The Rubadub Mystery

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MrGoon
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by MrGoon »

I couldn't agree more about Dummy. I believe Enid often named her characters in a way to reflect the person. For example, the two butchers in The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters - Mr Veale and Mr Cook, or Miss Jolly (who is friendly and pleasant) or Mrs. Tittle (who is a gossip).

In this case, Dummy is somewhat of a dummy, but his heart is in the right place. I really think the story loses something with all this editing. Still, it's not as bad as when whole scenes are deleted for PC reasons ...
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Germander Speedwell
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Germander Speedwell »

Some very interesting thoughts on this thread about a book that really is a great read. Whether it truly is Enid's best I couldn't judge, but it must be right up there. As people have said, it has just about everything and packs in a tremendous amount of varied incident. It has the same number of pages as Rat-a-Tat but there's no comparison in terms of interest and action.
The ending is terrific and, yes, maybe the series should have ended there, as intended. I enjoy Rat-a-Tat as well, but it does run seriously short of steam. Barney is not at all the same person as before, seems on the way to becoming a bossy teenager, and gets quite 'ratty' with Snubby on occasion. As for Barney's father though, well, do we really want those grownups butting in on the action?
All the characters in Rubadub – even the secondary ones like the Funny Man, Iris and Mrs Glump - all seem so vivid. Among the main characters, for once in way Roger and even Diana get more of a look-in, although Snubby, of course, steals the limelight. Miss Pepper cuts him a lot of slack over his merciless cheeking of Miss Twitt – did she really deserve it? You get the feeling Enid must have really known someone like that.
While Rubadub is my series favourite now, many moons ago as a child when I first read it, I child I had it down around no. 4. For some reason it seemed much darker to me at that time. Perhaps it was all that night-time action - reinforced maybe by that spooky Collins dustjacket.
"Oh, he were a youngster," said the old man with a curious high chuckle. "He were only 60 mebbe, or thereabouts."
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Rob Houghton »

Germander Speedwell wrote: As people have said, it has just about everything and packs in a tremendous amount of varied incident. It has the same number of pages as Rat-a-Tat but there's no comparison in terms of interest and action.
Rat-a-Tat may have the same number of pages as Rubadub, but it has far fewer words. At random I counted the words on page 93 of both books - Rat-a-Tat has approx 199 words per page, whilst Rubadub has 260 words per page - so actually Rat-a-Tat is 'stretched' out to fit the required number of pages.
'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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Germander Speedwell
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Germander Speedwell »

Rat-a-Tat certainly has a thinner feel to it.

Reminds me of that old Monty Python sketch; the one with the Shakespearean the actor who, when interviewed about his performances, measures the difficulty of the roles in terms of the relative number of words in each play. Well, it seemed funny at the time.
"Oh, he were a youngster," said the old man with a curious high chuckle. "He were only 60 mebbe, or thereabouts."
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Stephen
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Stephen »

I've only ever read Rubadub and Rat-a-Tat once each, and that was well over thirty years ago. I remember really liking the former, not least the setting, the twist and the ending. But the only thing I seem to recollect about Rat-a-Tat is that it's set in the winter and there's snow. I think I've still got both books somewhere, so I need to check them out again!

I've sure I read Ragamuffin around the same time too - but I'm afraid I can't recall a thing about it!
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Moonraker
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Moonraker »

I have just finished a re-read, and fail to see how it can be considered a "masterpiece". I enjoyed it, it was a good story, but not in the same class as Valley of Adventure, for example. The village and inn descriptions were delightful, but once again (for me) Snubby and Loony irritated me beyond words. We had another staunch Blyton favourite in Miss Twitt - even the name was used for another two (at least) characters. She was another Miss Trimble - with yet again her name being misused for comedic values.

Why did Barney need to row Marvel out to sea? Marvel was quite capable of rowing, as he soon shot off without Barney.

I know I am in a minority, but although the series has some enjoyable reads, it is not one of my favourites.
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Daisy
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Daisy »

I wonder if it is just the fact that Barney's search for his father has reached a satisfactory conclusion which makes this a favourite for so many people? Yes, It is a good story but I too, would not put it as number one in my top ten although it would probably feature somewhere there.
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walter raleigh
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by walter raleigh »

Moonraker wrote: I know I am in a minority, but although the series has some enjoyable reads, it is not one of my favourites.
Did you ever read them as a child Moonraker or did you only read them as an adult. I feel we form a stronger connection with the books we read as children, even if we consciously remember nothing about them. A half-remembered phrase or scene can resonate much more powerfully than one newly encountered. Of course this explains why a book you've read constantly over the years usually has a much more powerful grip than one more recently discovered.
"Stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"

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Rob Houghton
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Rob Houghton »

I think it all comes down to a matter of choice. For example, I wouldn't even rate 'Valley of Adventure' as one of the best adventure books - to me, it's 'Sea' or 'Circus', with Valley as my third choice. I think in the end it's just down to individual taste regards which book is 'a masterpiece' - as we all have very different ideas on this - which is as it should be! :-)

Sometimes the fact we read things as a child does have a bearing - for example, I think this is why I like The Rilloby Fair Mystery and also why I have a soft spot for The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat and Missing Necklace - but I actually read 'The Rubadub Mystery' for the first time as an adult, and so that theory doesn't always apply.
'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: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Courtenay »

I first read the Adventure series as an adult - only last year, in fact - and found those books to be some of the most brilliant and exciting Enid Blyton titles I'd ever read. The same goes for The Boy Next Door. So while childhood nostalgia certainly can add an extra glow to things, it doesn't necessarily mean that books read as an adult will be less appealing. Like Robert says, it really comes down to personal tastes.

