The Secret Island

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Rob Houghton »

Fiona1986 wrote:Gosh, Abebooks are getting as bad as eBay...

More than £70 for a recent paperback? I have that very paperback. Didn't know it was worth a fortune :roll:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Book ... d%2Bblyton" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
When I see prices like that on eBay, I always assume the seller added an extra digit by mistake!! :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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Chrissie777
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Chrissie777 »

Rob Houghton wrote:The short answer is - 'YES!' ;-) I love telling everyone how I got an early edition (1941) without a dust wrapper but with a coloured frontispiece for only £3 - but that was about 15 years ago...I doubt I'd be so lucky these days!
Hi Pete and Rob,

I am very lucky and found the April 1946 edition from Blackwell in a green hardcover copy without a dust wrapper ca. 2 years ago for less than 20 £ thanks to a british online service called September Books (they found other EB books for me in the past).
André created a dust wrapper with a plastic cover/sleeve around.
My colored frontispiece shows the four children with the boat and several baskets with berries. It has 190 pages. A great, clean copy and I've read it 3 times so far. Will re-read it later this year.
One of EB's best books and thanks to EBS I discovered it. Even though it was translated into German (Arnoldkinder/Die verwegenen Vier) and I've read it years ago, the reading experience is so much better in English as there are quite some changes between the original and the German translation.
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pete9012S
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by pete9012S »

That's great Chrissie.
I found both The Secret Island and The Secret Of Moon Castle quite hard to get hold of.

In fact I had to be very patient waiting for Moon Castle,but when an early edition came along for about £12 in great condition I nabbed it quick! :D

I was just thinking that this series possibly has the greatest difference in characters as they developed between the 1st and last book compared to many other of Enid's series of books?
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Rob Houghton »

pete9012S wrote:
I was just thinking that this series possibly has the greatest difference in characters as they developed between the 1st and last book compared to many other of Enid's series of books?
I think this is why I struggle to consider 'the Secret Island' as part of the series. The other books are fairly similar in character development - although Moon Castle seems different, as it was written quite a few years after 'Kilimooin' - but the characters in the latter four books are to my mind totally different to the children we first meet in The Secret Island.

For me, Prince Paul spoils the series to a certain extent, and the only book I find him effective in is Mountain.
'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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John Pickup
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by John Pickup »

Secret Island would have been a great stand alone book and if the following books in the series had been written with the names of the children changed I don't think anyone would have regarded Island as part of the series.
I don't own a single hardback copy of any book in this series as they are both rare and increasingly expensive with a reasonable dustwrapper. The internet has destroyed collecting for people with humble incomes.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Rob Houghton »

I agree - and it's even difficult to find this series in hardback without dust jackets. I have them all, but they aren't in the best condition and only the last one has a dust jacket.

I'm always amazed by prices of books on the internet - but what surprises me more is that often books will sell for vast amounts - books like a 1960's Famous Five will go for maybe £30.00 when I wouldn't even consider selling a 1960's Famous Five for over £10 - £12. The customers are half to blame for this, because they seem to prefer paying more money for a book than paying just £10. It's something I've noticed since I've been selling books, and it puzzles me!
'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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Chrissie777
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Chrissie777 »

pete9012S wrote:That's great Chrissie.
I found both The Secret Island and The Secret Of Moon Castle quite hard to get hold of.

In fact I had to be very patient waiting for Moon Castle,but when an early edition came along for about £12 in great condition I nabbed it quick! :D

I was just thinking that this series possibly has the greatest difference in characters as they developed between the 1st and last book compared to many other of Enid's series of books?
Hi Pete,

I never read the sequels in English, only the German translations in which Prince Paul is left out by the translator for a reason unknown.
Also I often noticed that some forumites like Prince Paul and others don't.
Guess he would be too much of a fantasy/SciFi element for me. So I just stick to the first volume in English. 8)
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Chrissie777
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Chrissie777 »

pete9012S wrote:I found both The Secret Island and The Secret Of Moon Castle quite hard to get hold of.
Pete, in case you are still looking for old edtions of "Killimoin" and "Mountain", please PM me.
I tried to PM you, but it's disabled.
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pete9012S
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by pete9012S »

Thank you very much Chrissie.
I have all the books in really old editions in good condition,but that's very kind of you.
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Chrissie777
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Chrissie777 »

pete9012S wrote:Thank you very much Chrissie.
I have all the books in really old editions in good condition,but that's very kind of you.
:)
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deepeabee
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by deepeabee »

Rob Houghton wrote:
I think this is why I struggle to consider 'the Secret Island' as part of the series. The other books are fairly similar in character development - although Moon Castle seems different, as it was written quite a few years after 'Kilimooin' - but the characters in the latter four books are to my mind totally different to the children we first meet in The Secret Island.

For me, Prince Paul spoils the series to a certain extent, and the only book I find him effective in is Mountain.
I totally see what you mean about it seeming like a separate book to the series. I also agree with your thoughts on Prince Paul he is surplus to requirements as far as I can see. I can see why he was left out of the German translations.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Being friends with Prince Paul is the reason that Jack, Peggy and co. have access to a plane and pilots (Secret Mountain) and are able to stay in palaces and castles (Killimooin and Moon Castle). I agree that the tone of the series changes once Paul is involved but at least that means things never become stale. The extraordinary mixture of characters allows for almost limitless possibilities.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Carlotta King
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Carlotta King »

I really like Prince Paul.

He's funny, and I know he can seem a bit pompous at times but that's because of who he is and how he's been brought up, and even so, his pompousness is never unbearable and he quite often laughs it off and behaves like the others do.

He seems like a kind, generous little lad, willing to share his lifestyle with the others.
He can be impetuous but its all done in kindness, he always means well.

Some of his moments are very funny, such as the sick bag on the plane, and Mike's (?) recounting of the scrapes he got into at school.

I've never seen him as surplus to requirements, to me he's as much a main character as the others, he's never stuck on the sidelines, he's always at the forefront.

I find Paul far more bearable than other popular characters, such as Darrell with her irritating temper, Bets who behaves like a toddler sometimes, Fatty who I can just never quite believe in with his lone trips to London with tons of money to buy disguises etc.
"Fussy Gussy! Polly, Polly, Polly-gize!"

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Chrissie777
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Chrissie777 »

Nice avatar, Cathy. Is this a young Jane Birkin?
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Carlotta King
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Re: The Secret Island

Post by Carlotta King »

Yes, it is, Chrissie. :) I really like her style; her clothes, and her hair and her look. :)
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