Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

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Deej92
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Deej92 »

John Pickup wrote:Of all the major series I think Treasure Island is the strongest opening book. But the last four in the series let it down badly for me, in fact of the last third of the series only Fix stands out. Some of Enid's best writing was in Trouble, Smugglers Top and Hike, dark, sinister and menacing with some very unpleasant villains.
I'd agree that some of the later books aren't quite as good as some of the earlier books in the series. That's certainly the case with Mystery to Solve and Together Again, but then I quite like Finniston Farm and Demon's Rock.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Francis »

Rob Houghton wrote:I think many like Five On A Treasure Island because it has all the well-known elements and is iconic because it introduces her most famous characters. It deals heavily in 'wish-fulfilment' with George owning not only a castle but her own island, and on top of that, an old wreck and a possible fortune of gold ingots. The scenes where the cousins rub along, fall out, begin to understand and admire George, and get to know her as a fiery but loyal friend as well as a cousin, help give the book a greater depth.

Then there is the character of George herself, who has several strong traits, particularly the quirk of wanting to be a boy and not liking the name Georgina. On top of that, there's Uncle Quentin, who is as fierce as his daughter and provides the main nemesis to The Five in this first book. Even the elements such as George having to hide Timmy are a very important part of the book, and add character to the story, as does the fact we witness the wreck coming up from below the sea, and are able to explore it with The Five. No wonder the book spawned such a popular series!

In fact the least interesting element in some ways is the search for the treasure. We generally know the treasure will be found, but the elements that lead up to it, all the obstacles the Five face, and the strength of the characters, are the main things that drive the plot.
You make me want to read it again, Rob! It will be the next book I read.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Good to hear, Francis! :-)
'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: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by StephenC »

In my opinion, it's hard to beat 'The Rubadub Mystery' as Enid's best work. It showcases her best writing, without a doubt. All the characters, good and bad, are really fleshed out in this book, and the book really gives a vivid portrayal of life in Britain in 1952, complete with Cold War espionage. An excellent work!

'The Boy Next Door' also deserves an honourable mention. Enid's one-off's were some of her best and worst books, with 'The Boy Next Door' and 'The Treasure Hunters' at one end of the spectrum, and 'The Mystery That Never Was' at the other end. TBND could easily have ended up as a plot for a FF or SS book, but I think it works so well, because it is a one-off'.

I can't think of any SS book to make the best of Enid list, but 'Five Go To Mystery Moor' certainly deserves a mention. I think the FF series peaked with this book, and no FF book Enid wrote, ever came close, except maybe Five Get Into A Fix and Five Have A Wonderful TIme, and one or two others.

Anyway, that's my tuppence worth! 'The Rubadub Mystery' gets my vote, with 'The Boy Next Door' coming in second.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Totally agree about 'The Rubadub Mystery' - it has everything - humour, emotion, great characters, surprises, shocks, drama, and has long been my nomination for Enid's very best book. :-)
'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: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Darrell71 »

There are a lot of main series and stand alone books which I've not even touched yet, so I'm not all to qualified to comment on this, but for me it's The Sea Of Adventure. It's not an introductory book, so the characters have already been introduced, gotten to know each other, been through their ups and downs, and by this point are supposed to get on very well together. In such a situation, to keep alive the interest in the characters is IMHO much harder than in an introductory book, and I think EB does that really well. Not only that, but the theme could have made for an extremely dull adventure (as they are in an uninhabited islandey (that's not even a word!) area), or an extremely exciting one, and I think no one will disagree with me when I say it is the latter that it ended up being. Something is constantly going on, the whole 'Bill is incognito' thing is exceedingly interesting, and there are so many setbacks one after the other that you never get a chance to catch your breath. The villains are terrifying, there is a real threat to Bill's life, and maybe even that of the children, and Horace Tipperlong is a very memorable character indeed. Not to mention, it is the scene of this dialogue, one of my personal faves:
Bill: "I don't know what to say. You're only kids — but you're the finest company of friends anyone could have. You know the meaning of loyalty already, and even if you're scared you don't give up. I'm proud to have you for my friends."
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Dinah Cunningham »

I completly agree with Darell as you can see with my signature...

I find it is one of the most dangerous books with never having any dull moment.

