Mountain of Adventure

[Courtenay]

Well, as I said, I'd really like to re-read Mountain, as I think I'd notice more details and appreciate the finer points of the story better the second time around, without being so distracted by the surprisingly "different" plot and having no idea what was going to happen next. But I want to finish the rest of the series first.

Trouble is, I'm a sea/island/coast/wreckers/smugglers/old buildings/foreign lands type of girl...

Me too - does it come of both having connections with Cornwall? (Not the foreign lands part, I mean, but all the rest.)

Really, the fact that most people's "order of favourites" lists keep changing shows what a remarkable series this is!

[Katharine]

I don't think I have a preference for this series, except that I'd put 'Valley' in first place. I don't know why, but there's just something about that book that has left an atmosphere on me all these years. It's the story I remember the best. Funnily enough it's the only one I own in a 1970s paperback, and I got it secondhand as a child. The rest I received during the 1980s brand new as Christmas/birthday presents. I'm assuming that Valley must have been the first one in the series that I came across, and I liked it so then collected the rest.

I now have a couple of the books in hardback versions as well, and I really think the originals with ALL the illustrations make the books much better. My paperbacks do have the original pictures, well, some of them, but there aren't anywhere near as many as in the hardbacks, and they are much smaller as well, so don't have quite the same impact.

[Carlotta King]

does it come of both having connections with Cornwall? (Not the foreign lands part, I mean, but all the rest.)

Yeah I reckon it must be. Once you've either spent time or lived in Cornwall you can't help but be captivated by the little coves and caves, the legends, the wild moors, all the shipwrecks round the coast, and the stories of the gold doubloons washing up on the beach etc etc, that's where the love and fascination comes from for me, I think.

Five Go Down To The Sea was the book I always used to take with me when we went on day-trips and holidays to Cornwall (before we moved there permanently) and even now when I read it all I can see is the Cornish coast. The description of the Five arriving to a silent and mysterious air in that warm weather in the evening is exactly how I remember us arriving at our holiday cottages after hours of travelling, and knowing that the coves and caves were just down the lane - really magical!

[Courtenay]

Well, for me I think it mostly comes from having grown up in the lovely seaside town of Inverloch in south-eastern Australia - not nearly as rugged and exciting and history-laden as the Cornish coast, but it makes me immediately warm to almost any story with a good seaside location. I have Cornish ancestry, but have only ever spent three days in Cornwall itself so far! And yet I felt such a connection with the place that I know I'll go back to it again and again. (I've promised my mum and dad that when I get rich, I'll buy them a holiday/retirement cottage in Boscastle. They're not holding their breath waiting, though. )

[Poppy]

I think my preference in setting would be Enid's lovely little old-fashioned seaside villages such as Rubadub and Kirrin, but I do appreciate Blyton's wide variety of locations. Even foreign countries, she describes to remarkable accuracy and intelligence. There are several farms, too which appeal to me greatly. I think there is actually quite a contrast in my list of favourite settings. Owls Dene is a favourite - Ring-a-Bells Hall - Puffin Island - the secret, deserted Valley - Rubadub - the islands the Adventurous four encounter...

I do love the excitment of an escapade off in a boat, though, or the delightful sunny, and relaxing aspects of a break beside the sea.

My list of favourite books is forever changing too, but Five Get Into Trouble always captures my imagination and interest.

[Katharine]

This is why I can't understand why some people say they don't like Enid Blyton's books. There are so many to choose from, surely there must be one or two to suit everyone? Personally I'm not so keen on the books set abroad, with the exception of 'Valley of Adventure'. My favourites are the ones set in places like Kirrin, but that doesn't mean I don't like the rest of her books.

[John Pickup]

I cannot understand anyone not liking Enid Blyton books either. For over fifty years they have transported me to some magical places with some wonderful characters to encounter some heart-stopping adventures.

John, I love your new avatar - are you Huffin or Puffin?

He is neither, Courtenay. His name is Pedro and I found him in a shop window in Keswick last week. But he says he will be whoever you want him to be.

[Lucky Star]

The Adventure series has quite a few foreign locations. Austria for Valley, Morocco and Greece for Ship, the fictional Tauri-Hessia for Circus and an unnamed Middle Eastern location for River. To my mind this is part of what makes the series easily the most exciting of Enid's major series. That and the plots and characterisation being so strong.

What is always striking about Blyton though is how there is a series for everyone. International adventures are supplied with the Adventure and Secret series'. Rambling around the UK is the province of the Famous Five and the Barney mysteries. Peaceful village mysteries and eccentricities are portrayed in the FFO and a slightly more big town atmosphere is the Secret Seven. And then there all the stand alones, the Galliano series and the fantasy ones such as The faraway Tree and Wishing Chair.

