Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

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GloomyGraham
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by GloomyGraham »

I thought it was rather strange that Brock had never been to Cliff Castle before. Even if he thought the place 'wicked', I found it hard to believe he had not at least been taken there by his parents for a walk or picnic nearby. His mother seemed to know there was a little shop in the neighbourhood. But yeah - Brock suddenly got very interested in - and fearless about - the nearby castle he'd ignored for a decade..

All illustrations of the castle from Brock's house seem to show it as being far too close. I estimated at least an hour's walk from Blyton's description of the children's first trip there. Illustrations made it look more like 10 minutes away.

I also wondered about the children unscrewing the tops of the lemonade bottles. I would have thought that back in the 1940s, most bottle tops were 'crown corks' - the kind you still find these days on beer bottles, requiring an opener. And if it was home-made lemonade, perhaps corks.

I also usually chuckle when a Blyton book has a character remembering he might have a torch in his pocket. Back then torches tended on the large size and I imagine most small boys wouldn't easily forget a huge heavy lump in their shorts pocket, particularly if they'd just climbed a tree!

Despite my nit-picking, the story is entertaining enough - at least for younger readers - but does seem almost a prototype for later books such as 'Castle of Adventure'. I agree with the theories that these Pollock tales were possibly written a year or two before publication.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

I agree about the close proximity of the castle - which is according to the text about an hour away - both illustrators depict the castle as being just on a hill outside the window! -

Original illustration -
Image

Reprint illustration -Image

Regarding unscrewing the tops from the lemonade bottles, my version (which is a Mary Pollock though not a 'first' - its a 1947 reprint) says 'They unscrewed the tops of the lemonade bottles and drank eagerly'
'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: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Nicko »

I have now finished this book and enjoyed it on the whole.

I didn't know that the book had been edited down before reading the comments here, but some of it seemed ridiculously rushed as I read it so I'm glad to find that there is a logical explanation.

The constant uses of the word queer and Enid's ability to simultaneously praise/patronize Pam generally amused me and certain sections of the book I like to imagine being read by Dawn French or Adrian Edmondson. "They sounded foreign. The looked foreign too. They were very dark and swarthy..." or words to that effect. NOT that I am suggesting that there is anything sinister in the book at all, but it does fit with all of the cliches that surround Enid's work.

When Brock was trying to hide from the baddies, I did think to myself, "Please don't let him sneeze!" :D This obviously became one of Enid's favourite motifs and was used in The Missing Necklace, one of the Secret Sevens, The Strange Ruby and probably elsewhere.

It was quite an exciting conclusion and this again showed Enid's ability as a writer as she heightened the tension.

The ending with the electric car was pretty ludicrous, but it is still more believable than the ending to Smuggler Ben. :D
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

Nicko wrote: The ending with the electric car was pretty ludicrous, but it is still more believable than the ending to Smuggler Ben. :D
I'm afraid I have to totally disagree with that! My feelings were that the electric car was 'ludicrous' as there was no real reason for it. It was just a random gift to the children, given by the princess (I always hate stories that involve princesses jewels, lol!) whilst the motorboat given to the children at the end of Smuggler Ben had already featured in the plot, and didn't coat anyone anything. No one had to pay for it, or get it shipped over, or anything. So actually the boat is much more realistic a gift in my opinion. It would probably just have been scrapped or destroyed if the children hadn't been given it.

In fact - it really wasn't that much of a 'gift' when you think of it - a second-hand boat used by the baddies which had probably already travelled many miles all around the coat and across the channel etc!
'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: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Courtenay »

I agree, Rob — I was quite delighted when the children in Smuggler Ben were given the boat for themselves, as that's what they had wanted since the start of the book and it indeed didn't cost anyone anything. The electric car in Cliff Castle, on the other hand, sort of comes out of nowhere as a fabulous luxury gift that doesn't particularly fit with anything we already know the children themselves were wanting or would have enjoyed. I'm sure they did enjoy it, but it just seems a little over-the-top, at least from an adult reader's point of view.

