Journal 37 read - Winter 2008, I'm catching up slowly.
It started with Robert Houghton's article about The Boys' and Girls' Circus Book. I was very interested to read about that, as the only part of it I had come across before were the first two chapters which featured at the end of a Dean book. It was also interesting to see Robert's comparison with Enid's other circus books - I really must get around to reading them.
I really appreciated the opportunity to read one of Enid's adult stories - A Proper Knight. I found it an odd tale. For the most part I felt it was really a child's story, just with longer words/phrases than usual. However I felt the ending was perhaps one that a child might not have fully understood, so a curious mix. Perhaps it's just as well that Enid stuck to her 'day job' of writing for children.
This was followed by a letter from Noddy which had appeared in one of Enid's magazines. I thought that seemed a bit bland by Enid's usual standards, but then of course it was aimed at a much younger audience. Still it's great to have little snippets like that included in the Journal for those of us who might not have access to any of the magazines. It shows the range of work produced by Enid. Plus of course, I'm sure it gave Anita a chance to get out her crayons and indulge in a little bit of colouring in.
I enjoyed Selwyn Goodacre's look at the Wishing Chair book. I hadn't realised it was supposed to be a full-length book, and had always assumed it was a compilation of short stories. For some reason the Wishing Chair stories next left the same impression on me as the Faraway Tree ones did.
I was intrigued by Michel Bosc's article about Malory Towers, or more accurately, the French versions of the books. I was trying to work out which characters matched the new names.
Another gem followed - an article by Enid Blyton which was published in a poetry publication. I wonder if her words inspired any future poets? I enjoyed the mix of her simple examples, and extracts from well known poets.
Two photos next - one of Barbara Stoney with the two Thompson 'boys' outside Southernhay -always interesting to see pictures like that. The other photo was of Julie Heginbotham's jigsaw of Green Hedges. I bought the jigsaw before I got to know Julie, and was very pleased with my purchase. Maybe now the nights are pulling in, it is time to hunt it out and make it again.
The centre pages were gorgeous - 3 colour plates by Dorothy Heather from the Twelfth Holiday Book. Such vibrant colours and amazing details. Worthy of being framed and hung on a wall for all to see rather than hidden in the pages of a book.
David Cook continued his look at the FFO books with a review of The Invisible Thief - definitely one of the best books in the series (in my opinion).
John Lester wrote about Jo's appearances in some of the Famous Five books. I can't say I'd given much thought to her character before, although I know she's quite popular with some people. However I enjoyed reading John's comments.
Anita reviewed The Troublesome Three. I've never read this book, in fact I'm not sure that I remember hearing about it before. I shall have to keep an eye out for a copy as it sounds quite interesting, although unlike Anita, I didn't particularly like the illustrations, or at least not the ones included in the article. For me they were too cartoonlike. As this book was published in the mid 1950s I suppose it was a sign of the times that drawings were changing.
This journal really spoiled the reader for including rare 'gems', as the next item was a story from the 1920s - The Mysterious Car. A pleasant story, and a fascinating glimpse into the hobbies of young boys almost 100 years ago.
It was followed by Tony's article about the book 'Let's Pretend', again another very early work by Enid and something that probably many of us wouldn't know much about without interesting articles like this.
Next came a letter from a school boy who had been involved in a class project on Enid Blyton There used to be letters on the forums from time to time, but I can't recall seeing one for a long time. I'm wondering if that is because Tony hasn't been able to upload any for a while, or sadly because times have changed, and that children are no longer studying her at school?
The penultimate page has a review by Robert Houghton of the Famous Five Survival Guide which was a new publication. I have a copy on my shelves, waiting to be read. I must admit I assumed it was just a modern annual type book with extracts and info, but apparently not. After reading Robert's comments, I shall be making sure that this book is moved to the top of my 'to read' pile.
The last page is a colourful display from 'Our New Website'. I suppose I take this website for granted a bit, in that it always seems to have been here with all it's information. So it was interesting to see it being promoted only a year before I joined. As I 'lurked' for a while before actually taking the plunge to join on-line, I'm guessing I only stumbled across the website shortly after it was launched in that format.
It also made me wonder how people had managed to find out about the Enid Blyton Society before such website existed - having a quick 'Google' is taken pretty much for granted these days.
However, despite the advantages of having the internet readily available, nothing beats curling up with the journals and other books and eagerly turning the pages to find out what is next.