What an imagination and what perception to be able to bring just about every child's dreams to life.

[Katharine]

Exactly. I know there are a few gaps in her writing, not much for horse lovers, no dancing stories or science fiction, but still plenty of variety.

[Courtenay]

His name is Pedro and I found him in a shop window in Keswick last week. But he says he will be whoever you want him to be.

Pedro is gorgeous and I'm quite happy for him to be himself! (I'm planning to change my own avatar to one of the Adventure books, but will wait till I've read them all so I can choose the one I like best. Of course, that too may change from time to time. )

What is always striking about Blyton though is how there is a series for everyone. International adventures are supplied with the Adventure and Secret series'. Rambling around the UK is the province of the Famous Five and the Barney mysteries. Peaceful village mysteries and eccentricities are portrayed in the FFO and a slightly more big town atmosphere is the Secret Seven. And then there all the stand alones, the Galliano series and the fantasy ones such as The faraway Tree and Wishing Chair.

What an imagination and what perception to be able to bring just about every child's dreams to life.

Hear hear! Don't forget, she also wrote school stories, retellings of ancient legends and Biblical stories, an incredible wealth of short stories about all kinds of characters (fairies, toys, animals, or just "ordinary" boys and girls and their families), stories about the natural world, and books for the very young such as the Noddy series.

I honestly cannot think of another author who's written in such a diverse range of genres, for such a range of ages, over such a long career, so consistently successfully - and who's remained popular for so long, even decades after her lifetime. Has there ever been anyone quite like Enid?

[Katharine]

I can't think of any other author who wrote for such a wide audience. I think the age range is important, as it would take a long time for a child to completely outgrow her books, as they could start with Noddy and finish with the Adventure series.

[walter raleigh]

I find the Adventure series almost impossible to place in order because I really do love them all and that's why the order keeps changing because I never have a definite and constant least-favourite book.

Interesting that Carlotta King and Walter Raleigh have put Valley near the bottom of their lists! Most of us place it in the top three. Just goes to show the variety of opinion that exists on this series.

As Carlotta says above, it's such a difficult series to rank as the quality is so consistently high. Although Ship, and Circus are definitely number one and two for me and Mountain is firmly at the bottom, the order of preference of the rest of the books is pretty arbitary. It's also changed too as I've gotten older.

For example, the reason I've ranked Valley so low is that on my most recent re-read it struck me just how improbable many aspects of the book were to an adult eye. The old couple living for years in the caves, the valley being completely sealed off, the huge coincidence of the suitcases falling on the men etc. Whereas as a child I missed all of that and it would have been very near the top of my list.

[Courtenay]

Looking at it with cold logic, a LOT of aspects of these books are pretty improbable - even down to the idea of four children having such a series of "adventures", one after the other, before they're even halfway through their teens! But to me, that's part of the fun of it; they're kids' books. It's the sort of things children love to imagine might happen in real life (well, I would have!), even though they probably wouldn't (and if such things really DID happen, it probably wouldn't be nearly so much fun). I try to suspend any adult disbelief as far as possible and just enjoy the stories for what they are. Usually it works.

[Stephen]

Exactly. I know there are a few gaps in her writing, not much for horse lovers, no dancing stories or science fiction, but still plenty of variety.

It's funny you should mention science fiction on this thread because I've just re-read Mountain, and that's exactly the genre I picked up here! I saw very strong parallels with Flash Gordon. Not only are there winged flying men, but the mysterious King of the Mountain who turned out to be a genius forced to work for the baddies immediately reminded me of a cross between Emperor Ming and Dr Hans Zarkov. Bill was very Flash Gordon himself of course with his fighting skills and ability to pilot flying machines.

As Flash Gordon was going since the 1930s, is it known whether Enid was ever aware of it or cited it as an influence of this book?

[Courtenay]

It's funny you should mention science fiction on this thread because I've just re-read Mountain, and that's exactly the genre I picked up here! I saw very strong parallels with Flash Gordon. Not only are there winged flying men, but the mysterious King of the Mountain who turned out to be a genius forced to work for the baddies immediately reminded me of a cross between Emperor Ming and Dr Hans Zarkov. Bill was very Flash Gordon himself of course with his fighting skills and ability to pilot flying machines.

Given that background, the unusual (for Blyton) themes of Mountain make much more sense. Probably the sort of thing my dad, too, would have loved as a kid (he was born in the mid-1940s and has always been a big sci-fi fan!). I'll keep that in mind when I re-read it.

As Flash Gordon was going since the 1930s, is it known whether Enid was ever aware of it or cited it as an influence of this book?

Shhhhhhh... the other Stephen (you-know-who) might pop up with another of his bizarre theories on where Enid got her ideas from.