I also like most of the other books, especially, The Sercet Island, Five run away together and some of the R-Mystery's (not the first), but the Adventure-Series, and especially the Sea of Adventure are in my opinion the best.
Bill: "I don't know what to say. You're only kids — but you're the finest company of friends anyone could have. You know the meaning of loyalty already, and even if you're scared you don't give up. I'm proud to have you for my friends."
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Rob Houghton »

I hold 'Sea of Adventure' very high up my list of best Blyton books, too. The last few chapters, particularly, are full of suspense - cliff-hanger after cliff-hanger right to the last page - and the dreadfulness of the children being stranded on a remote island is almost palpable. It's one of my favourite Adventure books, along with Valley and Circus. 8)
'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: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I agree that The Sea of Adventure is one of Enid Blyton's best-written books. The writing is gorgeously lyrical - though it becomes aptly terse during times of tension and fast-moving action.

Blyton is at her most poetic when describing the sounds and movement of the birds:

"There was a chorus of different cries, some shrill, some guttural, some mournful and forlorn. They gave the children a wild, exultant kind of feeling."

"Birds rose and fell in the air, glided and soared, weaving endless patterns in the blue sky."

I love the early chapters of dreamy drifting, though the episodes of real danger and menace that follow are just as engrossing. Even when things are at their most sombre, the beauty of the location is always evident. Horace and the puffins provide some welcome comic moments despite the fact that Horace is something of an enigma for most of the story.

Loyalty is an important theme in the book and, touchingly, there's a reference to Huffin and Puffin's loyalty to the children which echoes their demonstration of loyalty to Bill: "Huffin and Puffin were still on the deck-rail. Clearly they meant to go wherever the children went. Lucy-Ann thought it was nice to have such staunch, loyal friends, even if they were only puffins." The villains by contrast have no such sense of trust and loyalty between them, assuming when they find Bill on the island that that one of their associates must have betrayed their whereabouts to him.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Pauline »

House at the Corner is also very good. I always loved The Put'em Rights, but really don't know whether this is considered to be her finest writing.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I think the structure of novels like House-at-the-Corner and The Put-Em-Rights is exemplary. Enid Blyton keeps several different threads going, relating to one character or another, and manages to weave them into a seamless whole. She does so with great skill, holding the reader's attention throughout. The same goes for the school books, of course, which have a large cast of characters whose individual dramas come together to make a riveting and cleverly-constructed story. I've read similar novels by other writers but some of them feel uneven and episodic compared to Enid Blyton's flowing narratives. Actually, I'd say Enid Blyton's first St. Clare's book (The Twins at St. Clare's) suffers from those faults but it's an exception.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I think the structure of novels like House-at-the-Corner and The Put-Em-Rights is exemplary. Enid Blyton keeps several different threads going, relating to one character or another, and manages to weave them into a seamless whole. She does so with great skill, holding the reader's attention throughout. The same goes for the school books, of course, which have a large cast of characters whose individual dramas come together to make a riveting and cleverly-constructed story.
I agree about House At The Corner and The Put-Em-Rights - and also the school books. The same can be said for the Galliano series, which also has some quite complex plots and a vast amount of characters, which Enid handles with great skill. I love how she manages to create a real feeling of community amongst the circus folk - a feeling of friendship and of pulling together. If a character violates this, they are soon turned out or else learn the error of their ways, which reinforces the idea that the circus is a community where everyone looks out for one another.
'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: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Pauline »

I totally agree, Anita and Rob. I've read the St Clare's books and Malory Towers over and over, but still love them. I would also encourage today's girls of the right age to read them. I don't think the fact that they are outside of their experience matters at all; far more likely to arouse interest and curiosity in days gone by. For most of us these books were also outside of our experience.
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Re: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Rob Houghton »

The only reason I would rate the Malory Towers and St Claire's series more lowly than others is that Enid committed the sin of making them 'just for girls'! ;-) I always felt this was a shame, as she alienated half her audience - especially back in the days they were written. I've read them as an adult, but would never have read them as a child.

I think its really tricky to pinpoint Enid's 'best writing' as it all depends on one's own taste. I would pick a few I consider to be her 'best writing' -

The Folk of the Farway Tree
The Sea of Adventure (and Valley)
The Rubadub Mystery (and Rilloby Fair for humour)
Both 'Six Cousins' books
House at the Corner
The Secret Island
the Adventurous Four
'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: Which Enid Blyton books are considered her best writing?

Post by Moonraker »

Francis wrote:
Rob Houghton wrote:I think many like Five On A Treasure Island because it has all the well-known elements and is iconic because it introduces her most famous characters.....
You make me want to read it again, Rob! It will be the next book I read.
I don't think you've commented on the latest Journal, Francis, which makes me wonder how you rated all of the different covers. They are not all there, of course, but I always find the earliest ones to be the best.
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