Readathon 20/04/20 - Mystery of the Strange Messages

[Barnard]

Can anybody remember in which book Mr Goon describes Frederick as ‘Mr Interfering Fatty?’

[Nair Snehalatha]

Yes-- its in Spiteful letters thst Goon.says Mr Interfering Fatty -- thats what I call him-- Mr Frederick Troteville indeed." He says this to the telegraph boy , who is actually Fatty in disguise.

[Nair Snehalatha]

In Mystery.of the strange messages, Fatty.tells Ern, "Ern, when youre paid to do a job, it's better to give five minutes more to it than five minutes less"
.Fatty reprimands Ern i Hiidden House whenasks if he can lie to Goon about not having met the Findouters.Enid Blytons stories teach us a whole host of moral ethics, apart from marvellous reading.Personally I feel there is no need to read any holy book-- Blyton's stories teach ud a lot.Most of the truths in life I learnt ftom dear old Blyton
I love you so much, Enid Blyton

[Katharine]

I've just finished reading this book. I'd read it once before, but had forgotten pretty much all of it, apart from the notes turning up in odd places, and Mrs. Totteville's skirts swishing angrily!

I found it an odd FFO book. The plot I thought was actually quite good, but it seemed as if it was mostly about Fatty and Ern. I actually like the character of Ern, but it seemed strange that the other 4 were left out even more than usual. I can't even recall there being many (if any) special moments between Fatty and Bets.

I think I spotted a few inconsistencies too, such as Ern and Fatty cycling to the big house, but then Ern accompanying Mrs Smith back to Fatty's house in a taxi, only to cycle back to the hall with Fatty later on.

I was also struck by the class attitude, and found it a little uncomfortable. The idea that Ern was delighted to be allowed to eat his meals in the kitchen with the staff, and to sleep on the couch in Fatty's shed.

I was also surprised at the portrayal of Mrs Trotteville, I've always been of the opinion that she was a fairly laid-back person, but she seemed almost on a par with Pip and Bet's mother in this book with regard to strictness and telling Fatty not to get involved in another mystery.

As a stand alone book, I thought it was good, but if I was a massive fan of the FFO books, I think I'd probably be a little disappointed as it doesn't seem to fit into the style of the previous ones.

[Barnard]

I think the reason that Ern had to ‘live’ in Fatty’s shed rather than in the house was to stop Fatty’s mother finding out. She would have thought that Goon should have been told of Ern’s whereabouts.

[Bertie]

Yep, I agree with much of that, Katharine.

The class thing doesn't really bother me at all. It's just a fact that Ern is of a different class and it's just aother aspect that reflects the attitudes of the time it was written in. So many things are dumbed down nowadays and aimed much more at the Ern's of today, but my favourite authors are Enid and PG Wodehouse who largely portray characters from a class above that so it would be strange to then find it uncomfortable.

Other than that, I agree with all that you say. It is quite a good stand alone book, yet has a bit of a different feel. Although that applies to the last one or two in many of the series, the difference here is its not so much the quality as the style. As the series develops, Pip, Larry and Daisy are faded out and it becomes mostly the Fatty and Bets show. Then, in the last three, its mostly Fatty and Eunice followed by Fatty and Ern for the last two (Banshee Towers also has a different feel, and is mostly about those two - though the quality is much worse as well).

I agree about Mrs Trotteville changing, though that happens throughout the series really. At first it's described as if both his parents hardly notice Fatty, but as the books go on she seems a perfectly aware and caring mother with him. Then, yeah, there doesn't seem much difference between her and Mrs Hilton by the end.

I recently read Five Fall Into Adventure and posted similar about how a newcomer like Jo solving everything seemed strange and meant the FF were mostly sidelined for the book and gave it a different feel. Good book, but different. No one else responded about that aspect of that book, but plenty have acknowledged in the past how three of the FFO group get sidelined the longer the series goes on. And by the last few even Bets becomes less relevant and it's all Fatty and Ern. At least he'd been established in a couple of other books by then - it becomes the Jo show in her first appearance!

[Katharine]

Good point Bertie about Jo in the FF.

I think perhaps I'm only noticing the class attitude nowadays as I'm on a course which has covered the topic, so I'm more aware of it. As you say, it seemed to be the accepted 'norm' at the time these books were written.

I'm currently reading The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie which was published in 1934, and noticed a similar attitude in those stories. There is a general feeling that the working classes actually enjoyed waiting hand and foot on their 'betters', and accepted their lowly place in life cheerfully and without question.