Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

[Francis]

Just looked on the internet and it is called 'Ship's Alphabet'. Haven't played that since I was a young boy many years ago!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Ship's Alphabet sounds interesting but our game was the same as the one played by George and Anne. We chose a topic (e.g. animals, girls' names, countries, birds, book titles...) and took it in turns to say words/titles in the relevant category beginning with A. When it got to the stage where we couldn't think of any more, the last person who had come up with a word scored a point. Then we moved on to B.

This is the passage from Five on a Secret Trail:

So they played the Alphabet game with Animals. Each had to think in turn of an animal beginning with A, and a mark went to the one who could keep it up longest! Then they went on to B and to C and to D.

They were doing the E's when they heard a loud and very comforting sound.

"Timmy's snoring," said George. "He's fast asleep. What an elephantine snore, Tim!"

"E for elephant," said Anne, quickly.

"Cheat! That should have been my E!" said George. "All right. E for Eland."

"E for Egg-Eater," said Anne, after a pause.

"Not allowed - you made that up!" said George. "My mark!"

By the time they got to M, Anne was two marks ahead, and the dawn was breaking.

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks for quoting the scene, Anita - I'd forgotten it, but its a great scene, as you say, because it shows Anne and George behaving like normal children and playing games as we all used to play. I particularly like the fact that Anne 'cheats' and makes up an animal called an 'egg-eater' lol - it makes the scene more human and easy to relate to!

[db105]

** spoiler alert ** Five Go to Billycock Hill (1957)

Brief Summary by Poppy Hutchinson (from http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;): Whilst camping on Billycock Hill, the Famous Five, accompanied by Toby, a friend from a local farmhouse, encounter a mystery surrounding a Secret airfield nearby, and the mysterious disappearance of two planes. Toby's Cousin: Jeff, who is a Flight-Lieutenant at the airfield is also missing, and it seems as if he and an accomplice have made off with the planes. Can the children clear his name and discover the true culprits?


Random thoughts:

A very classic beginning, with the children planning a camping trip on their own, Uncle Quentin being Uncle Quentin, Aunt Fanny patiently dealing with him... The book does all the right things and it works, although it has less impact at this point, after having just listened to other similar beginnings in Go Off in a Caravan and several others.

This time there's no train trip. They go by bike, like they did in Get into Trouble. This time, of course, the bike trip is not the main dish of the vacation, but it reminded me of that book, with its bucolic feeling, stops at little villages to buy ice creams for everyone and complain that Timmy doesn't even taste his since he eats them in a gulp... Yeah, familiar, but in a good way.

So unlike the previous book, this one introduces a new location, Billycock Hill. There's Billicock Farm, where a schoolmate of Dick and Julian lives, there's lonely nature, there's caves, a butterfly farm, a small air force base used to test secret prototypes... Everything a group of adventurous children desire.

Toby, the boys' schoolmate, was a pleasant but standard ally. His main distinctive trait is that he is a joker. That creates some entertainment when he clashes with George, although sometimes he lets things get too far and Julian has to put him in his place. Ah, and he also really looks up to his aviator cousin. But I loved his little brother Benny and his pigling Curly. They are so incredibly cute! I like how Benny went wherever he wanted and always blamed his pigling who "runned away" so that he had to follow. And of course their farm, being a farm, it's a source of unlimited food for the always hungry Five, and also lends them tents so that they did not need to carry too much weight from home.

We see the airfield of the base from afar and meet Toby's cousin, who is a flight-lieutenant at the base. When he is suspected of being a spy and thief later, the children can't believe it because he seemed so honest (that has been changed from the original where he seemed so British).

The two butterfly-crazy breeders from the butterfly farm reminded me of Mr. Luffy from Go Off to Camp, although Mr. Luffy was more genial and understood children better.

In the butterfly-farm there's an old woman servant who reminded me of a similarly scared character in Get into Trouble, who was moved when the children were kind to her and gave her some money, and would more than repay them later, in this case with some information. She was also scared of her son, like the deaf old lady in Five on a Hike Together.

