Sexist and racist elements?

[Paul Austin]

A thing i like about Enid is that she implored her child readers to not forget what it was like to be a child and told them to remember that when they grew up to have children of their own. It didn't work - you only have to look at those parents that force their children to act according to the parents' worldview or even politics, but she had good intentions.

[Anita Bensoussane]

What is she [Enid Blyton] tapping into that children all over the world have identified with?

One thing that appealed to me strongly as a child is that we feel Enid Blyton's presence when reading her books, e.g. when she addresses her own characters in The Ring O' Bells Mystery, calling out, "Run, Barney, run, Roger and Snubby. Run for your very lives!" or when she remarks at the end of The Secret of Killimooin, "But they are sure to have plenty more [adventures]. They are that kind of children!" She also finishes numerous short stories with an appeal to the reader such as, "You never know when a kindness is going to come back to you, do you?" ('The Little Brown Duck') or "...from that day to this gooseberries have always grown whiskers. If you don't believe me, go and look for yourself!" ('Gooseberry Whiskers'). I used to love being addressed by Enid Blyton like that, or at least being made aware of her presence. It seemed that she viewed me as a young friend and considered me adventurous and honourable like her main characters. She drew me into her world and made me feel part of it, more than any other author.

I also found her zest for life infectious. Her books filled me with joy and wonder and caused me to observe the world around me with a keener eye, especially wildlife (and birds in particular, because Jack of the Adventure series appealed to me immensely).

Another point was that she showed children being independent and doing their bit and I found it refreshing to see children making plans and carrying them out, often without adult input. And they generally worked as a team, meaning that there was an enjoyable atmosphere of conviviality.

The sense of discovery that ran through so many of her stories was another very attractive element. There was a feeling of limitless possibilities, secrets to be uncovered and an expectation of the unexpected which kept me hooked from beginning to end.

And of course there were the beautiful, mysterious settings which captured my imagination and made me long for travel and adventure.

Elements like that would surely appeal to most youngsters who have lively, curious, imaginative and eager minds. Although Enid Blyton's nature stories deal with British wildlife, even those might encourage overseas readers to take a greater interest in their own wildlife - or in the environment in general.

As for what colour skin and hair the children in her books have, or what sex they are, that doesn't matter much at all. What matters is character. When I was a child I aspired to be a mixture of Jack Trent and Fatty even though I was a girl, because I liked and admired their qualities (e.g. Jack's adventurous spirit, courage and love of birds - and Fatty's detective skills, inventive humour, kindness to Bets and boundless energy).

[Rob Houghton]

What a great post, Anita! I agree with everything you say - except maybe the 'tag lines' at the end of chapters - sometimes I find those a bit intrusive...especially if used as a cliff hanger, such as 'run Snubby run' (to paraphrase!). However, I always enjoyed the endings of Enid's short stories where she spoke to the reader - that always made the short stories for me, and I would often answer her if the stories were read out loud. I also liked the endings of such books as Galliano's Circus and other books that ended with Blyton talking to the reader - she made us feel a part of the story.

One of the biggest strengths of Enid's writing for me, apart from her skill at transporting us into different times and places with just a few well chosen words and very few descriptive passages, was her talent for painting pictures of sunny days, which seemed endless and exciting. She was so good at creating a holiday atmosphere - dreamy and idyllic. This is something I really attempted to capture in my continuation novel recently. The feeling of freedom, and the feeling at the start of a holiday that anything can happen, and that time stretches on indefinitely, was something all children feel at the start of a holiday, and she captures this perfectly.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Ooh yes - I love that "endless sunny days of holiday stretching ahead" feeling too. Five Go Off in a Caravan captures that perfectly - as does Five Go Off on a Narrowboat!

[Rob Houghton]

Thank you!

One book that always captures this feeling for me is 'Holiday House' - and another is The Secret of Spiggy Holes, which was probably one of my favourite Holiday Adventures as a child.

Five Go Off In A Caravan has always been one of my favourites because of this, also.

