The Enid Blyton Society

I have found a copy of this for £27 (1924 edition), which seems like a good price considering the last copy I came across was £300+. Looking in the cave though there seems to be two or three early editions, and a picture of a map off the endpapers. Is this map going to be in the copy for £27 or is it only a feature on later editions?

I should think the map is in all earlier editions. I have the map of Fairyland - in the Boys and Girls News Chronicle version (1934). (Storybook number 2) I'm not sure if it's in the 1924 edition also. In the version I have its drawn in blue ink, which makes it look better than the later version.

I see from The Cave that the map is on the end papers in the 1949 edition. In the News Chronicle version the map is a fold out map, as I think it was in the first edition. The illustrations in the N.C version are the same as the first edition including the colour plate shown in the Cave and other illustrations by Horace Knowles.

The Dean version is of course completely different, without the map and with different illustrations.

Thank you Rob

I've had a look at 2nd NC book and it appears to have all the book of Fairies stories in it,in which case there seems little point buying either edition if the stories and map are both in another book .

As you probably know by now, the News Chronicle book 2 contains the Book of Fairies and The Book of Pixies (The Red Pixie Book), including the original illustrations and poems, as well as three full-colour plates and the fold out map.

I knew some of them were in it but not the complete content of both books! The Red Pixie Book is £60, the Book of Fairies £27+. The 2nd NC book I've seen on ebay for £5. Why are the two separate books so much more expensive if their so easily available in another book?

I guess either sellers don'y know that the content was repeated or perhaps the News Chronicles are easier to come by.

I have all the News Chronicles, and I love the chunky thick pages, the illustrations, and the colour plates - well worth having if you don't have them all. The first News Chronicle book is also great to have, as it contains the original versions of The Book of Brownies and The Book of Bunnies (Binkle and Flip) with original illustrations and colour plates.

That is great to know Rob, thank you! I wondered what was in the first News C book as it doesn't say in the Cave. I have the third and sixth NC books at the moment and I was going to get the other four to complete the set, but its a real bonus to know that getting the first two means I can cross out four rather expensive books from my want list as well!

Yes - it is slightly odd that the first two News Chronicle books in the cave don't have contents listed (or rather the second one does, but doesn't tell anyone checking it out that its The red Pixie Book and The Book of Fairies) and the first one doesn't give any details about which two books it comprises of!

The Book of Brownies (in the News Chronicle number 1) has some wonderful illustrations by Ernest Arris (who illustrated 'Tassletip the rabbit') - one of my favourite illustrators.