I quite enjoyed the pre-adventure part, although it was all rather familiar one way or the other. But it was done well.

The main novelty of the book is that it's a spy story. Well, I guess we have had those when people try to steal Uncle Quentin's secrets and it's implied they may be working for foreign governments. But here it feels even more like a spy story, with the secret military base and all.

I enjoyed the scene where Toby takes them to a pool for a swim and they are scolded and chased away by a uniformed official from the airfield. Julian has to do his thing and placate the officer with his good adult manners. But it serves to create a sensation of mystery, with so much security. Those military guys keep themselves informed of any strangers who come to the area. It's not enough to detect the bad guys, though.

The children brought a radio to listen to their favorite programs and the news. They had never expressed any interest in radios during previous adventures, and you know it's going to play a role in the adventure, although it's mostly to keep them informed of the news regarding the base.

Then there's a storm, the children visit the caves as an activity they can do with bad weather (although, isn't it dangerous to get into caves after strong rains?... I guess it depends on the type of cave), there are strange going-ons and the adventure is under way.

By now I'm not shocked at how meekly George accepts being left out of the dangerous parts, along with Anne. I like you fiery and determined, George!

So the book does a lot of things right, although without breaking new ground. The adventure, however, is a bit lightweight, without much sense of real danger, and sometimes it feels like the children don't do that much, that a lot of it just happens around them. The bad guys who stole the planes die on their own in plane accidents because of the storm, the other two foreign bad guys run away, the local bad guy is arrested by the police on an unrelated charge and it's already in police custody shortly after his role in this matter is discovered, the two kidnapped aviators are found by chance more than anything...

So, an enjoyable enough entry in the series, better than the previous book (Five on a Secret Trail), but not at the level of the very best.


Next up: Five Get into a Fix

[pete9012S]

A great review,thanks.

We see the airfield of the base from afar and meet Toby's cousin, who is a flight-lieutenant at the base. When he is suspected of being a spy and thief later, the children can't believe it because he seemed so honest (that has been changed from the original where he seemed so British).

..
I have the 1957 1st edition and two Knight paperback versions,Soper/Maxey illustrated
All my versions of the book 1957/1970/1977 still contain the British comment.

‘But Toby’s cousin didn’t seem like a traitor,’ said George. ‘He seemed so - well, so very British, and I can’t say anything finer than that. I feel as if I shall never trust my judgment of anyone again. I liked him so very much.’
‘So did I,’ said Dick, frowning. ‘Well, these things happen - but I just wish it hadn’t been Toby’s cousin. He was such a hero to him. I don’t feel as if Toby will ever be quite the same after this - it’s something so absolutely beastly!’

Judgment vs. Judgement

Also,although my spell checker suggests judgement,all my books contain judgment.

[Carlotta King]

I've got the 1992 Jolyne Knox version with the pastel coloured hardback cover and that still says 'British'.

[Rob Houghton]

Not to be political but surely 'British' should be put back in these days, since we are apparently 'making Britain Great Again'

By 1997 it no longer says 'British'.

I've never seen 'judgement' written as 'judgment' before, and spell check underlines it as being wrongly spelt - looking at the latest version I have - the 1997 centenary edition, they still spell it 'judgment' in there too!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Five Go to Billycock Hill is a story that didn't stick in my mind at all and I could barely remember a thing about it when I returned to the Famous Five series as an adult. The Five set off on a bike trip but they're heading for a specific place so there isn't that feeling of boundless freedom that you get at the beginning of books like Trouble, Caravan and Hike. Toby is quite colourless, Benny is too little to be one of the gang and both are overshadowed by Jeff, who comes across as rather a glamorous figure but is out of the picture for much of the book.

There's a fair amount of intrigue concerning the curious butterfly enthusiasts, the secret military base and the stolen planes, but the Five aren't as involved as they might be and I agree with Db105's summing up:

The adventure, however, is a bit lightweight, without much sense of real danger, and sometimes it feels like the children don't do that much, that a lot of it just happens around them. The bad guys who stole the planes die on their own in plane accidents because of the storm, the other two foreign bad guys run away, the local bad guy is arrested by the police on an unrelated charge and it's already in police custody shortly after his role in this matter is discovered, the two kidnapped aviators are found by chance more than anything...

