Journal 56

What did you think of the latest Journal?
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Rob Houghton »

Chrissie777 wrote:
Moonraker wrote:Not about puffins, is it?
Probably not.
In case you are interested, Nigel, the puffin cam on Burhou is still not turned on.
John Pickup wrote:He'll be devastated, Chrissie. :(
:wink: Probably best to delete that information, Chrissie, just in case Nigel can't take the news. :(
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Journal 56

Post by Chrissie777 »

John Pickup wrote:He'll be devastated, Chrissie. :(
Yes, John, I know. :wink:
Chrissie

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Re: Journal 56

Post by Lucky Star »

Well I have just finished Journal 56 and what a great one it was. Going in the running order I enjoyed Rob Houghton's Desert Island Blytons very much especially as he spoke about two of my own favourite books. The Enchanted Wood series is indeed much underrated and deserves to be up there with the likes of Alice in Wonderland. I have often wondered why myself and the only explanation I come up with is that Enid's huge output actually counted against her in that classics like these got somehow lost in the sheer welter of 700 or so books. Unlike Rob I prefer the original Enchanted Wood to The Folk of the Faraway Tree; I actually found Curious Connie a trifle annoying but that's just me. A superb article rounded out by probably one of the best SS volumes, Good Work Secret Seven.

Enid's letter to W.E.Johns was a fascinating read but I couldn't help thinking that I probably would not have enjoyed doing business with Enid. She sounds like she was a very hard and rather cold businesswoman behind the warmth of her storytelling. She probably had to be in order to succeed but it was rather jarring to read things like "take no notice - I don't care tuppence".

Enid's female characters are well represented in this issue. Poppy gives us the first taste with her well written article about George, Lotta and Darrell. Two are well known, Lotta was a good choice for comparison as she is relatively less known. I really enjoyed this article.

John Henstock's piece was intriguing. I must admit I never paused to wonder why she didn't write a simple camping story without villains. I think I must have just taken it for granted as a child that an Enid Blyton story would involve suspense and baddies.

Enid's letter from London was very evocative and the letter from Buster was fun. I then thoroughly enjoyed Anita's examination of Spiggy Holes. Like Anita it's not my favourite book. I seem to have an odd attitude towards it. I find it hard to decide to pick it up but then I love it when i'm reading it. I also never realised until now that it was Enid's first holiday adventure book. It now stands a little taller in my estimation as I can see clearly how the template for so many other books was laid down in it's pages. A fabulous job Anita and I really look forward to your next two articles as they will be covering two of my all time greatest Blyton books.

Phew, this was the Journal that just kept on giving. I always enjoy John Lester's articles and here he gives us Dinah and Diana, two more of Enid's greatest female characters. A great comparison and I was surprised to realise how much alike they are as I have always thought Diana Lynton to be a much more passive girl than Jon shows us. Dinah is of course a wonderful girl, probably much better than George Kirrin actua;lly.

The Beaney lecture sounded most interesting and reading Courtenay's article made me wish I had been able to attend. Similarly the articles by Freda Knight and Angela Canning and Ruth Soar were very interesting. I was saddened to hear that Eileen Soper held her FF work in such low esteem. I possess a couple of old Ordnance Survey maps myself so enjoyed Ruth's article. Anything on Mr Meddle is sure to be entertaining and Angela is another contributor who never disappoints.

Pippity's Pink Paint was a great story in typically Blyton magical mode. I do enjoy these stories from the 20s. They would be lost forever if it were not for the journal. Lastly John Pickup's article reminded me immediately of the beginning of my own Blyton collecting when I found a copy of The Castle of Adventure in the war and history section of an Oxfam shop! So well done John and I hope your collection is doing better than mine; which wouldn't be difficult actually. :lol:

It only remains to thank Tony as always for producing yet another masterpiece. I only hope that most of the resubscription forms come back promptly and safeguard the future of this brilliant little magazine. :D
"What a lot of trouble one avoids if one refuses to have anything to do with the common herd. To have no job, to devote ones life to literature, is the most wonderful thing in the world. - Cicero

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Re: Journal 56

Post by pete9012S »

I enjoyed all the articles in this edition.
The regular contributors articles were excellent, as usual and it was really nice to see such well written articles by new contributors including Granddad John and also Courtenay's excellent Lecture Review: The Phenomenon Of Enid Blyton.

I wanted to take a moment to comment on the quality of the Journal itself.
The paper it is printed on,the wonderful colour illustrations and the way it is so professionally put together.

Just pick the Journal up and flick through the pages when you have a moment.Where else could you get such a high class booklet/brochure at such a reasonable rate?

I can't think of any booklet or Journal to match the quality of ours.
I recently bought a few old editions of the Green Hedges magazine,and whilst enjoying the content,I couldn't help comparing the quality to our own Enid Blyton Society Journal.

I hope the new Famous Five Annual 2016 gives the Journal a jolly good plug on it's opening pages as it deserves to be enjoyed by all those with a love of Enid Blyton.

Over and out.