Overall, although I enjoyed both stories and they're great examples of Enid "trying out" various elements of adventure stories before she got underway with most of her better known works, Smuggler Ben gets my vote for the more satisfying one on the whole. Now I wish I didn't have an abridged edition... maybe I'll have to look out for a Mary Pollock original? :wink:
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Nicko »

Rob Houghton wrote:
Nicko wrote: The ending with the electric car was pretty ludicrous, but it is still more believable than the ending to Smuggler Ben. :D
I'm afraid I have to totally disagree with that! My feelings were that the electric car was 'ludicrous' as there was no real reason for it. It was just a random gift to the children, given by the princess (I always hate stories that involve princesses jewels, lol!) whilst the motorboat given to the children at the end of Smuggler Ben had already featured in the plot, and didn't coat anyone anything. No one had to pay for it, or get it shipped over, or anything. So actually the boat is much more realistic a gift in my opinion. It would probably just have been scrapped or destroyed if the children hadn't been given it.

In fact - it really wasn't that much of a 'gift' when you think of it - a second-hand boat used by the baddies which had probably already travelled many miles all around the coat and across the channel etc!
I was only being half serious as the smiley indicated. To be honest, I find both endings to be ludicrous and Enid should have thought harder on both occasions. I guess that she had reached her word count though. :D
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

Earlier on, some critics of the ending of Smuggler Ben (can't remember who as I haven't read back) mentioned that the boat would have been an expensive gift to give the children in wartime - which I found to be a ridiculous statement, as of course the boat didn't actually belong to the police, wasn't bought, and was just hanging around doing nothing - so actually the ending makes perfect sense to me.

It even makes sense from the point of view that the children don't live near where Ben lives (by the sea), so wouldn't be able to appreciate the gift all year - but would be able to visit Ben and ride in the boat, which couldn't easily be moved around the country, and needs water to operate...but the electric motorcar could easily have been used by all three children - so it led me to wonder what would happen to it when the two children went back home! I guess it will end up being mainly Brock's, even though it could be used anywhere (not just on the sea).

I agree that these endings are 'wish fulfilment' in the extreme - but they are always satisfying to a child reader. I must admit though, I never found the electric car very satisfactory even as a child.

I never really like it when the end of a book reveals that the 'treasure' is a pile of jewels and diamonds etc. It always seems that Enid is pandering to what she thinks her readers want to hear. This is one thing that slightly spoils 'Valley of Adventure' for me. The 'treasure' is old books and statues, and paintings - all very believable - and then at the last minute Enid can't resist having a few trunks filled to the brim with precious stones and gold etc. It would have been more realistic to leave the 'pirates treasure' idea alone most of the time!
'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: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by GloomyGraham »

The car was ridiculous lol. It probably would have been easier to procure a wishing-chair in WWII Britain than manufacture an electric car for kiddies ;)

PS - has there ever been a Blyton story that, when jewels are discovered, one of the girls didn't try on a tiara? :)
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Courtenay »

Rob Houghton wrote: It even makes sense from the point of view that the children don't live near where Ben lives (by the sea), so wouldn't be able to appreciate the gift all year - but would be able to visit Ben and ride in the boat, which couldn't easily be moved around the country, and needs water to operate...but the electric motorcar could easily have been used by all three children - so it led me to wonder what would happen to it when the two children went back home! I guess it will end up being mainly Brock's, even though it could be used anywhere (not just on the sea).
Yes, that's true, I didn't stop to think of that — that in the case of the Cliff Castle children, they'd have to decide who gets the electric car once Peter and Pam go home. It would have made much more sense for the three children to each receive some kind of reward, rather than one between all of them. On the other hand, I can quite imagine Ben would be thrilled to keep the motorboat once Alec, Hilary and Frances have gone home and the three of them would remain friends with him and come back to visit during future holidays. It's also a bit of a stretch for the imagination — as are a lot of elements in this story and plenty of other Blytons, funnily enough :P — but still seems more credible and more consistent with the plot as a whole than the Princess of Larreeanah arriving in person to deliver the electric car. Well, to me, at least. :wink:
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Courtenay »

GloomyGraham wrote:It probably would have been easier to procure a wishing-chair in WWII Britain than manufacture an electric car for kiddies ;)
Now there's a thought. :wink: Mind you, the car comes from an Indian princess rather than a British manufacturer... I'm currently reading a very interesting book on the partition of India in 1947, and certainly before they were deposed at the end of the British Raj, the several hundred maharajahs who ruled their own states within India really did have, in some cases, ludicrous amounts of wealth and the liberty to do (almost) anything they wanted with it. So there technically could have been such a thing in the 1940s as an Indian princess who could easily dispense a custom-made car for kiddies. Whether there would have been is another matter. :mrgreen:
GloomyGraham wrote: PS - has there ever been a Blyton story that, when jewels are discovered, one of the girls didn't try on a tiara? :)
Yes... in The Treasure Hunters (one of my childhood favourites), Susan merely puts on two pearl necklaces, two enormous brooches and an enormous bracelet, and dances around the room brandishing the golden lucky cup. 8)

