Thoughts on the Secret Seven series

[Silky moon]

I’m rereading the Secret Seven books and have just ordered some more on eBay-( the Knight/ Brockhampton editions ). Whilst they don’t hold a candle to the likes of the Famous Five or the Find Outers, I think they allowed Enid to develop the later “investigation books”. I like Go Ahead Secret Seven and Good Work Secret Seven, although I haven’t read all of them or at least haven’t for some years!

I don’t think the characters are as good. Peter is irritatingly bossy and Pam and Barbara don’t seem to have anything to add. I like Janet the best. I’ve got a soft spot for George, especially when his father banned him from the Secret Seven after he got marched home by the man he was shadowing ( who turned out to be a rogue)!

Still good fun to read and I’m looking forward to rebuilding my collection

[pete9012S]

Glad to hear you are rebuilding your collection Silky moon.


In 2019 I managed to buy the eleven books above for £8 - the postage was a fair £5.99
Then I hunted down the extra ones I still needed.

I then managed to locate a fair priced 1970's Derek Lucas set as well.

Would be most interested to see any pics of the books you buy.

Regards

Pete

[Lucky Star]

Wow what a bargain Pete.

[Katharine]

I had a few Secret Seven books as a child, and was fairly indifferent to them. I didn't dislike them, but didn't feel the same urge to complete my collection in the same way as I did with other series.

I recently got a modern boxed set of them, as I still hadn't got them all, and thought it would be good to have a matching set. I'm just about to read Secret Seven Win Through, which I can't remember if I've read before or not.

I'll try and remember to share my thoughts on it when I've finished.

[Silky moon]

Glad to hear you are rebuilding your collection Silky moon.


In 2019 I managed to buy the eleven books above for £8 - the postage was a fair £5.99
Then I hunted down the extra ones I still needed.

I then managed to locate a fair priced 1970's Derek Lucas set as well.

Would be most interested to see any pics of the books you buy.

Regards


Pete

I’d like to post pictures, but can’t work out how to! Are you able to advise please ?

[John Pickup]

I've always liked the Secret Seven books, they were the first books by Enid I read.
True, the principal characters don't have any real depth to them, apart from Peter's bossiness and Susie's knack of outsmarting the others.
Yes, some of the Seven are peripheral figures but the early books and a couple of the later ones contain some cracking adventures amongst some gritty situations.
The series was my gateway into the more mature Adventure and Famous Five books and I believe they play an important role in a young child's reading development.

[Anita Bensoussane]

When my sister and I read the Secret Seven books, we loved the idea of having meetings in a shed with passwords and badges - and food! We formed a detective club with two friends, taking ideas from the Secret Seven and Find-Outers series as well as a couple of non-fiction books on how to be a detective. We never did solve any mysteries but we had fun disguising ourselves, shadowing people, writing notes in invisible ink, inventing secret codes, making an identikit and a periscope, taking fingerprints, playing games that involved using observation skills or finding clues, and practising getting out of a locked room.

I agree that the best of the Secret Seven books have exciting plots and are atmospheric, even though the mysteries are short and sweet and the characters don't have much depth to them.

I’d like to post pictures, but can’t work out how to! Are you able to advise please ?

Pictures have to be uploaded to a picture-hosting site and then the link/tag can be copied and pasted into your forums post. I haven't used any picture-hosting sites for ages, I'm afraid, but others may be able to recommend one or two.

[Moonraker]

https://imgur.com/upload

[Boodi 2]

I was already familiar with the Famous Five, the FFOs and probably also the Secret series and the R/Barney mysteries before I first read the Secret Seven series, which meant that I found it disappointing and a bit of a let-down compared to the others and thus never bothered collecting the books or reading them to my son. Perhaps had I read them at an earlier stage I might have become fonder of them.

[natalieb]

Janet is the natural leader. I hate Peter. Bossy prat and sexist, to boot.

[Katharine]

I'm about half way through Secret Seven Win Through, and realised it is one that I've read before. I find I can never remember any of the stories from their titles, unlike the Famous Five which in many cases are self-explanatory (ie Five on a Treasure Island).

I actually quite like the book so far - the idea of making a den inside a cave would have been very appealing as a child.

[Silky moon]

Janet is the natural leader. I hate Peter. Bossy prat and sexist, to boot.

I’m not keen on him either. We wouldn’t have put up with him. He’d probably have got a thump. Julian is a bit bossy, but he’s not arrogant. I like Janet as well

[StephenC]

I have always had a soft spot for the Secret Seven series, although like some other people, I found the character of Peter, to be quite annoying. Colin and George, and Barbara and Pam, were barely indistinguishable from each other. Enid missed a great opportunity, in not replacing either Pam or Barbara, with Susie. Susie was a great character, and her inclusion in the group, would have breathed new life into the series, in my opinion. The first half of the series, from The Secret Seven in 1949, to Secret Seven Win Through in 1955, were definitely the best books in the series, and the quality really fell away, after that, with the notable exceptions of Secret Seven Mystery, and Shock For The Secret Seven. The final book in the series, Fun For The Secret Seven, was a sad end to the series. For me, Go Ahead Secret Seven, and Good Work Secret Seven, were the standouts of the series.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I didn't read this series until I joined the Society, and thought, I'd give them a go, and collect the hard backs. Nice little stories for the younger reader I thought. Peter, bossy, yes, but then he is the leader.

My favourites are Good Work Secret Seven and Secret Seven on the Trail.

[Katharine]

Well I definitely enjoyed Secret Seven Win Through. I perhaps enjoy the books more now than I did when I read them as a child. Maybe because I was a little too old when I first read them, which would have been after the FF and other adventure books.

After reading about the FF looking for lost treasure and finding secret tunnels etc., the SS adventures seemed a little bit bland, now however I can start to appreciate their appeal on a more homely level. Although the FF adventures and other older books are more exciting, they are far less believable. The chances of knowing someone who owned their own treasure island, or meeting someone like Bill Smugs are pretty unlikely, whereas making a den in a local sand quarry (pre health and safety) seems more realistic.

It's funny really, the SS plots are more believable - I'm sure lots of children made (and still make) secret societies in their garden sheds - but the characters on the whole aren't very well defined, whereas people like Jack and Phillip, George and Barney are perhaps more realistic, and yet their adventures are far more fanciful.

I think I've discussed this before, but for me perhaps the main fly in the ointment with the SS is Susie - I hate the way that Jack gets into trouble with his mother because Susie does spiteful things like hiding his password, gate crashes the meetings etc.