Books you didn't like?

[Jack400]

Other than the Secret Seven, I'm not sure that any EB book was, to me at least, problematic. My gripe with, probably only one SS was that there was not (from memory) any adventure/mystery or whatever. Banshee Towers (FF) was, one of my favourite FFO books. That Bets, the youngest, was able to spot an error in a painting and -with some difficulty- point it out thus starting the mystery may have helped or maybe the balloon/amplifier that excited my electronics interest. Five On a Hike Together: the alarm bells, finding a place to sleep, the late night 'conversation', the map, etc. What's not to like?

[Debbie]

I loved the Tales of Brave Adventure!

I found the stories where I ended up sorry for someone I wasn't very keen on. I felt sorry for Mr Twiddle and Amelia Jane because they always seemed to have their heart in the right place but get into trouble.
I wasn't too keen on the Naughtiest girl books either. They felt a bit repetitive of Elizabeth is naughty. Elizabeth gets unfairly blamed. Elizabeth is sorry. All hail Elizabeth. And even as a child I could see the school didn't really work. As a child who wasn't in the popular crowd it was very clear to me that the school council was about the popular ones.

[Fiona1986]

Debbie, I advise you to avoid the Naughtiest Girl continuation books, then, as they take that cycle to the absolute limit - and beyond - making Elizabeth regress to being even more immature than when she started sometimes.

[Debbie]

I have, unfortunately, read them. My daughter loved the naughtiest girl, including the continuation books.
I'm not keen on any of the continuation books. I could see where they were coming from in some cases, but they (to me) were clearly written by a modern writer and trying too hard.

[Barnard]

I have never liked the Put-em-rights.

[Fiona1986]

I have, unfortunately, read them. My daughter loved the naughtiest girl, including the continuation books.

You have my sympathies. I've just finished reading the continuations and it was pretty painful.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I agree that the Naughtiest Girl continuation books are a real disappointment. As well as several of the characters seeming less mature than they were previously, the style of writing is markedly different and the plots are thin and shallow compared to the originals.

I must admit that I find Whyteleafe's more unusual features intriguing. The policies of giving the children a considerable degree of authority and responsibility, pooling money and discussing problems publicly probably only have a chance of working in a small community, where children and adults quickly come to know and trust one another, feeling that they're all part of one big family. Whyteleafe seems like a small school with perhaps no more than fifty pupils so it might just about be possible to create a family atmosphere - especially as it's co-educational, accepts pets and puts a lot of emphasis on activities that bring children of all ages together - dances, concerts, horse-riding, gardening, etc.

[Fiona1986]

I admit I spend way too long trying to work out the pupil numbers at Malory Towers, Whyteleafe, Hogwarts and so on.

In the second-to-last Naughtiest Girl continuation just under a hundred votes are cast in the election for head boy/girl, and only second formers and above were eligible to vote. So Anne Digby envisioned a school with around 20 pupils per year group (perhaps even slightly more as voting was not mandatory. Then there's the juniors where it's not clear how many age groups that covers. That's at least 120 pupils plus the juniors.

I suspect she has used a similar logic to mine to estimate pupils -

In the originals there are two dorms for the first form girls (I think, as when they arrive someone asks which room the new girls are in, implying there's at least one more dorm they could be in. Elizabeth is in room six, so perhaps rooms 5 and 6 are first formers, and rooms 1-4 are juniors, at least on the girls' side) with six girls in each, though Nora is obviously older so there are 5 first formers in each room? That makes ten girls in the first form - is this backed up in the text? And are there ten boys? If so there are around 20 children per form, 120 from first to sixth form. Though obviously intakes may vary year to year.

Even if there were only one dorm, that's around ten children per year, 60 in total plus the juniors.

[Katharine]

I admit I spend way too long trying to work out the pupil numbers at Malory Towers, Whyteleafe, Hogwarts and so on.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who does that.

I don't limit the habit to Enid Blyton books, I'll do it to other books such as Harry Potter, Angela Brazil etc

[StephenC]

Two EB books I have never liked, no matter how many times I have reread them, are The Mystery That Never Was, and Fun For The Secret Seven. Woeful from the first page to the last, and paper thin plots. Fun For The Secret Seven, was a terrible way to end the series. And Five Are Together Again, was another book I never liked, with a second dose of the annoying Tinker.

[Splodj]

I wouldn't be surprised if by then there was some confusion in her mind about the type of book she was writing.

In 'The Mystery That Never Was' there is a FFO-type episode where they go to the station to meet someone who will be in disguise. In 'Fun' they are in Peterswood, and in 'Banshee' they appear to be in a Secret Seven style town.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I admit I spend way too long trying to work out the pupil numbers at Malory Towers, Whyteleafe, Hogwarts and so on.

I've tried doing that with Whyteleafe and Malory Towers but there's not really enough information to go on, and some details are contradictory.

[Debbie]

I admit I spend way too long trying to work out the pupil numbers at Malory Towers, Whyteleafe, Hogwarts and so on.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who does that.

I don't limit the habit to Enid Blyton books, I'll do it to other books such as Harry Potter, Angela Brazil etc

I've done it as well, but Harry Potter is definitely contradictory in numbers.

Malory Towers you have to assume you know all the North Tower girls and there are approximately equal numbers per tower and per year, which is reasonable. There's no reason why anyone would have to go into a specific house except siblings (and possibly other family, because Alicia/June are the same, and wasn't Alicia's mum as well?) so they'd put them in and then alter the newcomers accordingly.

[Hannah]

In Malory Towers there seem to be around 10 girls per year and tower (though there are more in north tower in the higher forms) but it's said in the first book that there are 25 or 30 girls in the form. So that's contradictory.

I'm not too keen on the Secret Seven and Naughtiest Girl but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I really disliked them.

[Wolfgang]

I seem to recall that it was mentioned somewhere that one tower didn't host pupils but teachers and stuff. I can't remember though if it was in a continuation story or where I did catch it .