Readathon - Smuggler Ben and Cliff Castle

[Wolfgang]

I also started to read it, comparing the German with the English edition I own, and I'm not so happy with the translation. It keeps the plot more or less intact, but there are differences in many details which are rather annoying.

[Machupicchu14]

Coincidently, I just reread Smuggler Ben the other day. I think it's a nice, short story. I mean, I enjoy it, but I really don't find that adventurous excitement which belong to other Enid Blyton books. But I like the plot, and especially Hillary and Smuggler Ben. The fact that Hillary was able to make friends with Ben is an anecdote I love

[Liam]

Yes - Cliff Castle has a much longer 'build-up' for such a short book. The real secret/mystery part of the book doesn't begin until chapter 5 - almost halfway through the book. As you say, there's not any conflict between the characters as in Smuggler Ben, and so this is probably why the book seems a bit slow to begin with. I'm still enjoying it though, just as with any Enid Blyton book, and it contains a lot of typical Bytonian elements which later on would become staples - the train journey, the mysterious lights, footsteps in the dust, etc.

I realize now there are three children in The Secret of Cliff Castle, so less than the usual four. This might be one reason the beginning, when relations are explored, is not as exciting. They also lacked a pet, which always livens things up. So the characters as a whole are pared down from the usual. However, once we leave the relationship part behind, the book picks up quite considerably, and I rate the second part more exciting than Smuggler Ben’s second half, and equal to Smuggler Ben’s first half.

[Nicko]

I won't discuss the plot of Cliff Castle as I'm sure many people haven't finished reading it, but a couple of things struck me in the early part of the book.

Firstly, I was reminded again how good Enid was at evoking that excitement at the start of a holiday. It took me back to my younger days and left me feeling regretful that it's not easy to recapture that excitement nowadays as I hurtle towards middle age.

Also, the editors of the books are rightly criticized for a lot of the modern updates, but some parts of this book are a little unfortunate with the benefit of hindsight. There are parts that could have been used by the Comic Strip team without much of a rewrite. The word queer is used 4 times within half a page, for example, and Enid could have done with using a few more synonyms.

I'm enjoying reading it though...

[Rob Houghton]

Yes - I also noticed that Brock says - "Good for you, Pam. You may be only a girl but you get the right ideas sometimes!"

[Machupicchu14]

Yes - I also noticed that Brock says - "Good for you, Pam. You may be only a girl but you get the right ideas sometimes!"

not a very nice thing to say, but of course, it was like that at the time and Enid Blyton just wanted to portray what daily life was like for 'adventurous' children..

[Courtenay]

I just finished Cliff Castle last night — I also won't discuss the plot in detail yet in case there are others reading it for the first time, but a few thoughts:

I agree this one was a slower starter than Smuggler Ben, but it definitely crams a lot of excitement into the second half! However, I liked Smuggler Ben the better of the two. Definitely better character development and, I think, a more satisfying plot overall.

The bit I found really annoying was the repeated references to Pam being "only a girl". The first time was forgivable, especially as Pam then asserts herself with "I'm as strong as you, anyway!" But it just kept happening and happening — at least three or four more times in the course of a quite short story, as if we needed to be reminded. I know very well that Enid was writing in a time when attitudes towards girls in general were very different from now, but there's no George-style character in this story to balance things out a bit and show that not all girls would accept that kind of treatment. I can relate to Pam being scared — the mystery itself was quite thrilling and I can imagine I would have found it pretty creepy to be in that castle with what happened! — but did the boys really have to keep going on and on making those "only a girl" comments, especially when Peter later admits he was scared as well?

Actually, I'm quite surprised to see that according to the Cave, Cliff Castle was published in 1943, the year after the first Famous Five book, which of course introduces us to Enid's most memorable female rebel! I can't help thinking this might support Rob's hypothesis that the Mary Pollock books were written before Enid started on the Famous Five, even though some of them were published later. It definitely reads like a far less polished work than Five on a Treasure Island or any of her other major books that followed.

[Liam]

Since we are still on hold for Cliff Castle, a few more thoughts on characters in Smuggler Ben (I can’t seem to get it out of my head!).

I’m considering the characters in the major series along with Smuggler Ben: Famous Five, Barney Mysteries, Adventure Series, Secret Series, Smuggler Ben, and Adventurous Four, and bringing in The Five Find-outers at the end (even though I must admit I am not too familiar with this last series).

Character Type 1: Responsible, decisive, leader: Julian, Roger, Jack Cunningham, Jack Arnold, Alec, Andy.
Character Type 2: Humorous, large appetite for food, zest for life: Dick, Snubby, Philip, Mike, Hilary, Tom.
Character Type 3: Angry, rebellious, alienated: George, Diana, Dinah, Nora, Smuggler-Ben, ¬_*.
Character Type 4: Compassionate, nurturing, vulnerable: Anne, Barney, Lucy-Ann, Peggy, Frances, Jill & Mary*.

* Jill and Mary (1941) are twins, and their roles are virtually indistinguishable. They even have the same blonde hair color. So the two Adventurous Four books lack a George Type, except in number (there are two girls). Not even hair color marks this character place.

