The Sea of Adventure

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Lucky Star
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Lucky Star »

The French version sounds as though they should just not have bothered. When was it first published? Did Enid know about this?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

The first edition of Le Mystère du Golfe Bleu appears to have been published in 1962. That was in Enid Blyton's lifetime but it may have been standard procedure for stories to be adapted during translation. Enid may well have left all the details to her foreign literary agent, Rosica Colin.
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Francis
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Francis »

It's so nice to have someone with the knowledge and wisdom of Anita. Enid would be proud to know that you are treasuring her legacy.

There's something great about the Adventure series of books - no wonder Enid was always being pressed to write more. I do believe that as Anita says the first six books are a study of loneliness and a search for happiness which culminate in the marriage of Bill and Allie. It must have been a wrench to write two more (although 'Circus' was certainly well worthwhile).
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Rob Houghton »

I think the Adventure series is the one series where I enjoy every book equally (except maybe Mountain, but on a recent reread I quite enjoyed it!). Circus and River are both very strong in my opinion, and its interesting that the changed dynamic between the characters, after Bill and Allie have been married, doesn't affect the feel of the books, unlike the change in the Barney books.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Courtenay »

Interesting point. Maybe it's to do with the fact that Bill was so much a part of the children's lives already, and increasingly so in the lead-up to when he marries Allie, so that it doesn't change things too much when they "officially" become family — they practically were anyway.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Moonraker »

Anita Bensoussane wrote: Fancy removing that passage about friendship, loyalty, staunchness, etc. :( It's a pivotal moment in the relationship between Bill and the children.
That passage made such an impression on me when I first read it, aged probably around 12. It has stayed with me and I still get a tingle when I read it. It ranks up there with the remark that Jenks (Find-Outers) made in Vanished Prince:

"Brains are good, courage is excellent, resourcefulness is rare, but generosity crowns everything."
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Francis
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Francis »

I agree about Nigel and Anita about Bill's speech. Quite one of the most inspiring made by an adult to children in fiction. The relationship between Bill and the children is unique I think in Enid's fiction. Many of the male figures in her books are distant or dismissive.

Enid must have been very impressed with the inspiration for this character when she met him.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Rob Houghton »

I've always likened Bill to the character Maxim in Rebecca. Almost as if Enid is writing about him as if she is writing about something personal - maybe how she felt about one of her husbands when they first met. Bill is daring and adventurous - a 'man's man' and also very loyal and friendly - almost a paragon of everything Enid liked in her men, maybe!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Lucky Star
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Lucky Star »

Rob Houghton wrote:almost a paragon of everything Enid liked in her men, maybe!
Perhaps he was Enid's "Mr Right". Who knows. She couldn't meet him so she invented him. Either way this is a series with which I think Enid took unusual care with the construction of the characters and their interactions. There are no "spares", no cardboard people just making up the numbers. Everyone, even the adults unusually, has a part to play and it's a shame to discover that some versions of the books have simply hacked that away with a fairly blunt instrument.
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Courtenay
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Courtenay »

Lucky Star wrote: Perhaps he was Enid's "Mr Right". Who knows. She couldn't meet him so she invented him.
Quite possibly! :lol: I seem to recall there's one scene in Ship where there's a reference to Bill's "wet, hairy arms" and how strong and comforting they were — to the children who've just been reunited with him, yes, but I couldn't help thinking "Woah... Enid's going for a slightly older audience there as well!!" :shock: :mrgreen: Seriously, though, I often think Bill might also have been designed, consciously or unconsciously, to appeal to the many young readers who had lost their own fathers in the war, right at the time when Enid was writing these books. He's not only a strong, courageous, dependable authority figure, but full of fun and kindness and love for the children — more or less the ideal father figure as well as possibly the ideal husband! :wink: (I say "possibly" because, like Allie, I wouldn't mind marrying someone like that but would be a bit worried about all the dangerous escapades he and the children get into...)
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Rob Houghton »

Courtenay wrote: I seem to recall there's one scene in Ship where there's a reference to Bill's "wet, hairy arms" and how strong and comforting they were — to the children who've just been reunited with him, yes, but I couldn't help thinking "Woah... Enid's going for a slightly older audience there as well!!" :shock: :mrgreen:
Lol! I remember being quite surprised when I read that description! I think there are maybe a few others too, which seem to paint Bill in quite an 'erotic' way if you'll pardon the expression! I know that wasn't her intention, but its almost as if she is describing some kind of secret male fantasy, lol! :shock: Maybe when she met the man who Bill was supposedly based on (on holiday I think?) she had a secret holiday fling!! ;-) :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Spitfire
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Spitfire »

Inspired by this thread, I have ordered a Macmillan copy of The Sea of Adventure with my birthday money! I do have a paperback copy, but it lacks the wonderful illustrations (the text is probably updated too). I will be taking special note of all the Bill moments when I read it!! :lol:
Sarah
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Ooh - it's a sumptuous book, Sarah! The whole series is glorious in Macmillan but The Sea of Adventure contains some of my absolute favourite illustrations. I adore Huffin and Puffin and the soaring gulls, and the drawing of Horace Tipperlong is a delight. For most Blyton series I've stuck with my paperbacks but I just had to collect the Adventure series in the Macmillan hardbacks to get all Stuart Tresilian's incredible artwork. They're wonderfully chunky books too - amazing quality, especially considering that the first few titles were published during and just after the war.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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sixret
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by sixret »

Happy reading, Sarah! :D
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Francis
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Re: The Sea of Adventure

Post by Francis »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Ooh - it's a sumptuous book, Sarah! The whole series is glorious in Macmillan but The Sea of Adventure contains some of my absolute favourite illustrations. I adore Huffin and Puffin and the soaring gulls, and the drawing of Horace Tipperlong is a delight. For most Blyton series I've stuck with my paperbacks but I just had to collect the Adventure series in the Macmillan hardbacks to get all Stuart Tresilian's incredible artwork. They're wonderfully chunky books too - amazing quality, especially considering that the first few titles were published during and just after the war.
I agree totally with you Anita. I grew up in the 1950s and remember how wonderful these books were - standing out from all other children's books in their sumptuous production values and superb illustrations. We longed to be able to afford them or receive one for Christmas or birthdays. Sarah you will never regret getting a copy. I am sure that Anita will confirm how wonderful it was to see the original artwork of the Sea of Adventure wraparound cover at those wonderful Enid Blyton Days at Twyford. The seabirds and puffins were heavenly.
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