I love the Betty Maxey cover posted by Pete as it's beautifully painted and creates a feeling of expectation.

Judgment vs. Judgement

Also,although my spell checker suggests judgement,all my books contain judgment.

I use "judgement" myself but I don't mind it being spelt "judgment". Both look okay to me.

We see the airfield of the base from afar and meet Toby's cousin, who is a flight-lieutenant at the base. When he is suspected of being a spy and thief later, the children can't believe it because he seemed so honest (that has been changed from the original where he seemed so British).

All my versions of the book 1957/1970/1977 still contain the British comment.

I've got the 1992 Jolyne Knox version with the pastel coloured hardback cover and that still says 'British'.

By 1997 it no longer says 'British'.

That reminds me - I believe Dick's remark that "traitors deserve to die" has been removed from modern editions. Was that also done in 1997, I wonder, or earlier?

[Rob Houghton]

In the 1997 centenary version, the words have been removed. even 'to his country' is missing!

"Yes, but remember, if he flew away in that plane, he was a traitor," said Dick gravely.

[pete9012S]

‘But - that means Toby’s cousin is drowned - or killed,’ said Anne, her face very white.
‘Yes. But remember, if he flew away in that plane, he was a traitor to his country,’ said Dick gravely. ‘And traitors deserve to die.’

My books,1957,1970 & 1977 all include the above.
I wonder what year the audio tapes were first released?

[Rob Houghton]

I wonder when traitors became something more admirable?!

[Courtenay]

"Traitors deserve to die" IS a bit harsh-sounding, but it's not surprising — this is a book that was written post-WWII, during the Cold War. The possibility of "traitors to the country" being at work was a very real and frightening danger to people of that era. This is one case where I can understand why a modern editor would be uncomfortable with that line, but I would far rather have it left in and appreciated in its historical context. Children aren't incapable of doing that.

[Rob Houghton]

I'm in two minds. I mean, even today, Traitors can still (in theory) face the death penalty in the UK.

On the other hand, I can understand why 'deserve to die' was taken out...but I don't see why the phrase 'he was a traitor to our country' had to be removed. After all, it adds a certain realism to the book. Anyone would think there were no longer any traitors about!

[Anita Bensoussane]

In the 1997 centenary version, the words have been removed. even 'to his country' is missing!

"Yes, but remember, if he flew away in that plane, he was a traitor," said Dick gravely.

...even today, Traitors can still (in theory) face the death penalty in the UK.

The death penalty for treason was scrapped, but only fairly recently. I had to check Wikipedia to find out the year - 1998. So it was still in force when the 1997 edition of Five Go to Billycock Hill was printed:

Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; committing adultery with the sovereign's consort, with the sovereign's eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the throne; levying war against the sovereign and adhering to the sovereign's enemies, giving them aid or comfort; and attempting to undermine the lawfully established line of succession. Several other crimes have historically been categorised as high treason, including counterfeiting money and being a Catholic priest...

...Considered to be the most serious of offences, high treason was often met with extraordinary punishment, because it threatened the security of the state. Hanging, drawing and quartering was often employed. The last treason trial was that of William Joyce, "Lord Haw-Haw", who was executed by hanging in 1946.

Since the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 became law, the maximum sentence for treason in the UK has been life imprisonment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_trea ... ed_Kingdom" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dick's statement that "traitors deserve to die" needs to be taken in context. After all, what if you betray your leader because s/he is a murdering despot?

[Rob Houghton]

I didn't realise the death penalty for treason had been scrapped...although I'm totally anti-death penalty so I'm quite pleased to hear it.

I'm more bothered by the fact that 'he seemed so British' has been taken out. Why? Of course, one of the reasons, as discussed earlier, is that the books are now set in 2017...Being 'so British' no longer means honest and admirable.

I also don't understand why 'to our country' should be taken out. Surely 'He is a traitor to our country' would still be understood and acceptable today?