Hannah]

I can't find these lines in Hike. Can you?
Did Enid ever say this? If so when, and is it from one of her books?

I can't find it in Hike - and I've done a search for the word "leave" in the whole e-book. No such sentence.

[Daisy]

It sounds like (bad) relationship advice to me. 'Leave your job/hobby for your husband but don't leave your husband for your job/hobby'...

I agree it sounds more like that - and in my opinion certainly not the kind of advice Enid would ever give children through any of her books.

[Courtenay]

Does he? Or is he afraid of where the knitting needles will go if he expresses his true feelings?

Don't worry, I know Mum and Dad well enough to know there's no antagonism between them over jumpers!! (My sister is the only naysayer in the family when it comes to wearing Mum's knitting, and she hasn't been disowned. Yet.)

Back to the topic, I wonder where on earth the quote actually came from and how it came to be attributed to Enid Blyton, of all authors? As Daisy and others have said, that's not the kind of advice Enid would have given to young readers anyway.

It's also a bit vague and trite, really, as a saying. If only people would pass around memes of some of Enid's actual good life advice that she included in her books!! Here's a favourite of mine...

[pete9012S]

I can't find it in Hike - and I've done a search for the word "leave" in the whole e-book. No such sentence.

Yes, me too!

Here's a list of quotes attributed to Enid. Did she say all these, or are there any other 'rogue quotes' that don't belong in the list:


Enid Blyton > Quotes
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes ... nid_Blyton

[Fiona1986]

Funny you should link to that, Pete. The vast majority of quotes on Goodreads come from people highlighting passages on their Kindle (at least they do now, as Amazon owns Goodreads, I’m not too sure about before then).
Anyway I went through and deleted loads a while ago because people had obviously used fat fingers and quoted half sentences or even single words.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've noticed before that a lot of those quotations on Goodreads are ones we've got on the forums in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2897&p=59650&hilit=wisdom#p59650

Goodreads also has a supposed "review" of The Story of My Life which is actually a copy of something I wrote for the 'Author of Adventure' section of the Enid Blyton Society website:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/315 ... 9wS&rank=1

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/eni ... iter.php#1