The Adventure Series!

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Poppy
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Poppy »

I agree: the Adventure series illustrations are a beautiful addition to the actual stories. They are so detailed and sinister, and really create a fantastic atmosphere for the books. They portray the characters with such accuracy to the text, and with a lot of understanding of what is going on in the stories. Unlike some illustrators (mainly modern day ones) who seem to interpret the characters with an unnecessary, and ugly twist and pay no attention to the really distinctive details of the text.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Agree about The Sea of Adventure illustrations. The ones of the vast seas and islands really give us a great sense of isolation and loneliness. I get the impression that Tresilian was one of the few of Enid's illustrators that actually took notice of her prose and engulfed himself in the characters and scenes. Some of her other illustrators (even Eileen Soper) only gave us an impression of the characters and situations, and although they sometimes illustrated quite dramatic scenes, their illustrations never came as close to being a part of the story as Tresilian's did. Ironic that in modern reprints his illustrations have all been removed!

A good example of the illustrations helping the reader to visualise the action comes in 'Circus' when Enid describes Jack (I think) climbing into the boot of a moving car while he's clinging to the back. The boot falls open under his weight and Jack is able to get inside. To a modern reader, this would make no sense, as boots of cars flip up rather than fall open, and if he was on top of the boot hatch it certainly wouldn't open - but the illustration (sadly missing in modern reprints!) helps us realise how this is possible on a car of the 1950's.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... +Adventure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Rob Houghton on 27 Nov 2014, 13:27, edited 1 time in total.
'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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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Yes, you're right that Stuart Tresilian seems to have immersed himself in the action, soaking up the atmosphere and picking up on the feelings of the characters. His illustration of Horace Tipperlong standing on the rocks in The Sea of Adventure had me transfixed as a child. Enid Blyton creates an ambivalence around Horace, and Stuart Tresilian's rather grotesque portrayal of him adds to the reader's uneasiness.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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John Pickup
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by John Pickup »

In Sea, I really like the illustration of Philip's head poking out of the hole during the storm and the other children being battered by the wind and rain with their blankets and rugs round them. There's a lovely picture of the eagle attacking the man who's climbed on to the crag in Castle, too. Stuart has captured the mighty wings of that bird perfectly. It's worth buying the books for his drawings alone.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I find it intriguing that Stuart also illustrated some scenes from Malory Towers, in 'The Big Enid Blyton Book' (1976 version) - well, I've always presumed it's him. They look odd, because I associate him totally with the Adventure series. Did these Malory Towers illustrations ever appear in a Malory Towers book or where they created for something else?
'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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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I assume Stuart Tresilian did those illustrations specially for The Big Enid Blyton Book (they were in the 1961 edition too), but it does seem strange that he was used for Malory Towers as well as the Adventure series, when he was so very much associated with the latter. Of course, a few years had passed since the publication of The River of Adventure. There are some coloured and tinted Adventure pictures by Stuart Tresilian in The Big Enid Blyton Book as well, and I recall wondering whether the poem 'The Lucky Ducks' might also have been illustrated by him (the girl's face and the style of painting make me wonder that).
"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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Rob Houghton
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I just looked at 'The Lucky Ducks' and I see what you mean - definitely looks like his artwork. I'm not sure I like the tinted/coloured versions of his Adventure illustrations though - maybe because I'm used to the usual black and white ones. The colour seems to take a lot of the drama from them, without the dark shading we are so used to, and also seem more bland than the originals, although admittedly the illustrations used arent of particularly dramatic moments..
'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 Adventure Series!

Post by Chrissie777 »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I assume Stuart Tresilian did those illustrations specially for The Big Enid Blyton Book (they were in the 1961 edition too), but it does seem strange that he was used for Malory Towers as well as the Adventure series, when he was so very much associated with the latter. Of course, a few years had passed since the publication of The River of Adventure. There are some coloured and tinted Adventure pictures by Stuart Tresilian in The Big Enid Blyton Book as well, and I recall wondering whether the poem 'The Lucky Ducks' might also have been illustrated by him (the girl's face and the style of painting make me wonder that).