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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Wolfgang »

Well, in the German edition the children's parents are given a savings book for each of the children with a high sum on it, and the children additionally get the electric car. That's something I wondered about, does it feature in the Polock version as well?
I personally doubt that there was an industry in India that would have been able to produce an electric car, and if it was in war-time, I doubt even an Indian princess would have been able to get the accumulators for the toy-car, for they surely were also restricted to war purposes. But as no war is mentioned in this book (at least not in the editions I read), it's technically possible to get things.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

Wolfgang wrote:Well, in the German edition the children's parents are given a savings book for each of the children with a high sum on it, and the children additionally get the electric car. That's something I wondered about, does it feature in the Polock version as well?
That's interesting. No - even in the Mary Pollock version there's no savings book mentioned at all - just the car.
'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: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Courtenay »

Wolfgang wrote: I personally doubt that there was an industry in India that would have been able to produce an electric car, and if it was in war-time, I doubt even an Indian princess would have been able to get the accumulators for the toy-car, for they surely were also restricted to war purposes. But as no war is mentioned in this book (at least not in the editions I read), it's technically possible to get things.
And as it's an Enid Blyton book... :wink: The war isn't mentioned in the English original either — Smuggler Ben is one of the very few books by Enid that make any reference to it at all.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

What a pity that some descriptive lines and incidental scenes have been removed from the Collins editions.
Little details like that add to the atmosphere, help us get to know the characters and contribute to the natural flow and rhythm of Enid Blyton's writing style. No wonder I had a feeling that something was missing when I read those two curiously curt sentences about Brock, Peter and Pam being disappointed that they couldn't go to the castle as Brock's mother had planned a picnic for them.
Liam wrote:The beginning of Cliff Castle slipped by without me noticing. That was strange since this is a new book for me. so I can agree that there was something unmemorable about the first two chapters or so. Looking back now I think I may have been spoiled by Smuggler Ben which started with tension and conflict. But after the start of Cliff Castle, I felt the story was thrilling and suspenseful, a real page-turner, even more so than Smuggler Ben. It seems these are two very different styles in Enid’s writing. Smuggler Ben centered around relationships. Cliff Castle focused on narrative flow. It reminded me of the two Adventurous Four books where the plot sequence overshadows the relationships between the characters.
Courtenay wrote:Overall, although I enjoyed both stories and they're great examples of Enid "trying out" various elements of adventure stories before she got underway with most of her better known works, Smuggler Ben gets my vote for the more satisfying one on the whole.
I thought both adventures were exciting once they got going but the plots lacked complexity and the thrills and danger didn't last long enough for me. Like Courtenay, I found Smuggler Ben more satisfying overall and I think that's because of the greater tension and conflict that you mentioned, Liam, and the focus on relationships. Smuggler Ben had me intrigued right from the beginning, whereas Cliff Castle took longer to draw me in. I felt the same as Rob - that it was like a "younger", scaled down Castle of Adventure in some respects.
Liam wrote:...One thing that stood out for me in Cliff Castle was the risks Brock took, for example going up to the tower room even though the men’s footprints were seen to lead there. I know Enid gave the reason, that he is fearless. But it didn’t seem realistic to me. Of course there would be no adventure without risks.
shadow wrote:I agree about the risks that Brock took. He stated at the beginning that he was scared to go to the castle alone and then suddenly he's involving everyone in dangerous exploits.
GloomyGraham wrote:I thought it was rather strange that Brock had never been to Cliff Castle before. Even if he thought the place 'wicked', I found it hard to believe he had not at least been taken there by his parents for a walk or picnic nearby. His mother seemed to know there was a little shop in the neighbourhood. But yeah - Brock suddenly got very interested in - and fearless about - the nearby castle he'd ignored for a decade..
I agree with all three of you. Fancy Brock never having been to the castle because of it having "rather a wicked look"! It doesn't fit with what Blyton says about him when he goes to the castle alone at night-time:
Brock saw the moon coming up slowly. It lighted up the castle on the hill, and made it look silvery and unreal.

"It's like a castle out of some old story," thought the boy. "It will be fun to get inside at night-time!"

