The Enid Blyton Society

Surprisingly, the reviews on Amazon are generally positive:

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I'm not a fan of blatant parody books, not because I have anything against the concept (in some way parodies are a homage to the popularity of the originals), but because they almost always are opportunistic and utterly lacking in talent and insight. There are exceptions: I found "The Dragonhiker's Guide to Battlefield Covenant at Dune's Edge: Odyssey Two", by David Langford, quite funny, although you need to be very familiar with science fiction literature to appreciate it.

What I don't like is that on the Famous Five parody books there is no indication whatsoever that they are not written by Enid Blyton. Her names's there on the cover, in the traditional style, and the name of the actual writer is no where to be seen. Normally in books like these they use a pen name somewhat similar but not identical to the original writer's. Of course, most people will realize they are parodies, but I have no doubt that some will buy one of them for their children or something, thinking that it's an actual Famous Five book.

Courtenay wrote:
Me too, and I agree. As I've said, it's not even inordinately crass (although I could live without the regular swearing and toilet humour) — it's just so bland and lifeless and without any of the qualities that make genuine Enid Blyton books so readable. If they'd managed to do a decent imitation of Enid's own style while lacing it with genuinely clever and incisive humour, these books could be quite brilliant. But as it is, they seem to be something that deserves to be forgotten as soon as the novelty has worn off and they're consigned to charity shops everywhere. (Or, as I think I said before, to eBay sellers who'll try to flog them off for three- or even four-figure price tags on the assumption that they're "real" Enid Blytons. )

I'd agree, the writing is nothing like Enid's own style. It also just doesn't sit right with me the idea of Julian wanting to eat leftover curry and watching House of Cards on TV, or George tweeting on Twitter about the EU. These books try to give a humorous, modern-day twist on Enid's books and they fail miserably on all accounts.

I agree with db105 that it's wrong that these books have Enid's name on the cover and use illustrations from her books. So many people who aren't as aware of and have the knowledge of Famous Five and the rest of Enid's work will think these parodies are actual Enid Blyton books. I hope like you that once the novelty of these books disappears, they're consigned to charity shops. I think they're too bad for this not too happen!

We've all said numerous times that the worst of it is that these books have Enid Blyton's trademark signature on the cover, but no indication at all that they're written by another author and they're not intended for children. But unfortunately, since the parent company of Quercus (Hachette) owns the copyright to Enid's signature, they're within their rights, legally speaking, to use it even on books that weren't written by Enid Blyton. I wish there was some way they could be had under "truth in advertising" laws, but I doubt it could happen.

I checked German Amazon for the Famous Five adult books, and there's no sign that they will become cheaper .

They were flogging them off at half price in WH Smith (newsagents) just before I left the UK — might just be a January sale, but I get the impression they're gradually becoming harder to sell at full price.

Saw two of the "adult" books in a charity shop already (one was Brexit Island, the other one slips my mind) — the shop in question was the excellent Sam Beare Hospice bookshop in Egham, near Windsor. They were going for £3.00 each, which still seems a bit much...

I will be very likely to buy a Famous Five Adult Book if I find one at €0.50. Out of curiosity, you know.

It's well worth reading one (or attempting to read it - I have given up several times!) - and maybe we should all buy a cheap version and lend it to as many people as possible so they'll all realise how bad they are and not buy any at full price!!

If they're that bad, why do we keep talking about them?
Let's talk about our fabulous Journal instead.

Hear! Hear!

John Pickup wrote:If they're that bad, why do we keep talking about them?
Let's talk about our fabulous Journal instead.

True, but on the flip side, it won't do any harm getting the message out there about how bad these books are and how they don't represent Enid and her work whatsoever.

Bad things always get talked about...no one ever talks about things that are pretty perfect - such as The Journal because its not controversial or annoying or bad taste!!

I do agree in principle that we should be talking about the Journal - and the Weekly Serial - and The Cave - but sadly the nasty things of life usually get more coverage.

Exactly. As someone who works in Journalism, I'd say that bad/negative news tends to generate more interest because it's more contentious in its nature and gets people talking. I suppose it's just human instinct. That said, good news can do just as well for us depending on the subject (charity fundraisers and human interest stories tend to do well). Anyhow, I don't want to stray too far off topic!

If we all thought the Adult Famous Fives were good and well written this thread would only run to one page, lol!!

I've just seen a first edition of 'Five Go To Brexit Island' - signed by Bruno Vincent - on offer for £50 on eBay.