The Enid Blyton Society

As I've mentioned a moment ago in "Which EB Book are you reading right now?", I'm collecting since 2008 all of EB's suspenseful books with underground passages in English. So maybe I could start a new threat here and ask forum members which of EB's books contain underground passages or secret rooms?

As I already have all of her suspenseful series (Adventurous Four, FF, R, Adventure, FFO & Dog, Secret Seven, plus the German translations of the Secret series) and these stand-alone books

- The Wonderful Adventure (1927)
- Secret of Cliff Castle
- Treasure Hunters
- Hollow Tree House
- Adventure of the Secret Necklace
- Adventure of the Strange Ruby
- The Mystery that never was
- The Boy next Door
- The Children of Kidillin

there should not be too many suspenseful EB books left with underground passages? But maybe I'm wrong.
In any case I would be delighted to find a few more.

Have you read Smuggler Ben and Holiday House, Chrissie?

This thread may throw up some books Chrissie?

Standalone Books About Hunting For Treasure!

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... re#p238333" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting to see you haven't included any Famous Fives, Chrissie? Is this because you know them well and didn't bother to list them?

Ah - I've read your post again now - apologies! So you just want stand-alone novels possibly?

Mind you, I personally would love a thread that shows ALL the secret passage books in all series and all genres!

Holiday House, as Anita says,
Smuggler Ben

Yes, I did include the Famous Five, Rob, I abbreviate them as FF.
Of course, why not list all underground passage sequels of all the suspenseful EB series.
The ones that come to my mind are
- "Five on a Treasure Island",
- "Five go adventuring again",
- "Five on Kirrin Island again",
- "Five go to Smuggler's Top",
- "Five get into Trouble" (secret room at Owl's Dene),
- "Five on a Secret Trail",
- "Valley of Adventure",
- "Island of Adventure",
- "Castle of Adventure",
- "Circus of Adventure" (in the castle in Tauri-Hessia),
- "Ring O'Bells",
- "Rockingdown"
- "The Adventurous Four Again"
- "Mystery of the Secret Room"
- "The Wonderful Adventure"
and wasn't there also an underground passage in "Secret of Cliff Castle"? It's been a few years since I've read it.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Have you read Smuggler Ben and Holiday House, Chrissie?

Thank you, Anita, I should get "Smuggler Ben" and "Holiday House".

pete9012S wrote:This thread may throw up some books Chrissie?

Thanks, Pete, I just read it and posted a reply.

Chrissie777 wrote:

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Have you read Smuggler Ben and Holiday House, Chrissie?

Thank you, Anita, I should get "Smuggler Ben" and "Holiday House".

Holiday House is one of my favourite 'holiday adventures' by Enid. I've probably read it more than any other EB book!

Rob Houghton wrote:Holiday House is one of my favourite 'holiday adventures' by Enid.

I put it on a list with "Smugler Ben".
Still have to read "The Children of Kidillin" which is on my desk waiting for a protective envelope.

Chrissie777 wrote: Of course, why not list all underground passage sequels of all the suspenseful EB series.
The ones that come to my mind are
- "Five on a Treasure Island",
- "Five go adventuring again",
- "Five on Kirrin Island again",
- "Five go to Smuggler's Top",
- "Five get into Trouble" (secret room at Owl's Dene),
- "Five on a Secret Trail",
- "Valley of Adventure",
- "Island of Adventure",
- "Castle of Adventure",
- "Circus of Adventure" (in the castle in Tauri-Hessia),
- "Ring O'Bells",
- "Rockingdown"
- "The Adventurous Four Again"
- "Mystery of the Secret Room"
- "The Wonderful Adventure"
and wasn't there also an underground passage in "Secret of Cliff Castle"? It's been a few years since I've read it.

I think there was an underground passage in The Secret of Cliff Castle - it comes out at the bottom of the castle hill.

Five Run Away Together also has a passage.
Also Five Go Off To Camp
Five On Finniston Farm
Five Go Down To The Sea
Five Go To Mystery Moor
Five Go To Billycock Hill
Five Have A Mystery To Solve
Five Get Into A Fix


Also The Adventurous Four
The Secret Island (caves in the hill)
The Secret of Spiggy Holes
the Secret Mountain
The Secret of Killimooin
The Secret of Moon Castle.

Thanks, Rob!
I forgot about "Five get into a Fix".

I wonder if I can find an original first edition (which is twice as thick) without dust wrapper and clean pages of "Spiggy Holes" for less than 20 £?
So far they were all over 30 £.

     I think it would save a lot of time to say which books *don't* have underground passages or secret rooms rather than those which do.

Regards, Michael.

You could well be right, Michael!

     Thinking about it... there are not only books by Enid Blyton without secret rooms, underground tunnels, and such, but (almost) whole series of books.
     Consider the Secret Seven series. I can think of only three or four (depending on how you define an underground or secret passage, room, etc.). "The Secret Seven" features a cellar in an apparently abandoned, closed-up house where a stolen horse is being kept. Do cellars count as secret or underground rooms? There are the caves in "Secret Seven Win Through", and cellars again in "Good Old Secret Seven" (this time in a ruined castle), and cellars again in "Go Ahead, Secret Seven". And that's about all I can think of for the Secret Seven.
     The paucity of tunnels and secret rooms is even more extreme in the Five Find-Outers books. Despite the title, I don't think the titular secret room in "The Mystery of the Secret Room" really counts, as it is just an ordinary room kept secret. There is the underground garage in "The Mystery of the Hidden House" where stolen cars are "re-birthed" for resale, and then there's the tunnel leading from the hillside Banshee Towers is situated on leading up to the building itself - and that's about all I can think of for that series. (Am I overlooking any, perhaps in books I haven't read for a long time? It's remarkably few for a 15-book Blyton series.)
     To me, this can be used to refute those Blyton detractors who accuse her of writing all her books much the same: it is evidence that Blyton really did make big differences between her various series. Clearly she saw underground tunnels and the like as part of the world of some series (Famous Five, Adventure, Barney, Secret), but not part of the world of those other series I've just mentioned, which seem a lot more urban and town-based, perhaps more "everyday" in some senses.

Regards, Michael Edwards.

Yes, that's true, Michael - I think you've picked out all the 'secret passages' in the Secret Seven books (although they aren't really passages as such, as you rightly say) - and in the Find Outer books there are only those three...or really, only one book in the whole series (banshee Towers) that actually has a legitimate 'secret passage'. I think that's partly why I'm less keen on Banshee Towers, as it almost seems as if Enid felt she 'must' put a secret passage in there - as if she had forgotten that the series never had them!