Brock was quite fearless. He enjoyed this kind of adventure, and was quite glad to be on his own, without the others to bother about.
An adventurous, independent boy like that couldn't possibly have spent years ignoring a mysterious castle that he could see every day from his bedroom window!
GloomyGraham wrote:All illustrations of the castle from Brock's house seem to show it as being far too close. I estimated at least an hour's walk from Blyton's description of the children's first trip there. Illustrations made it look more like 10 minutes away.
You're right. I was thinking about the walk to the castle when I was sitting up in bed one night reading Chapter 8. Brock got out of bed at half-past ten to go to the castle by himself in the dark. I looked at my own clock and it was 10.27 pm, so I was only three minutes behind Brock. Could I possibly have got dressed and gone out to a mysterious castle some distance from my house at that time of night? I had to admit the answer was no! I was too tired and the air felt cold, and all I wanted to do was read for a little longer and then go to sleep! Oh dear - maybe I was growing up at last!
Nicko wrote:The ending with the electric car was pretty ludicrous, but it is still more believable than the ending to Smuggler Ben. :D
Rob Houghton wrote:I'm afraid I have to totally disagree with that! My feelings were that the electric car was 'ludicrous' as there was no real reason for it. It was just a random gift to the children, given by the princess (I always hate stories that involve princesses jewels, lol!) whilst the motorboat given to the children at the end of Smuggler Ben had already featured in the plot, and didn't coat anyone anything. No one had to pay for it, or get it shipped over, or anything. So actually the boat is much more realistic a gift in my opinion. It would probably just have been scrapped or destroyed if the children hadn't been given it.

In fact - it really wasn't that much of a 'gift' when you think of it - a second-hand boat used by the baddies which had probably already travelled many miles all around the coat and across the channel etc!
I agree with you, Rob, about the reward of the motor boat in Smuggler Ben arising naturally from the events of the narrative. As an adult I can't help thinking that it wouldn't be safe for children to go out in a motor boat alone and that they'd have difficulty getting fuel anyway during the war - and that maintaining the boat in the long term could be expensive. However, none of that occurred to me when I read the book as a child. I just thought it was a wonderful present that would give the children even greater freedom to go off by themselves and explore.

The visit from the princess and the gift of the electric car in Cliff Castle sounded rather more far-fetched to me even when I was a youngster. It was as though we'd suddenly gone into a fairy-tale! The children seemed too old to drive a toy car along the pavement or round the garden, and surely they wouldn't be allowed to drive on the road! Recharging the battery and maintaining the car would cost a lot - but that didn't occur to me as a child. The title "Princess of Larreeanah" reminded me of the silly "royal" names in The Mystery of the Vanished Prince - Kim-Pippy-Tok and Kim-Larriana-Tik, based on the names Pip and Larry - though of course Vanished Prince was written a lot later than Cliff Castle.
Wolfgang wrote:Well, in the German edition the children's parents are given a savings book for each of the children with a high sum on it, and the children additionally get the electric car.
I don't think the idea of savings books sounds very Blytonian at all. They would be looked after by the children's parents and the money would be kept for the future. Rewards in Blyton books are usually things that the children can use, enjoy or display. As well as boats and cars we hear of old swords or pieces of jewellery, fireworks, circus tickets or a day's holiday from school so that all the pupils can go to the fair.
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Re: Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

Post by Rob Houghton »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:The title "Princess of Larreeanah" reminded me of the silly "royal" names in The Mystery of the Vanished Prince - Kim-Pippy-Tok and Kim-Larriana-Tik, based on the names Pip and Larry - though of course Vanished Prince was written a lot later than Cliff Castle.
I agree. I never much liked the princess or prince stories at all,though, whatever name they were given! When Enid introduced princesses etc, I guess it was a popular convention of the day (I think many school stories by other authors often featured princesses) but it always makes me feel a bit like I've suddenly entered fantasy land.

I know of course there were princes and princesses around, and still are, and I guess a few crates of jewels are more likely to belong to a princess than to any body else, but I'd still prefer that Enid steered clear of 'crates of jewels' unless they are family heirlooms such as in 'The Treasure Hunters'.

Princess larreeanah does indeed sound too fantastical to be real...and even reading stories as a child, such as The Book of Brownies' which features a princess, or The Queer Adventure which features Princess Fenella, seemed far-fetched to me. Why would brownies or ordinary children, have anything to do with a princess, especially a fairy princess?

The Vanished Prince is one of my least favourite Find Outer books because it contains a prince, and I'm not really very keen on The Secret of Spiggy Holes either - though Prince Paul is maybe one of the most 'realistic' royal characters - as is Gussie in The Circus of Adventure.
'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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