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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 13 Jul 2017, 16:15
by Anita Bensoussane
Well done on getting Humpty Dumpty and Belinda, Rob. I've got it too - and Father Christmas and Belinda. Unusual-looking books, enjoyable to read, and they have quite a strange history as Tony explains here:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... od#p166102" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 13 Jul 2017, 16:24
by Katharine
Well done on your Belinda book - I got my copy from the last Enid Blyton day, and was really pleased with it.

I got a nice little haul today from an Oxfam bookshop. All 'modern' books though.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 13 Jul 2017, 16:34
by Rob Houghton
Thanks both - and for the link, Anita! So it seems that Enid may have rewritten the story - or at least she did so for the Father Christmas one. That explains the illustrations and photos, as they once accompanied a different text. :-)

Yes - I'm pleased with my Belinda book! I might try and get the Christmas one nearer Christmas - always like to have something Christmassy to read. They really are unusual.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 14 Jul 2017, 17:00
by Courtenay
My copy of The Children's Life of Christ arrived today — that was nice and quick! It's in very good condition as described, with only minor nicks to the edges of the dust jacket (which is in a protective plastic cover) and a few small rust marks inside the front and back covers. It even has a Foyles sticker (Charing Cross Rd, London, WC2) on the inside front cover, so I guess that's where it was bought originally! :D Very pleased to have it.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 14 Jul 2017, 20:13
by Anita Bensoussane
Sounds great, Courtenay! I like coming across features like the Foyles sticker - also inscriptions, bookplates, addresses and library stamps. They all add to the sense of history that you get when reading or handling an old book.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 14 Jul 2017, 20:47
by Courtenay
Yes, it has an inscription on the flyleaf — looks like G.M. Robinson — but no more than the name. Inscriptions are more interesting when they tell you it was a gift or a prize or something else special. I'm sure this book must have been given out many times as a Sunday School prize or confirmation gift or the like, but presumably not this particular copy! Oh well.

One interesting point is that the blurb on the front flap states that this is "the second volume in a new series of moral and religious books by Miss Blyton. The first, 'The Land of Far-Beyond,' which was based on 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' was accorded a great welcome." I didn't know The Land of Far-Beyond and The Children's Life of Christ were originally published as part of the same series, but now I look at them, they're the same size and shape and of course are from the same publisher (Methuen), so it makes sense. I would love an early copy of The Land of Far-Beyond with a dust jacket as well, but haven't yet found a good one at a price I can bring myself to pay! :wink:

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 14 Jul 2017, 20:59
by Rob Houghton
I love inscriptions in books, or bookplates that might tell us that the book was 'awarded to' so-and-so because of some good behaviour or academic success. the book I just bought, 'Humpty Dumpty and Belinda' has an inscription in the front - 'To my daughter Patricia for her eleventh birthday' - which makes me wonder if perhaps Patricia's mother was widowed in the war, or if her husband had died somehow. Each book has more than just the story to tell.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 16:04
by Francis
I did see quite a few Enid Blyton books and bought a lovely edition of 'Five go to Smugglers Top' - a second with no dustwrapper but the pages were pristine.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 16:55
by Chrissie777
Sounds like a great bargain!

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 17:10
by floragord
Courtenay wrote: I would love an early copy of The Land of Far-Beyond with a dust jacket as well, but haven't yet found a good one at a price I can bring myself to pay! :wink:
Its a great favourite of mine, received a copy as a birthday present at an early age and much preferred it to PILGRIM'S PROGRESS! It has weathered the years with the dust jacket intact :o . I hope you find a good one at a reasonable cost, possibly Abe Books may be a useful site to search?

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 17:15
by sixret
Well done, Francis! :D

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 17:25
by sixret
Courtenay wrote:Yes, it has an inscription on the flyleaf — looks like G.M. Robinson — but no more than the name. Inscriptions are more interesting when they tell you it was a gift or a prize or something else special. I'm sure this book must have been given out many times as a Sunday School prize or confirmation gift or the like, but presumably not this particular copy! Oh well.

One interesting point is that the blurb on the front flap states that this is "the second volume in a new series of moral and religious books by Miss Blyton. The first, 'The Land of Far-Beyond,' which was based on 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' was accorded a great welcome." I didn't know The Land of Far-Beyond and The Children's Life of Christ were originally published as part of the same series, but now I look at them, they're the same size and shape and of course are from the same publisher (Methuen), so it makes sense. I would love an early copy of The Land of Far-Beyond with a dust jacket as well, but haven't yet found a good one at a price I can bring myself to pay! :wink:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Land-of-F ... Sws4JW7q1K" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

£29.99 in fair dust jacket. But the book itself is very good. Fourth impression 1945.

Or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Land-of-F ... Swc1FXYbLf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

£32.00 but can make your best offer. Try £20 then work from there to reach an agreed price. The dust jacket is in good condition better than the above with removeable plastic sleeve. The book itself is in very good condition. 1950 edition.

As for now, you can't get any cheaper than those two. I have checked all the online markets. If I were you, I would have bought one of those two.

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 17:38
by Rob Houghton
I sold a fairly early (1954) edition of Land of Far Beyond, with a good dust jacket, for £25.00 earlier this year. It was on eBay for ages before anyone bit! :lol:

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 16 Jul 2017, 23:09
by Courtenay
Thanks, Sixret, but unfortunately neither of those looks in good enough condition to be worth that kind of money as far as I'm concerned. I'm not desperate, so I'll bide my time and see if a better offer comes up. I might have gone for yours, Rob, if only I'd known... :wink:

Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Posted: 17 Jul 2017, 00:00
by Rob Houghton
Courtenay wrote:I might have gone for yours, Rob, if only I'd known... :wink:
I might have given you a discount. ;-)