What books do you wish would have been written?

[kirrin_castle]

I'm interested in hearing people's opinions about what books they would like to have seen more of, or what stories had been written. For example some people may have wanted more of the Adventure Series or FF if only EB could have lived another 20 years without any decline in her story telling abilities.

Personally, I would love to see an interaction between the different characters of the book series. I remember the Famous Five were mentioned once in a Secret Seven book, but there was no meeting.

Imagine if the Famous Five had gone away one Summer and encountered Jack, Philip, Dinah & Lucy Ann, and they had to pull resources to solve the adventure! How would George & Dinah have got on together, and Timmy & Kiki. Would Julian be in charge or Jack. I can imagine Anne & Lucy Ann would get on well.

What about introducing Fatty and Snubby to some of the series and bringing some more comedy into the stories?

[Daisy]

Here's a link to a story Dick Kirrin and I wrote some years ago. It's very long! It is about the Famous Five who meet up with the Adventure lot. Imagine Timmy and Kiki in the same story!

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/for ... +adventure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rob Houghton]

I would have liked to have seen more Barney Mystery books, bridging The Ring O'Bells Mystery and The Rubadub Mystery, showing a continued search for Barney's father. I always feel Enid sold this idea short, and it was a shame it didn't become a bigger part of the books - the search leading to adventures etc.

[pete9012S]

Great thread idea, thank you.

I would have liked another Adventurous Four book. Tom could have surely lost his camera/binoculars just one more time?

The characters in these books are good, especially Tom and Andy.
I know we have a short story, but that was over very quickly.

The Book Next Door - there's another that maybe could have had another storyline added??

Apologies to the legions of fans, but just one full length versions of The Hidey Hole was enough for me!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I like the sound of The Book Next Door, Pete!

I would have liked to have seen more Barney Mystery books, bridging The Ring O'Bells Mystery and The Rubadub Mystery, showing a continued search for Barney's father. I always feel Enid sold this idea short, and it was a shame it didn't become a bigger part of the books - the search leading to adventures etc.

I feel the same as you, Rob. Barney's situation and his quest make the books extra intriguing and add a note of poignancy.

I'd also like to have seen more Adventure titles because I love the stunning settings, the complex plots, the emotional touches, Philip's rapport with animals and Jack's interest in birds - particularly his longing to find a Great Auk.

More Naughtiest Girl books would have been good too, taking Elizabeth and her friends right through the school. The series contains some strong characters with great potential and it's a shame that we have to say goodbye to them so soon.

[Rob Houghton]

Great thread idea, thank you.

I would have liked another Adventurous Four book. Tom could have surely lost his camera/binoculars just one more time?

The characters in these books are good, especially Tom and Andy.
I know we have a short story, but that was over very quickly.

Hmmm...good idea!

Apologies to the legions of fans, but just one full length versions of The Hidey Hole was enough for me!

You mean, no sequel? 'The Blackberry Mystery' maybe...?

[timv]

I would have liked to see more books on Jimmy and Lotta, though I suppose Mr Galliano's return to save the circus from breaking up was a good point to stop. Presumably another Galliano book would have had to concentrate on Jimmy and Lotta dealing with newcomers at the circus? Plenty of long-running circus series (of weekly short stories not full-length ones) in 1940s-50s storybook magazines like Girls' Crystal managed to keep their serials running fo years by constantly 'tweaking' themes like mystery arrivals with a secret , robbers hiding loot at a circus, unfriendly hosts at a farm where they stay, or feuds within an acrobat, performing horse-rider or clown troupe at the circus. A chance to feature Lal and Laddo (Lotta's parents) - or even be daring and bring in a holiday stay at Galliano's circus by Carlotta from St Clare's, whose series had already had one crossover visit to Galliano and co. Wild Carlotta with her temper vs equally sparky but more sensible Lotta would be good.

