Like others, I think Enid Blyton's 'From My Window' article about the finding of Elfin Cottage (or Elfin House, as she seems to have been thinking of calling it) is lovely, especially the description of the house as "just big enough and just little enough." I don't think I've ever come across the word "pertled" before. Sadly, the road Elfin Cottage is on is no longer "quiet" - though I was pleased to see the house on the Beckenham walk that several of us went on in 2013.
Dating from the Elfin Cottage days is Enid's Christmas card featuring sketches of her animals - a fascinating item. Also fascinating is the prologue for the school concert - an appealing combination of grandeur and humour.
What a warm, glowing scene from Secret of the Old Mill on the centre pages. I have the story in a paperback collection of Secret Seven short stories, but it's a real pity that it doesn't have Eileen Soper's beautiful pictures.
'Spot Goes to Fairyland' is a gentle and enjoyable read, greatly enhanced by Kathleen Nixon's truly charming illustrations.
The Dedman and Sydney letters are very interesting indeed, especially the comments about the Mary Pollock books which do seem to confirm that Enid Blyton was curious to see whether her books would be as popular without her name attached to them. Is "Bill Johns" W. E. Johns who wrote the Biggles books, I wonder?
Enid says the same thing to Mr. Sydney that she said to Mr. Dedman - that in her opinion "the best librarians are always men!" Did she really think that, or was she just buttering them up?!
Funny that the newspaper articles give different figures. I notice that it says in the Leyton Express and Independent, "Her stories are nevertheless read not only by the young but adults also." It's good to know that adult Blyton enthusiasts existed even at the time the books were being written! When the same newspaper says, "Even Mr. Somerset Vaughan would have been pleased with such a reception", I wonder whether they mean Mr. Somerset Maugham.
I also grew up collecting the books in paperback, as well as borrowing hardback editions from the town library. However, I never saw any Enid Blyton books in the school library. Maybe the school thought children read enough Enid Blyton books off their own bat, so they wanted to promote other authors to make sure we got some variety!Lucky Star wrote:I enjoyed Freda Knight's piece about the Famous Five too. I came along about ten years after Freda and had an advantage in that cheap mass produced paperbacks had arrived so I didn't have to rely entirely upon the library for my reading of these books but I well remember my own school library and the feeling of scurrying out with the precious Blytonian (or William or whoever) treasures stored safely in my schoolbag.