For my part, I haven't read any of the Barney series - except Rockingdown, which I did read as a child and for some reason found eminently forgettable - so I can't pass judgment either way! :wink:
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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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walter raleigh
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by walter raleigh »

Ah, but if you had read the 'Adventure' series as a child, perhaps you'd have found them even more brilliant and exciting. :lol:

Robert's right of course, ultimately it does come down to personal taste, but it's interesting what can influence that. For example would you have enjoyed the 'Adventure' books so much if you'd read more modern editions without the original illustrations? Some of my favourite Blyton books are those I had in old hardbacks from the 50's and they remain some of my favourites now.

I enjoyed reading your reponses to reading the 'Adventure' series for the first time Courtenay, and it would be equally interesting to see what you thought of the ''R' Mysteries' as well. In my opinion they're on a par with the 'Adventure' books, and are definitely some of Enid's best work.
"Stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"

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Courtenay
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Courtenay »

walter raleigh wrote:Ah, but if you had read the 'Adventure' series as a child, perhaps you'd have found them even more brilliant and exciting. :lol:
That'd be a big ask! :lol: I did find some of them better than others, as most of us do, but they were all fantastic and virtually unputdownable. As a child, however, I didn't have as much of a taste for fast-paced adventure stories, so I really don't know if I would have enjoyed them as much.

I'm guessing I might not have got so much out of them if I hadn't had the old editions with the illustrations, which was why I bought those in the first place! We did have several of the Adventure books at home when I was little, but none of them were the 1940s/'50s editions.
walter raleigh wrote:I enjoyed reading your reponses to reading the 'Adventure' series for the first time Courtenay, and it would be equally interesting to see what you thought of the ''R' Mysteries' as well. In my opinion they're on a par with the 'Adventure' books, and are definitely some of Enid's best work.
Now you tell me... if you'd posted that three days ago while I was still at my parents' place, I might have smuggled some or all of the Barney books back to England along with me! :wink: I'm pretty sure we had all or most of them, but I didn't really think to look.
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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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walter raleigh
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by walter raleigh »

Courtenay wrote: Now you tell me... if you'd posted that three days ago while I was still at my parents' place, I might have smuggled some or all of the Barney books back to England along with me! :wink: I'm pretty sure we had all or most of them, but I didn't really think to look.
I'm suprised you didn't take the opportunity to snaffle them anyway Courtenay. I'm not the only one here who holds them in high esteem, and given how much they've been discussed lately I'd have thought you'd have jumped at the chance to join in. I'm really enjoying my long overdue re-read of the 'Secret' books, but I'm itching to crack open "The Rockingdown Mystery" and start seeing if the series is really as good as I remember.
"Stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"

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John Pickup
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by John Pickup »

Rubadub is one of my favourite Enid books, only just behind Valley Of Adventure. As I finished re-reading Rubadub the other day for the umpteenth time I was, once again, struck by the emotion that Enid generated by the betrayal of Barney by Mr Marvel and his subsequent meeting with his father for the first time. And now, Nigel has pointed out something so obvious, why did Mr Marvel take Barney to the meeting with the man from the secret base when he could row perfectly well himself, that I can't believe I've never thought of that myself. I wonder what Enid meant when she wrote that Mr Marvel was dealt with in a way that made it quite impossible for him ever to do any damage to anything or anyone again. Was he hanged for treason? It was a capital offence back in those days.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Rubadub Mystery

Post by Rob Houghton »

I agree I'd never thought of that before - why Marvel had Barney row him over to meet the man from the secret base when Marvel could row perfectly well himself. On the other hand, there are many, many times when similar holes could be picked in Enid's plots. Just the other day, reading Five Go To Smuggler's Top, it's mentioned that George climbs out of the bedroom window onto the city wall and has to walk all the way around, quite some distance, before she can get down and reach the front door of Smuggler's Top...thus giving her the chance to see Block talking to Mr Barling. The next time she climbs out of the window, she jumps straight down from the wall and goes straight to the front door without walking around the wall!

Quite often Enid manipulated things to suit her plot without really thinking of the realities. Then again, maybe there could always be reasons...perhaps Marvel just wanted Barney to do all the hard work, and planned to leave him stranded all along, as soon as he'd got the secret papers, just because he was a nasty person.
'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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