Hello Anita, I just tried to find the illustrations from "The Big Enid Blyton Book" in the Cave of Books. The book is mentioned there and has a review, but no illustrations.
Would have enjoyed to see different artwork from Tresilian! Will check online.
Until today I didn't even know what other books he illustrated.
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Francis
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Francis »

I seem to remember seeing the original artwork from the cover of 'The Sea of Adventure' at an
Enid Blyton Day - it was absolutely fabulous. He captured wildlife to perfection.
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Chrissie777
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Chrissie777 »

Francis, I love all his wildlife illustrations in the Adventure series, but also the castles and secret passages.
This is what I could find on Tresilian in google.co.uk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Tresilian" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This guy Steve created the Bear Alley Blog which I found 5 or 6 years ago. Way back then he told the whole story of Malcolm Saville writing "Treasure at the Mill" for CFF which Saville based on a real life family (Harry Pettit) who owned the Ardleigh Mill in Essex at the time in the mid 50's.
The CFF DVD is still available and almost as good as "Five on a Treasure Island" (I mentioned it before, I know, but maybe a few newer members don't know about this Saville book and the DVD. Both is available on amazon.co.uk:

http://bearalley.blogspot.com/search?q= ... t+the+Mill" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Treasure-and-Tr ... dp_product" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is Steve's article on Tresilian with a list of books that he illustrated:

http://bearalley.blogspot.com/2014/02/s ... ilian.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lots of covers and illustrations by Tresilian:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=stuar ... QsAQ&dpr=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He really was an incredible artist.
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Francis
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Francis »

I always found it interesting that he did different artwork on the 'Adventure' covers on the expensive
and cheap versions. Although the cheap ones have much inferior paper they are worth buying for the different dust wrappers - always worth comparing with the originals..
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Robert Houghton wrote:I just looked at 'The Lucky Ducks' and I see what you mean - definitely looks like his artwork. I'm not sure I like the tinted/coloured versions of his Adventure illustrations though - maybe because I'm used to the usual black and white ones. The colour seems to take a lot of the drama from them, without the dark shading we are so used to, and also seem more bland than the originals, although admittedly the illustrations used arent of particularly dramatic moments..
I agree that Stuart Tresilian's pictures for the extract from The Mountain of Adventure look rather bland, as they've simply been taken from the original book and coloured in/tinted. They look more dramatic without the added colour as you say, Robert.

However, the three illustrations accompanying the passage from The Circus of Adventure appear to have been specially painted for The Big Enid Blyton Book, and they're lovely. All three depict the drama of the escaped circus bears, and the colour/tinting is soft and flowing. A really attractive set of illustrations.
Chrissie777 wrote:Hello Anita, I just tried to find the illustrations from "The Big Enid Blyton Book" in the Cave of Books. The book is mentioned there and has a review, but no illustrations.
Would have enjoyed to see different artwork from Tresilian!
I think most of the illustrations in The Big Enid Blyton Book were taken from the original books (and coloured in or tinted if they didn't already have colour or tinting), so only a few would be completely new. If you ever consider buying a copy of The Big Enid Blyton Book, look out for an early edition as the 1976 edition was heavily abridged.
"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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Courtenay
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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Courtenay »

I'd like to see The Big Enid Blyton Book too, especially for those illustrations! Not sure if I would go to the trouble of trying to buy it, though - I'm not much of a collector. :wink:

Tresilian's illustrations really do "make" the books, so to speak - the stories themselves are among the most exciting, engaging and thrilling that Enid ever wrote, but the illustrations take them just that bit further into - well, "sublime" is the best word I can think of. I find it interesting that unlike many of the other popular series - Famous Five, Find-Outers, Secret Seven and so on - the Adventure series has never had any other illustrators as far as I know (except for the covers - and most of the modern editions don't include internal illustrations at all). I gather the same goes for the Gilbert Dunlop illustrations for the Barney Mysteries.
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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 Adventure Series!

Post by Rob Houghton »

unfortunately my 'Big Enid Blyton Book' is the 1976 version, which as Anita says, is heavily abridged. It does have the Circus segment in it...and funnily enough these were the pictures I wasnt so keen on being coloured. :wink: It's interesting to compare them to those in the original version of the novel. It's true that they must have been drawn specially for The Big Enid Blyton Book, although the picture of Philip feeding the bears is very similar.

I also have a copy of the very similar book, 'My Favourite Enid Blyton Book' (published 1964) which has similar content to 'My Big Enid Blyton Book' and the excerpt from 'Mountain' is included. I actually quite like the coloured version of the illustrations in 'Mountain' more than those in 'Circus'.

I like both of these books - although comparing them, 'My Favourte EB Book' has some different content and some that's exactly the same as 'The Big EB Book'. As I havent seen the first edition of 'Big EB Book' I can't tell which featured in there and which was in 'Favourite EB Book' but I should think they are pretty similar.

In 'My Favourite EB Book' there appears one of my favourite poems by Enid Blyton - which I have a quote for as my footnote below. - 'On Dorset Hills'
'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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Re: The Adventure Series!

Post by Moonraker »

Anita Bensoussane wrote: Viv tried to track him down a few years ago, but nothing came of it.
He probably saw her first! :wink:
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