[Paul Austin]

It's a shame that most of Enid's description of Bets' love for Churchill has been airbrushed out, It's partly because not many modern children would have a photo of him in their bedroom, but also because Churchill's attitudes towards Arabs and colonials are now considered controversial in some circles.

[Daisy]

I'm not sure that Churchill's opinions have had much to do with his 'air-brushing out'. I thought it was just that nowadays he would not be a known personality in the same way as he was when the books were written. You may have a point though Paul.

[Rob Houghton]

I always felt it was a rather strange passage. Not that I think it should have been removed, but Bet's admiration for Churchill seemed a little odd! I wonder if Enid based this on fact? It seems too odd to have been made up!

[Wolfgang]

When reading this thread I sometimes have the feeling that people don't know this quotation:

" ... and not even realizing how she had distorted the facts, so that though most of them were capable of simple and kindly explanations, she had presented them as pictures of real badness."

[MJE]

Ooh yes - I love that "endless sunny days of holiday stretching ahead" feeling too. Five Go Off in a Caravan captures that perfectly - as does Five Go Off on a Narrowboat!

     What is "Five Go off on a Narrowboat"? I have recently seen this mentioned in a few places, and thought at first it was just a fanciful idea of a story that some would have liked Enid Blyton to have written; but now it seems it really is something that exists - but I haven't seen any explanation of what it is.
     I'm not quite sure I know what a narrowboat is, either - unless it is just literally a narrow boat. What is special about it that would make it a good setting for an adventure?
     Thanks.

Regards, Michael.

[MJE]

I always felt it was a rather strange passage. Not that I think it should have been removed, but Bet's admiration for Churchill seemed a little odd! I wonder if Enid based this on fact? It seems too odd to have been made up!

     I always found it a bit odd, too. I mean, how likely is it that Bets really understood political issues and supported something political Churchill did or stood for? Or was it just a kind of hero worship based on thinking he looked handsome, or something like that?
     Today, it would certainly look very odd for a girl of her age to have such regard for a politician, as against for a sports person, pop music star, actor, or someone of that sort. Was it perhaps more common then for children to admire politicians (for whatever reason)?

Regards, Michael.

[MJE]

When reading this thread I sometimes have the feeling that people don't know this quotation:

" ... and not even realizing how she had distorted the facts, so that though most of them were capable of simple and kindly explanations, she had presented them as pictures of real badness."

     Well, I don't know it, either - and, without some context, I don't find it entirely clear what it is saying.
     Is it a quotation from a Blyton book?

Regards, Michael.

[MJE]

What a great post, Anita! I agree with everything you say - except maybe the 'tag lines' at the end of chapters - sometimes I find those a bit intrusive...especially if used as a cliff hanger, such as 'run Snubby run' (to paraphrase!). However, I always enjoyed the endings of Enid's short stories where she spoke to the reader - that always made the short stories for me, and I would often answer her if the stories were read out loud. I also liked the endings of such books as Galliano's Circus and other books that ended with Blyton talking to the reader - she made us feel a part of the story.

     I'm going to differ a bit on this, and say that those features don't appeal to me now, and I don't think they did much when I was a boy, either - although I doubt I really spent much time thinking about it. (I'm even embarrassed to recall that, in some of the stories I wrote as a boy, I used similar techniques myself - and they would be the first thing to be removed if I ever considered those stories worth revising. But I was much less discriminating a writer back then than I think I am now: I would not even consider using such techniques now as addressing either the reader or a character in the story directly. But they won't be revised: the most use I will make of them might be to shamelessly recycle and pirate elements of them for current stories I may write - because I think I did sometimes come up with good ideas back then.)
     To me, this sort of authorial insertion breaches the fictional world created by a story - reminds the reader that it is just a story they are merely reading as an outsider. Of course, this is true: but I think it's never, never a good idea to actually remind the reader of this.
     I think there's a term for this sort of thing in acting, isn't there? - breaching the fourth wall? (Or is it the third?) I gather it's often considered a poor technique to include in a play, unless perhaps you are an experimental playwright deliberately exploring unorthodox techniques, or trying to get a special effect, and competent and imaginative enough to do it effectively - but not a recommended standard technique.
     Similarly, I don't much like the occasional passages in the Narnia Chronicles where the author parenthetically talks to the reader.

