The Enid Blyton Society

My latest journal arrived an hour ago and is now half read! Many thanks Tony for another bumper edition of good reading. I'll try to save the rest for a treat later on!

Mine came too! I will use it as some quality bed time reading, to lift my spirits!

I will post an opinion in a few days!

Edit: Duly Noted and changed!

Pippa-Stef wrote:Mine came to!

Was it unconscious, then? Glad to hear you managed to revive it, P-S!

I'm halfway through it and enjoying it immensely. Thanks, Tony!

Anita

Mine arrived as well. What a geat edition this one is. Every single article is a "must read". I particularly enjoyed John Lester's The Boy Next Door review and Dennis T Worley's Secret Seven character study, a fine companion piece to his earlier in depth look at the books themselves. David Cook continues his fine FFO articles and I still have Robert Houghton and Anita's articles to settle down with later this evening.

Thanks once again Tony for another high quality publication. Great to read that we have had 140 new members to the society aas well. The EBS continues tio go from strength to strength.

Lucky Star wrote:Great to read that we have had 140 new members to the society as well. The EBS continues to go from strength to strength.

What I didn't put in the Journal, is that we have also lost about 100 members over the past year, so although we are still on the up, perhaps the figure of 140 new members gives a slightly unrealistic picture.

I won't be able to open my journal until I get back from holiday at the week-end. So at least it gives me something to look forward to.

Pippa-Stef wrote:Mine came too!

Edit: Duly Noted and changed!

Journal duly received and will be fully digested on Sunday along with a pint of Ruddles County.

I have had a quick preview at the contents though, and I was highly amused by From My Window, Enid Blyton's Weekly Talk No. 5: "Manners." A light hearted account of Miss Blyton's observations on both good and bad service during a shopping expedition, it just goes to show that perhaps not a great deal has changed over the past 83 years.

Arrived back from Dorset this tea-time, and there was my journal waiting for me. I quickly glanced through it before the unpacking and it looks a good one. I'll get down to reading this evening.

It certainly looks a good one, but then each one does! I haven't had time to devour it yet, but am looking forward to a few hours reading. The Ruddles County sounds good, Petermax!

I did notice the renewal slip inside, so it was straight online to Paypal! What a great £8 worth!

Moonraker wrote:I did notice the renewal slip inside, so it was straight online to Paypal! What a great £8 worth!

As usual you were the first to do so - but only just this time!

Petermax wrote:I was highly amused by From My Window, Enid Blyton's Weekly Talk No. 5: "Manners." A light hearted account of Miss Blyton's observations on both good and bad service during a shopping expedition, it just goes to show that perhaps not a great deal has changed over the past 83 years.

I smiled at that too. And I like the way Enid Blyton writes in such a chatty style, as if she's talking to her audience.

Well, there was plenty of "meaty" reading in Journal 36 - we really are being spoilt with all these bumper issues!

Loved Robert Houghton's critique of The Hidey-Hole. I agree that, as mysteries go, it's not juicy at all but a disappointingly flavourless, shrivelled blackberry! Your article was immense fun to read, Robert, and I sensed that you rather enjoyed tearing a book to shreds for once (metaphorically, not literally!) I laughed at your mention of counting the number of times the word "blackberries" (or variations thereof) occurred, and I liked the touches of sarcasm - "the reader begins to wish the characters would go away and do their blackberry picking somewhere else...how many holes do we need!...wasting nearly the whole of chapter eight doing it...the book seriously flags under the weight of all those blackberries..." I wasn't quite sure what you meant by the book having been "almost completely forgotten and never reprinted in its original form since" as there have been a number of reprints, including paperbacks.

Great to see Sheila Ray referring to Ming and to learn from David Chambers that the PDSA still run Enid Blyton competitions. Like Imogen Smallwood, I think it's likely that Enid Blyton read school stories by Angela Brazil and other authors when she was a child. On reading Angela Brazil's A Fourth Form Friendship, I felt it was possible that Enid Blyton had read that book and been influenced by it when writing the early St. Clare's titles and Second Form at Malory Towers. I noted some of my observations in the following thread (second post down):

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... dred#p8728" target="_blank

I liked John Lester's comparison of the Bestall and Dunlop illustrations for The Boy Next Door and I thought David Cook's article on The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat was a good read. The description of the Spike Milligan skit made me laugh! Yes, the use of words like "alibi" adds to the "classic whodunnit" feel of the story although the resolution comes as a total surprise as Enid gives the reader no solid clues to work on.