The characters in the Five Find-outers and Dog (1943) present a problem for the above categories. They do not fit so neatly into them. Only Bets does. Her vulnerability, innocence and intuition place her comfortably in Type 4. The other three native Peterswood residents - Larry, Pip and Daisy - all seem to fit in the same Type 1 - as leaders. None of them exhibit any great appetite for food, or are particularly humorous to be placed in Type 2. And none show any great anger or alienation to be placed in Type 3. Neither is any particularly compassionate or vulnerable for Type 4. Their contributions to the plot can be replaced one with another without notice.

Fatty on the other hand seems to straddle all four Types. He has the appetite and humor for Type 2. He has the brains and compassion for type 4. He is alienated by the others, so fitting for Type 3. And he becomes the backbone of the group, and the de facto leader, so as great an example of Type 1 as you can find. Is Fatty then, Enid’s most complex character?

Hilary is a simpler example of Fatty’s broad character (publication date interestingly is the same 1943). Like Fatty, she has traits from all of the Types. She is prone to anger (we only hear of this though, but never see it), can row “quite well for a girl”, goes off on her own, all like George. Like Anne, she uttered the quote about the morning being washed, selected the food in the shop, expressed the sentiment that she prefers deserted vacation spots, had a desire to identify with other creatures, and was the “sharpest” of her siblings. She even had blonde hair. These are all Anne-type characteristics. Her love of food and adventure made her like Dick. Her impetuousness gave her the leadership role, so like Julian. But at least one character suffered for this. Frances in particular seems stunted. Hilary’s large character sucked the air out of Frances and made her less than whole.

The same can be said of the Five Find-outers and Dog. Three of the five characters were essentially the same. There is no great distinction between Larry, Pip and Daisy. They all play the leader type character. And that is because Fatty was given all the variety. His larger than life character sucked the difference out of the others.

This is probably inevitable. Once a writer gives a trait to one character, she is not likely to give it to another. So the more complex one character becomes, the less complex the others become. The Famous Five books are on one end of the spectrum where each of the characters is distinct and fully developed. The Five Find-outers and Dog are on the other end of the spectrum where one character is so complex it comes at the expense of the others. Ultimately these may just be two different strategies that a writer has for character development.

[Wolfgang]

I'm reading the Bloomsbury Omnibus edition from 1997, and I can't help getting the feeling that this version is abridged when comparing it to the German edition I use.
In chapter 6 It reads like this:

To their disappointment the children could not go that day to the castle, because Brock’s mother had planned a picnic for them. She was surprised when the three children did not seem pleased about it.

Next day the three children set off once more to the castle. They knew the way very well now and took a few short cuts so that it did not take them very long to arrive at the bottom of the hill. They stared up at the great castle, and it seemed to look down on them with a frown.

In the German edition there are some more paragraphs between the two, with Brock's mother complaining that they're not enthusiastic about the picnic (similar to George's mother in "Five on treasure island" when George isn't that happy to participate).

Does anybody know if it is a general feature of Bloomsbury Omnibus editions to be shortened? Or is in that case that the German translator has added some lines? There are several occasions in which the German edition seems to contain more information than the English edition I read.

[Daisy]

In my Collins two in one edition (1962 impression) it is as you have written it, Wolfgang. I have wondered if the combined books have been abridged slightly from the originals by "Mary Pollock".

[Rob Houghton]

in my Mary Pollock version there is quite a bit more...

She was surprised when the three children did not seem pleased about it.

"Well!" she said, "I think you're rather ungrateful! I thought it would be a lovely surprise for you!"
Pam didn't like to hurt her kind aunt. She went up to her and squeezed her arm. "Of course we'll love to go!" she said. "We'd planned to do something else - but that can easily wait till another day, can't it boys?"

"Oh yes," said Brock and Peter, a little gloomily.

"Well it can't be anything very important" said Brock's mother. "I'm sure it can wait a little."

So they went off for a picnic...

[Daisy]

So the Collins edition is abridged! What a shame. Thank you for filling in the gap, Rob.

[Rob Houghton]

It's interesting that this fairly innocuous passage has been edited out, and yet the 'only a girl' comments have all been left in!

I wonder how many other bits have been edited in this way, seemingly just for reasons of length!

[Courtenay]

It's interesting that this fairly innocuous passage has been edited out, and yet the 'only a girl' comments have all been left in!

Yes, mine (also a Collins two-in-one) has that passage removed as well.

[Wolfgang]

in my Mary Pollock version there is quite a bit more...

She was surprised when the three children did not seem pleased about it.

"Well!" she said, "I think you're rather ungrateful! I thought it would be a lovely surprise for you!"
Pam didn't like to hurt her kind aunt. She went up to her and squeezed her arm. "Of course we'll love to go!" she said. "We'd planned to do something else - but that can easily wait till another day, can't it boys?"

"Oh yes," said Brock and Peter, a little gloomily.

"Well it can't be anything very important" said Brock's mother. "I'm sure it can wait a little."

So they went off for a picnic...

That's what the German edition also featured. That was just an example, I have come across several passages though .
Thank you for taking your time to check out, Rob, annd all others as well .