The Enid Blyton Society

FGIT was published in 1948 and it's no 8 in the series. It's one of most popular FF novels, and I guess most readers wound rank it as a Top 5 in the series. It has, no question about it, an excellent plot.
Some thoughts about the book:
- It's the eighth FF and the very first where no tunnel or secret passaged is reported, unbelievable. We have a secret room instead.
- Although inconsistencies began in FF no 6, we can find the first family mistake, and we find it in the very first chapter: unlike it was clearly stated in FF No. 1, Aunt Fanny and Julian's mother have become sisters. Wrong.
- We have also the first kidnapping, at least a main character (we had Jennifer kidnapping i FF no 3), which turns out to be Dick
- Great location Owls' Dene in Owl's Hill, a sinister and isolated mansion with the form of a E , with no gas, no electricity, no neigbours, only secrets!
- We have Richard as a supporting character, The Five are really hard with them repeatedly blaming him for all the trouble, and humiliating him calling him coward, selfish, and cry baby among others. And he redeems himself in the end assuming the rescuing role hiding in the boot of the car
- A rescue made possible thanks to a marvelous Julian's idea, but.... Wouldn't it be much easier to escape, all of them not just Richard, getting out of Owl's Dene when the gates open at Mr Perton's Bentley, which is, by the way, exactly the same way they got in the day before?
- And we have Hunchy, a hunchy dwarf and stupid and bad tempered servant, who gives Julian the opportunitty to shine with his sharp, funny and polite answers in the Stick way we learned in FFnº 3
- And Aggie, the poor woman, that we learn at the end that she's Hunchy's sister.
- And we have a pompous speech about what real braveness is by, of course, Julian. Because it's Julian who shines all along the book, he is the leader, the bravest, the smarter, the funnier, he gives Astronomy lessons, he discovers the hidden room with the prisoner, he negotiates with nasty farmers, he gives out the money to poor Aggie, and he leaves very little to the rest. George and Dick are almost absent, and Ann playing his usual role and expressing her deep reflections about life. Wouldn't it be terrible to be a cow? FF looked more than ever, Julian and the rest...
- It seem curious how in the final chapters, the Five can move inside the house without any surveillance by their captors. They manage to hear all the conversations, open the gates for the police, hide themselves in the secret room, not bad considering they were supposed to be prisoners...
- The action happens in 4 days, during Easter Holidays. Day 3 is particularly intense: the Barnards get up (except George), they have a bath in the pool, they meet Richard, they have breakfast, they talk, George and Richard almost fight, they ride to Croker's Corner , then to Richard's aunt house in Middlecombe Woods, they have tea in Great Gildings, they leave Richard there, they split in two due to a puncture in Dick’s bicicle, Richard reappears crying, Dick is kidnapped, Julian and George seek for a farm, they get some food, they find Richard, Julian rescues poor crying Ann from the top of the tree, they go biking under the moonlight, they witness a mysterious car fetching a man in an abandoned house after changing his clothes and throwing them to the well, they reach Owl's Dene, they manage to get in, they're caught in a trap by Mr. Perton, and even before sleeping, Julian has time to walk around, finding Dick and making several astonishment discoveries including the mysterious man witnessed some hours before (what a coincidence) hidden in a secret room, before going to bed. Not bad! How many hours did that day have?
- Nice reading, nice plot, nice location, too much Julian. I'd rank it no- 7 in the series

Thanks for that overview josepmcb .
Of course I had to remind myself about Anne's philosophical remarks concerning the Cow!

Anne saw some cows pulling at the grass in a meadow as they passed. 'It must be awful to be a cow and eat nothing but tasteless grass,' she called to George. 'Think what a cow misses — never tastes an egg and lettuce sandwich, never eats a chocolate eclair, never has a boiled egg — and can't even drink a glass of ginger-beer! Poor cows!'
George laughed. 'You do think of silly things, Anne,' she said. 'Now you've made me want my lunch all the more — talking about egg sandwiches and ginger-beer! I know Mother made us egg sandwiches — and sardine ones too.'

'It's no good,' chimed in Dick, leading the way into a little copse, his bicycle wobbling dangerously, 'it's no good — we can't go another inch if you girls are going to jabber about food all the time. Julian, what about lunch?'
It was a lovely picnic, that first one in the copse. There were clumps of primroses all round, and from somewhere nearby came the sweet scent of hidden violets. A thrush was singing madly on a hazel tree, with two chaffinches calling 'pink-pink' every time he stopped.
'Band and decorations laid on,' said Julian, waving his hand towards the singing birds and the primroses. 'Very nice too. We just want a waiter to come and present us with a menu!'

A rabbit lolloped near, its big ears standing straight up inquiringly. 'Ah — the waiter!' said Julian, at once. 'What have you to offer us today, Bunny? A nice rabbit-pie?'

The rabbit scampered off at top speed. It had caught the smell of Timmy nearby and was panic-stricken. The children laughed, because it seemed

Nice review of five get into trouble. This is my favourite book of the famous five, especially the way Enid describes nature.

Because it's Julian who shines all along the book, he is the leader, the bravest, the smarter, the funnier, he gives Astronomy lessons, he discovers the hidden room with the prisoner, he negotiates with nasty farmers, he gives out the money to poor Aggie, and he leaves very little to the rest.

But can't climb over a locked gate.

Great review!

Moonraker wrote:But can't climb over a locked gate.

Yes - this is the one thing in Five Get Into trouble that really lets it down! Still a great book though and certainly one of my favourites - though for me Hike just pips it to the post.

Great review josepmcb!

As Betty Maxey expertly shows, there are some gates that a child would struggle to climb over.

I think myself and my brothers could have climbed that gate. We were very tough children. lol

Yes, I would have had a go too.
Although I did get impaled on the top of such a gate when young. I still have the scar on my left arm where one of the top ornamental spikes pierced my skin and left me hanging atop the blasted thing..

That happened at my secondary school! There were spiked fences put up while I was there, but a few years after I left someone decided to break in, climbed over the spiked fence and got impaled on the top - the spike went straight through his thigh! Needless to say, he was caught!