It was surprising to see the face of Jackie Collins looking out from Terry Gustafson's article, though he often unearths some unexpected connections to Enid Blyton! Next time I go to the library I'll be on the look-out for a copy of Drop Dead Beautiful as I want to find the Faraway Tree reference! Regarding Burma going by the name of Myanmar, isn't Rangoon now Yangon? That has grave implications for The Mystery of the Strange Messages! "Lashings" is used in the Famous Five books but not for ginger-beer. If I remember correctly, there is a mention of "lashings of hard-boiled eggs" and perhaps also "lashings of tomatoes." I was amused by some of the Noddy jokes ("There's a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a blue hat with a bell on it must be in want of a wife" ) as well as the Joyce Grenfell spoof - I've read that before but it was well worth reading again.

A very pretty centrespread, showing 1997 First Day Covers. The cameo of the Wishing Chair is lovely ("The Birth Centenary of Enid Blyton"), as is the illustration of book characters trooping out of an open book ("Books for Children.") It was nice to have the chance to see those.

Anita

Anita Bensoussane wrote: Loved Robert Houghton's critique of The Hidey-Hole. I agree that, as mysteries go, it's not juicy at all but a disappointingly flavourless, shrivelled blackberry! Your article was immense fun to read, Robert, and I sensed that you rather enjoyed tearing a book to shreds for once (metaphorically, not literally!) I laughed at your mention of counting the number of times the word "blackberries" (or variations thereof) occurred, and I liked the touches of sarcasm - "the reader begins to wish the characters would go away and do their blackberry picking somewhere else...how many holes do we need!...wasting nearly the whole of chapter eight doing it...the book seriously flags under the weight of all those blackberries..." I wasn't quite sure what you meant by the book having been "almost completely forgotten and never reprinted in its original form since" as there have been a number of reprints, including paperbacks.

Glad you enjoyed it, Anita.

I guess what i was trying to say was that 'The Hidey Hole' hadn't, as far as I was aware, been reprinted in its original form, though perhaps I'm wrong.

I know it's been reprinted in the 'Riddles' series, and the 'Fabulous Four' series etc, but these were all doctored to fit into a series and so i didnt count these versions.

Was it reprinted in paperback before this? If so, I admit that my research wasnt thorough enough and maybe I was a bit hasty!

Just back from a fortnight in Devon, so have only scanned through the Journal as yet - a full report will follow soon: but it looks good enough to eat!

Robert Houghton wrote:I guess what i was trying to say was that 'The Hidey Hole' hadn't, as far as I was aware, been reprinted in its original form, though perhaps I'm wrong.

I know it's been reprinted in the 'Riddles' series, and the 'Fabulous Four' series etc, but these were all doctored to fit into a series and so i didnt count these versions.

Was it reprinted in paperback before this? If so, I admit that my research wasnt thorough enough and maybe I was a bit hasty!

I still have a massive number of reprints to add to the Book Listing, and The Hidey Hole is one of the books that needs attention. It was reprinted three times in paperback to the best of my knowledge, by Sparrow, Beaver and Mammoth. I don't have the Mammoth edition, but I should have the other two - if I can find them!

Robert Houghton wrote:I guess what i was trying to say was that 'The Hidey Hole' hadn't, as far as I was aware, been reprinted in its original form, though perhaps I'm wrong.

I know it's been reprinted in the 'Riddles' series, and the 'Fabulous Four' series etc, but these were all doctored to fit into a series and so i didnt count these versions.

Was it reprinted in paperback before this? If so, I admit that my research wasnt thorough enough and maybe I was a bit hasty!

Just back from a fortnight in Devon, so have only scanned through the Journal as yet - a full report will follow soon: but it looks good enough to eat!

Hope you enjoyed your holiday, Robert. I wasn't trying to criticise you of course - just thought I'd ask as I was puzzled!

I have two copies of The Hidey-Hole and both are paperback versions (Sparrow, 1982 and Mammoth, 1991.) From what I can gather the texts appear relatively untampered-with as there are plenty of instances of "I say," "jolly," etc as well as references to gypsies and lacrosse. However, there are currency updates. In the Sparrow edition, the children beat Mother at cards and she gives them five pence each for the tricycle fund. In the next paragraph we're told, "Sixpence was better than nothing." I expect that sixpence was the original amount, and the editor forgot to alter it to five pence in that paragraph! In the Mammoth edition, the children receive ten pence each which wouldn't appear to be in line with inflation. The Sparrow paperback cost 90p new, while the Mammoth one cost £2.50 nine years later. I bought them both second-hand though, for a few pence each.

The Hidey-Hole wasn't in the Riddle series but I believe it was one of the Fabulous Four titles. Has anyone here ever read any of the Fabulous Four books? Were the stories changed in a similar way to the stories in the Riddle series?

Tony, if I can get my scanner working I'll try to scan the Mammoth cover for you.

Anita