Pete
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Hear, hear! The Journal is a work of art and as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the mind.
Lucky Star wrote:The Enchanted Wood series is indeed much underrated and deserves to be up there with the likes of Alice in Wonderland. I have often wondered why myself and the only explanation I come up with is that Enid's huge output actually counted against her in that classics like these got somehow lost in the sheer welter of 700 or so books.
Yes, to some extent Enid Blyton seems to have been a victim of her own success. The Faraway Tree books - and The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies as well - are actually more child-friendly than the "Alice" books in my opinion, while being every bit as imaginative. The "Alice" books contain a few nods in the direction of adults but children can engage readily with all aspects of the Faraway Tree trilogy and the Book of Brownies.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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Re: Journal 56

Post by walter raleigh »

Anita Bensoussane wrote: Yes, to some extent Enid Blyton seems to have been a victim of her own success. The Faraway Tree books - and The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies as well - are actually more child-friendly than the "Alice" books in my opinion, while being every bit as imaginative. The "Alice" books contain a few nods in the direction of adults but children can engage readily with all aspects of the Faraway Tree trilogy and the Book of Brownies.
Not forgetting the 'Wishing Chair' books! I always think of all those books as being a kind of loosely connected series. I remember getting 'Book Of Fairies' one Christmas and being really excited as I was expecting another novel like "Book Of Brownies" or "The Wishing Chair Again". Imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be just a lot of unnconnected short stories. :(
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

That's interesting, Walter. I read Book of Fairies before Book of Brownies so I had no particular expectations and I enjoyed the assortment of stories. But when I encountered Book of Brownies shortly afterwards, I was overjoyed to find that the story carried on and on. It was the first "chapter book" I ever read.

I loved the Wishing-Chair books too as a child, but the first one isn't as well-structured as Enid Blyton's other fantasy books so I tend to rate the Faraway Tree trilogy and Book of Brownies more highly.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Rob Houghton »

I can't recall what the first 'chapter book' I read was...but it was either The Book of Brownies or Binkle & Flip' as I had them both around the same time.

I agree about The Wishing Chair - I love it, especially the first book, which has slightly more continuity and is slightly less 'episodic' as it deals with finding the chair, but I don't rate it as highly as The Faraway Tree books though, because the Wishing Chair is more a standard type fantasy, like The Phoenix and the Carpet, for example. To me, The Faraway Tree is filled with so many original ideas - the tree itself, the characters, the lands at the top, the slippery slip, the toffee shock Dame washalot throwing her water down the tree, the different fruit growing there, the trees whispering secrets, etc - things that no other author ever created.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I agree about the originality of the Faraway Tree, but the first Wishing-Chair book seems more episodic to me and I always enjoy the second one better (though I love the finding of the chair and the finding of Chinky in the first book).
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Courtenay »

We only had The Wishing-Chair Again when I was little, so I was very excited to read my cousin's copy of the first book a few years later and learn how the children found the Wishing-Chair and Chinky. I loved the opening episode in the mysterious little antique shop, especially as my parents love collecting antiques and I've always found such shops very exciting (although I think by then I was old enough to know I wasn't likely to find a Wishing-Chair for real myself!! :wink: ). I'm not sure the rest of the book grabbed me as much as The Wishing-Chair Again, however. It's too many years since I read both of them, so I can't always remember which incidents were in which book! Same with the Faraway Tree books, actually.

I do agree, though, that while both are wonderfully imaginative and lots of fun, the Faraway Tree does involve a bit more originality and creativity. Maybe that's why Enid managed to fill three books with Faraway Tree stories (plus a few extra on the side) and only two with Wishing-Chair stories!
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Re: Journal 56

Post by walter raleigh »

Actually there are three 'Wishing Chair' books now Courtenay:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/wishing-chair.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'More Wishing Chair Stories' collects miscellaneous stories that have been published elsewhere into one volume. I was unaware of it too, until I found out about it via this forum, much to my excitement.
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Rob Houghton »

I have the third volume and its well worth having, especially since it also has the original illustrations! 8) However, saying that, some of it has appeared before, as it contains chapters that had been removed from the Dean version of The Wishing Chair, but appear in the original, and also the Enid Blyton Omnibus story. :-)

Image


I think I will have to revise what I said about The Wishing Chair books 1 and 2 - I agree that book 2 is better and for years this was the only one we had. When I was about 8 I acquired the first book and it was thrilling to read how they found the chair, but as has been said, the rest of it was more episodic :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Journal 56

Post by Courtenay »

Robert Houghton wrote:I have the third volume and its well worth having, especially since it also has the original illustrations! 8) However, saying that, some of it has appeared before, as it contains chapters that had been removed from the Dean version of The Wishing Chair, but appear in the original, and also the Enid Blyton Omnibus story. :-)
Did the Dean version of Adventures of the Wishing-Chair cut out the final chapter(s), by any chance? I first started reading my cousin's copy of that book while visiting her - it was an older edition with the original illustrations - but I seem to recall I didn't finish it by the time we had to go home, and I didn't like to ask to borrow it, as I didn't know when I'd be able to return it.

Then perhaps a couple of years later, I obtained a copy of the Dean edition and was finally able to finish the book, but was very surprised and disappointed to find that it had a rather abrupt ending - the children and Chinky had just escaped from the Snoogle's castle and returned home, and the chapter finished with Enid questioning whether their mother would ever know where they'd been: "No - that was the children's secret." And the book ended there, without any proper sense of conclusion, which Enid is normally very careful to provide. Nothing about the children arranging for Chinky to look after the chair while they're at school, or anything like Enid's traditional way of signing off by saying goodbye to the characters (which she does at the end of The Wishing-Chair Again).

Can anyone shed some light on this for me? :|
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Daisy »

There are four more chapters in my 1951 copy Courtenay so you are right in feeling yours is unfinished. The last chapter is called "The last adventure of all" when the children have to go back to school. Chinky catches a bus back to fairyland to stay with his mother who will keep the chair safely there until the next holidays come round.
"The playroom was empty. The wishing-chair was gone. Ah - but wait till the holidays! What fine adventures they would all have then! "
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Re: Journal 56

Post by Rob Houghton »

As Daisy says, these last four chapters were cut from the Dean & Son version. They make up part of the 3rd Wishing Chair book, although its a little odd that the 10th chapter out of 17 is called 'The Last Adventure Of All' - so the chapters seem to have just been thrown together for Vol 3.
Last edited by Rob Houghton on 20 Mar 2015, 12:56, edited 1 time in total.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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