     By the way, Rob, I'm a bit puzzled by part of what you said: you said you don't much like the "tag lines" at the ends of chapters, but you do like the passages in short stories and novels that talk to the reader.
     I'm not really sure what a tag line is, so I wasn't quite sure what you were referring to - but I took it to refer to authorial comments inserted into a narrative. So it seemed to me these two things you don't and do like, respectively, were really similar kinds of things. So what distinction were you drawing there? (Just wondering....)

This is something I really attempted to capture in my continuation novel recently.

     Ah - is *this* "Five Go off on a Narrowboat", which I asked about a few minutes ago?

Regards, Michael.

[Daisy]

Yes, Rob's new serial begins soon.... Julie's last chapter is due tomorrow.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm not sure that Churchill's opinions have had much to do with his 'air-brushing out'. I thought it was just that nowadays he would not be a known personality in the same way as he was when the books were written.

Yes, it was most likely part of the attempt by the publishers to give the books a more up-to-date feel and make them "accessible" to the modern reader. I feel it was a mistake to remove that reference from The Mystery of the Missing Necklace though. Enid Blyton explains in the book that Churchill is "a great statesman" who has a cigar. That's all young readers need to know as far as the story is concerned, but if they want to find out more it's easy enough to do so in the age of the internet. Why shouldn't they pick up a bit of history while reading an absorbing story? I remember hearing about a survey that was done some years ago. Children were asked if they knew who Churchill was, and quite a high proportion assumed they were being asked about the dog from the insurance advert. In another survey, children had to say why Churchill was famous and many opted for, "He was the first person to land on the moon."

Winston Churchill had been a popular Prime Minister during the war, rallying the nation, so it might not have been that unusual even for children of Bets' age to hero-worship him. In Katharine Tozer's children's book Mumfie Marches On (1942), Mumfie the toy elephant has a picture of Winston Churchill above his bed and even gets to meet him.

I'm not quite sure I know what a narrowboat is, either - unless it is just literally a narrow boat. What is special about it that would make it a good setting for an adventure?

It's a long, narrow canal boat that you can live on. Traditionally, narrowboats are painted with bright colours and designs.

When reading this thread I sometimes have the feeling that people don't know this quotation:

" ... and not even realizing how she had distorted the facts, so that though most of them were capable of simple and kindly explanations, she had presented them as pictures of real badness."

Well, I don't know it, either - and, without some context, I don't find it entirely clear what it is saying.
Is it a quotation from a Blyton book?

I recognise it as being from one of the Malory Towers books, though I couldn't say which one. It refers to Gwendoline telling a new girl about things their classmates have done over the years, but making the classmates' behaviour sound worse than it actually was.

What a great post, Anita! I agree with everything you say - except maybe the 'tag lines' at the end of chapters - sometimes I find those a bit intrusive...especially if used as a cliff hanger, such as 'run Snubby run' (to paraphrase!). However, I always enjoyed the endings of Enid's short stories where she spoke to the reader - that always made the short stories for me, and I would often answer her if the stories were read out loud. I also liked the endings of such books as Galliano's Circus and other books that ended with Blyton talking to the reader - she made us feel a part of the story.

I'm going to differ a bit on this, and say that those features don't appeal to me now, and I don't think they did much when I was a boy, either - although I doubt I really spent much time thinking about it....
...To me, this sort of authorial insertion breaches the fictional world created by a story - reminds the reader that it is just a story they are merely reading as an outsider. Of course, this is true: but I think it's never, never a good idea to actually remind the reader of this.

I liked the authorial insertions because they made me feel that Enid Blyton was talking to me directly and including me in her world. They didn't stop me feeling caught up in the events of the story. As you say, C.S. Lewis used that device too - and so did E. Nesbit.