Tony Summerfield wrote:It is also interesting to see the first story on the list 'The Bear and the Duck'. This originally had the title 'The Golliwog and the Duck' and Enid queries this on the list. So even as far back as 1944 somebody thought that the golliwog should be changed!
Fascinating - I wonder what Enid really thought?
It's pretty hard to decipher Enid's scrawl, isn't it, or is it just me!
Anita Bensoussane wrote:
The date on the letter does look odd. Normally the date has a line to itself, but that could result in a one-page letter taking up two pages.
Hmm; I would have thought if the objective was to use as little paper as possible, writing the date on three lines was using more!
What I meant was that the date normally has a line to itself below the address, with a space above and below. In this case the three-line date is opposite the address, so it isn't taking up any additional lines.
Ming wrote:It's pretty hard to decipher Enid's scrawl, isn't it, or is it just me!
I find it hard too. Just imagine all those disappointed Blyton fans of the past who joyfully opened a letter from Enid Blyton - only to find that they could barely read a word of it!
Thanks for the further information about the books, Tony.
Anita
"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."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Ming wrote:It's pretty hard to decipher Enid's scrawl, isn't it, or is it just me!
That is Enid at her neatest, Ming, her first entry in the book. I know I am used to it as I have seen hundreds of pages of her writing, but I don't have any problem with anything on that page. There are other pages where Enid is in a hurry, where I really struggle to decipher things!
For some reason this reminds me of Alec Grant's handwriting, in The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat. Did Enid ever find herself unable to read her own handwriting? Just imagine her dismay!
You're lucky, Tony, to have read so many of Enid's original writing!
The thing i find fascinating about Enid's handwriting is that she quite often joined two words together with a loop so that they could be mis-read as one word rather than two.
'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.'
Very interesting thread. If the book didn't get published, what became of the stories? Surely Enid used them in other creations? It is a pity that they were never published, for they seem very interesting.
"A holiday — a mystery — an adventure — and a happy ending for dear old Barney!" said Roger. "What more could anyone want?" "An ice cream," said Snubby promptly. "Who's coming to buy one?"The Rubadub Mystery
Tony Summerfield wrote:I am sure you are also right that paper shortage was the reason why Once Upon a Time wasn't published, this was the conclusion that I came to. What I find puzzling though, is why so many of the stories from this 'ghost' book were not also used in later books. Clearly they were not returned to Enid, as she would have certainly used them elsewhere.
The cause of the book not being published was paper shortage? Is this a reference to the conditions of the period (I think at that time the war began?) And wouldn't Blyton be furious when the stories weren't returned to her? A waste of creation!
"A holiday — a mystery — an adventure — and a happy ending for dear old Barney!" said Roger. "What more could anyone want?" "An ice cream," said Snubby promptly. "Who's coming to buy one?"The Rubadub Mystery
There was indeed a paper shortage owing to the Second World War at that time, Philip. Publishers were only allocated a certain amount of paper so they had to think extra carefully about which books to print, and how many copies.
Enid Blyton would surely have kept copies of the stories, which had originally been published in the magazine Sunny Stories. However, if she'd signed a contract giving the National Magazine Co. the right to publish the stories in book form, she wouldn't have been able to use them elsewhere without their permission (though I'm assuming the contract would have expired after a certain length of time?) It may be that the National Magazine Co. assured Enid Blyton they would publish the stories eventually but that, as the years went by, other projects got in the way and it simply didn't happen. Perhaps we'll never know.
Anita
"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."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
I'm sure that must have been a great help, Ming. Enid wasn't relying on just one or two publishers to keep her books in print/publish new titles. And Sunny Stories continued to be printed throughout the War, which kept her in touch with her readers.
Edit: Having checked the Cave of Books, it seems that she was sufficiently well-established as a popular children's author for publishers like Hodder&Stoughton and Macmillan to start publishing Enid Blyton titles during the War.
Anita
"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."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
