Famous Five Fluffs

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Moonraker
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Moonraker »

Yes, I had noticed that. Also, why didn't they use this tunnel to escape when locked in the lighthouse instead of the elaborate plan of lighting the lamp and sounding the bell.
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Jack400
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Jack400 »

Because the tunnel, being below sea level, would fill once and then remain submerged permanently? :lol:
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Liam »

Remember they had tried once, when they found the treasure, but Ebie and Jacob were waiting for them, so they had to go back to the lighthouse.
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by IceMaiden »

in five go adventuring again, George is twice mentioned to be wearing a skirt. This must be a fluff surely? George won't wear girls clothes, so I really doubt she'd wear a very obvious skirt! She's at home too, not school, so she'd be even more unlikely to be wearing one :? .
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I wouldn't call it a fluff as Five Go Adventuring Again is only the second book in the series and I think the character of George was still evolving at that stage. Looking at the introductory passages about George in the first book, Five on a Treasure Island, we're told that Georgina wishes she was a boy and that she has cut her hair short, dislikes dolls and pretty frocks and will only answer to George. However, she seems surprised when Anne says, "...you look like a boy." She replies, "Do I really?" So it may be that, in the early books, George is a tomboy but isn't yet set on passing herself off as a boy. Maybe that comes later on in the series? It would be natural for her mother to provide her with a skirt or two as well as shorts, to be worn on certain occasions. And in those days a skirt would probably have been considered more suitable for formal situations, and therefore more appropriate when a tutor like Mr. Roland had come to stay in the house.
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Rob Houghton »

I actually thought that this was part of the plot, but maybe I'm wrong? Mr Roland insists on calling George Georgina...and I have a feeling he also insists she wears a skirt - or makes it known he would prefer it, with the agreement of Uncle Quentin. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think there's a reason George is wearing a skirt...?
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

If there was anything in the story about Mr. Roland preferring George to wear a skirt, I'm afraid it wouldn't be in my Knight paperback as George doesn't wear a skirt in that - she wears jeans instead! I only know the original text had George in a skirt because it has been mentioned several times in forums posts.
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Daisy »

Mr Rowland just insisted she was called 'Georgina' , I'm sure her clothing was not mentioned but Eileen Soper drew her with a skirt in that book.
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by pete9012S »

George's clothing gets a couple of mentions in the book.

Image
In the morning Anne was most amazed to find that George had on vest, knickers, skirt and jersey, when she got out of bed to dress.
'Look!' she said. 'You're half-dressed! But I saw you undressing last night.'
'Be quiet,' said George. 'I went down and let Tim in last night. We sat in front of the study fire and I rubbed him with oil. Now don't you dare to say a word to anyone! Promise!'

Image

By now all the children except George were at the bottom of the hole, standing in the Secret Way, waiting impatiently for George to come down. Poor George was in such a hurry to get down that she caught her skirt on one of the staples, and had to stand in a very dangerous position trying to disentangle it.
'Come on, George, for goodness sake!' said Julian.
Has this text been altered in the Knight paperbacks?

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Anita is right.All the Betty Maxey illustrations depict George wearing jeans etc:
2. Enid Blyton - Five Go Adventuring Again

Illustrated By Betty Maxey (1974)
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Darrell71 »

pete9012S wrote:

By now all the children except George were at the bottom of the hole, standing in the Secret Way, waiting impatiently for George to come down. Poor George was in such a hurry to get down that she caught her skirt on one of the staples, and had to stand in a very dangerous position trying to disentangle it.
'Come on, George, for goodness sake!' said Julian.
Has this text been altered in the Knight paperbacks?
In my Hodder paperback, at least, it says, "Poor George was in such a hurry to get down that she caught her clothing on one of the staples, and had to stand in a very dangerous position trying to disentangle it."
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by timv »

One continuity problem stood out for me in Enid's Famous Five plotting - but only on re-reading the series as an adult. In the excitement of this gripping story, I don't think many readers would stop to notice it when first reading the book.

Five Get Into Trouble. After Rooky's friends have snatched Dick from the camp in Middlecombe Woods, thinking he is Richard, Julian and George arrive in a hurry when the fleeing Richard finds them visiting a cottage for food and says he is being chased. (I rather think that this episode was read by the 'Comic Strip' team as they were creating the 'Five Go Mad In Dorset' spoof in 1982, as the arrogant rich brat 'Toby' there is rather like Richard and the Five are off-handedly assuming that any local cottager will be humbly glad to hand food over to them!)
Anne prefers to go to the police , which is sensible with gangsters at large but is turned down (it would spoil the storyline). Julian and co. then look up the name 'Owls Dene' which Anne overheard, find it on their map, and head there. But as far as they know, Rooky - who was not with the other men when they grabbed Dick - will rejoin them before they drive off to Owls' Dene, and he can tell them Dick is the wrong boy. Dick is no use to them, so they will presumably have to release him - and have another search or just flee?
In fact, as Dick tells Julian later at OD, the men got him back to their car, but Rooky did not join them so after a wait they assumed he'd gone off to see a local friend and drove off. But the rest of the Five don't know that until later. Logically, the Five should have checked the place where the car had been parked to see the men had gone and taken Dick before heading to OD - assuming Richard could find the site in thick woods in the semi-dark. Was Enid writing at speed and forgot about this bit of information until later, then referred to it in what Dick tells Julian?
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by IceMaiden »

Darrell71 wrote: In my Hodder paperback, at least, it says, "Poor George was in such a hurry to get down that she caught her clothing on one of the staples, and had to stand in a very dangerous position trying to disentangle it."
That's really odd, why would they alter it like that? What could possibly be wrong with the mention of George catching her skirt on the staples? :?
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Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind
I want an old fashioned house, with an old fashioned fence
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Daisy »

Possibly because the illustrations showed her in jeans? I don't possess the paper back version so can't say so categorically.
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Re: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Rob Houghton »

IceMaiden wrote:
Darrell71 wrote: In my Hodder paperback, at least, it says, "Poor George was in such a hurry to get down that she caught her clothing on one of the staples, and had to stand in a very dangerous position trying to disentangle it."
That's really odd, why would they alter it like that? What could possibly be wrong with the mention of George catching her skirt on the staples? :?

I presume the publishers (as usual!) thought Enid was 'wrong' to say 'skirt' and so altered it to 'clothing' -- although this alteration may have come from the Betty Maxey illustration days in the 1970's when George always wore jeans.
'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: Famous Five Fluffs

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Earlier in the book, George's skirt had been changed to jeans so the later passage had to fit in with that. Robert is right that the change was made as early as the 1970s or possibly even the 1960s.
"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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