I think a third Six Cousins book could have been feasible, but with the parents in the background (Rose's story has more or less been played out with her reform at the end of Six Cousins Again) and with the children interacting with visitors or helping new arrivals at another farm to settle down. A chance for Susan to be helpful and Roderick to take some initiatives for once and show he's grown up? Or a conserving nature or mystery theme, featuring that old favourite the greedy local building developer or haughty landowner banning the children from riding on his land? (Again, there are plenty of ideas from magazines for Enid to adapt to her characters). I's like to think that the characters from House At The Corner or family At Redroofs could appear again, or at least some of them (the younger ones?). But I suppose Enid preferred to do her family books except Willow Tree farm, as one-offs or else the publishers pushed her to stick with her mains series as more profitable and easier to market.

I don't think the 'Adventure' series or the Barney series were altogether played out , either. I'd have liked to see another adventure featuring Barney and his father (Eg Barney's father on tour with his acting friends in a 'holiday' region over the summer, a mystery develops, and Snubby and co happen to be camping or at a hotel nearby ). A second Adventure thriller set at my favourite location, Craggy Tops, would be good - with one of Bill's M15 colleagues having bought it up after Uncle Jocelyn sold it and hiding refugee double agents there? 'The Moor of Adventure' could result, with Malcolm Saville-style foreign spies lurking on the nearby moors to kidnap a defector! I've toyed with how this idea could play out. Or if Enid was particularly adventurous, bring in Gloomy Water and Two Towers from the Famous Five series as a location, or Mystery Moor, and put it near Craggy Tops - which is presumably meant to be on the N Cornish coast.

[Rob Houghton]

I'd have liked to see another adventure featuring Barney and his father (Eg Barney's father on tour with his acting friends in a 'holiday' region over the summer, a mystery develops, and Snubby and co happen to be camping or at a hotel nearby ).

I think this sounds really promising...if only Enid had been brave enough to keep Barney's father as 'an actor' with lots of actor friends! Its a real disappointment to me that after several books hearing about Barney's father, hearing he was an actor, married a girl from a circus, etc, when we finally get to know him he is as boring as Enid could possibly have made him! Is he now a man in a suit working in an office...? Or doesn't Enid ever actually say?
Whatever it is, Barney's father is the least memorable of any father character she ever invented! She really wasted an opportunity here, but I guess it shows that after Rubadub Mystery she was simply bored with the characters and hadn't intended to write the extra two books.

[IceMaiden]

Is it bad to say none? I've been sitting here thinking and honestly I can't think of a single one that I'd want another book of. To me they are all 'just right' as they are and I really don't think longer series such as Famous Five, Secret Seven and Find Outers would have benefited from another. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

[db105]

Famous Five and Adventure were my favorites as a boy, and I would have liked more of them, from a Blyton at the height of her powers. Also, a boarding school for boys series.

[Lucky Star]

Like others I would have welcomed another Barney or Adventure book. The ideas floated so far about the search for Barney's father and a return to Craggy Tops sound excellent and intriguing. But we must also be mindful that where her series' ran on too long the later entries became rather stale. Sometimes less is more.

[Courtenay]

Agreed, John (LS). I was glad when I read the Adventure series that Enid stopped with River, as while it's still an excellent book, I think Enid was starting to show signs of fatigue there (mainly in the villain turning out to be not nearly as scary as expected from what we were told earlier in the book) and it's quite possible that any further books would have shown a more noticeable decline in quality. I'm thankful that that was one series that didn't drag on till Enid was really losing interest (and, towards the end of her career, losing her mental clarity as well).

[Stephen]

I understand about not wanting Enid to run out of steam with the Adventure series. But I've sometimes thought one potential title based on a geographical feature she possibly missed out on was 'The Lake of Adventure'.

Or even 'The Loch of Adventure'!

[Courtenay]

Now there's an idea for a continuation novel... (Actually, if I wrote an Adventure story, I would almost certainly send them all to Australia, but I don't have any clear ideas for a plot. )

[Wolfgang]

Actually there was a continuation story titled "The Lake of Adventure".