Journal 69

[timv]

Another fantastic Journal with plenty of interesting stuff - congratulations to Tony and the other contributors. I agree that Anita's article was really excellent; it was great to have the actual original manuscript to compare and see what Enid had changed (and to guess why she might have done this). The highlighted examples of the children's words and behaviour shows that Enid was 'slipping' into the basic situations of the early FF books, no doubt a sign of her dementia, and had probably forgotten what exactly she'd done to develop characters and explore topics (eg the Five 's experience of circuses) since then. But arguably it was a conscious decision, not just a sign of failing powers, to return the Five to their early selves - as shown by getting Eileen Soper to show them as a few years younger than in the middle books like Mystery Moor and Down To The Sea.

You can see similarity with the Banshee Towers book in the early 1960s - Enid falling back on situations and storylines that were easier to write. But Anita reminds me that parts of Together Again have their merits despite the repetitions of old scenarios and the basic dialogue - and the storyline of George on the island is a good return to the best aspects of G's character to end the series on.

[pete9012S]

Just finished the whole Journal - what an exciting ride that was.

So many good articles and different slants on the World Of Enid Blyton.
Here's just a few highlights:

Tony's editorial is like the Queen's speech. It has gravitas, is informative and also contains gentle mirth.
The stories Tony includes from the early days of Enid's career are such a privilege to be able to read.

Science is Golden – An Appreciation of Uncle Quentin by John Lester
Really enjoyed this - love analysing specifics from the books so this article was right up my street.

Noddy Recycled by Angela Canning
Found this article to be most informative - Enid's work certainly generated lots of work for a smorgasbord of illustrators. Indeed, what would her work be without the inimitable Betty Maxey and all the others!

How Enid Blyton Created Smuggler's Top – Part 2: by William E. Ferguson
Superb! Who wouldn't want to be in a class that experimented with smuggling codes!

What Enid Blyton Means to Me by Julie Heginbotham
Loved this!!!
This article really resonated with me and I agree with all of Julie's memories about discovering Enid Blyton, reading the books as fast as possible, and then re-reading them again.
What great books Julie started her Enid Blyton journey with. Which two? Read the article to find out!

Famous Five Bestime Jigsaws by Eileen Soper
would have loved one of these when little, but born in 1967 I am of the Maxey era!

My Enid Blyton Cookery Book – Part 7: by Robert Houghton
Are you overwhelmed by the vast amount and variety of short stories Enid wrote? I am. So articles like Rob's really help me to focus and appreciate each short story he mentions - will I ever get to the bottom of them all?
I doubt it - Enid's imagination in creating them all simply astounds me.

Mystery of Barney's Grandmother by John Henstock
Excellent detective work - I knew faintly reading the books when young that something wasn't quite harmonious about Barney's antecedents and their personalities, but was too young to put my finger on it.

From My Window – No. 26: The Moon, The Dawn, and The Sea by Enid Blyton
Did you enjoy this? I really, really did. Thanks to Tony for researching it and including it for us.
Made me feel like I was actually there with Enid.

Famous Five TV Series 1978 – Part 4: by Tim Venning
I was never a fan of the 1970's series and still haven't watched much of it, but I loved this article.
So nice to see that many places have stayed relatively unchanged - although to me 1978 doesn't seem all that long ago....

A Letter from Enid Blyton – No. 26
It seemed to me from the letter that Enid Blyton really respected Eileen Soper. To be honest, I can't imagine her being as 'chuffed' with Betty Maxey, but hey, maybe I am wrong - hope so!!


Five Are Together Again by Anita Bensoussane
Another jewel in the crown of this Journal. Anita manages to slag off this under par book, yet still pull out some of it's noteworthy and enjoyable features.
No easy task with a book so late in Enid's career, when her writing powers had diminished.
I did not notice any lack of quality in any of the Five books when I read them all between the ages of eight and twelve, just the odd Kirrin/location/Barnard discrepancy.
I too would like to see more books reviewed alongside the original manuscripts please.
What a contrast - a Knight Soper paperback and Enid's hand corrected version!!!

Enid Blyton in The Morning Post – No. 1 The "Feel" of a House
Yes, yes, yes. How right Enid is about the 'feel' of a house - I have always felt the same way as her.

Uncollected Stories from Enid Blyton's Magazine – No. 8: You Never Know What Will Turn Up!
These uncollected stories featured in the magazine are wonderful. How many of us would ever get to see and read them without Tony including them in the Journal for us?
It gives a small taste of what it may have been like to have received Sunny Stories or The Enid Blyton Magazine back in the day.

My Gold by Enid Blyton
Short and sweet from 1937 - but still very touching.

Book Page – No. 38: Boys' and Girls' Circus Book
What a great rear end. A whole section of The Journal could possibly be created from the story behind this story.
Indeed on these forums I think there is a voluminous thread about it - can anyone deft lay their hands on it??

Sorry if I've missed anyone out - I would like to thank everyone involved in producing the latest Journal as I really enjoyed every single article, illustration and thought in it.

Special thanks for Tony - he was right, this Journal was indeed 'chocca block full' of good stuff!

Regards

Pete

[Kate Mary]

I've only read the extracts from the Ladies' Year Book 1929 so far but what an important year with the move from Elfin Cottage to Old Thatch and the start of the children's letters in Teachers' World. And I've also read the poem from The Morning Post that starts 'Under a slender tree I stood, lost in the rain in Cuckoo Wood... ' . I have long wanted to read that poem in full and thanks to Tony now I have. I've no time to read more at present but there is lots more to look forward to.

[Lenoir]

Tony's editorial is like the Queen's speech. It has gravitas, is informative and also contains gentle mirth.
The stories Tony includes from the early days of Enid's career are such a privilege to be able to read.

Agreed.
That was a great review, makes me look forward even more to receiving this new journal. It should be here within a week or so I think.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Lovely to see my Journal waiting for me when I got home from the Isle of Wight, where we stayed for a glorious week.

Read Anita's article so far and found it very interesting. Must give this book another read as I've not read it for quite a number of years now.

Glad you liked my article Pete, I think most of us have our own memories of why we love Blyton so much.

Thanks to all contributors in advance of my reading the Journal, and to Tony for putting it all together.

[Lenoir]

It should be here within a week or so I think.

Quite right. It arrived today.

[Kate Mary]

With the exception of Enid's uncollected stories and periodical articles (I always leave these 'til last) I've read through the whole Journal. An excellent read as usual I even enjoyed Tim Venning's article on the FF tv series although I've only ever seen one episode of this and that was at a Society day years ago. The highlights for me were Anita's review of Five Are Together Again and the latest instalment of Robert's Cookery Book series. I was delighted to see I had read all the short stories he mentioned and some were particular favourites of mine. The only thing I'm not familiar with was the poem Not Getting Up.

Tony says at the end of his editorial that it would be nice to have more articles from contributors and for Enid to have a rest. No Tony! much as I love reading the articles, the uncollected stories, letters, poems and journalism from Enid is the icing on the cake.

[Daisy]

I've now read and devoured the latest Journal... and what a lovely feast it is! Pete has more or less said what I would also say about the various articles... I particularly liked "From my Window" this time. It really was a lyrical, beautifully written piece of prose. The poems that Enid wrote are also delightful. It is great to have these pieces brought to our attention, thanks to Tony's hard work and research.

I enjoyed Julie's piece of nostalgia and agree with her. I find it a great source of help to read our old books from childhood when we see what is on the news these days! It's good to escape.

I've enjoyed Rob's cookery series and also Anita's piece on Five are Together Again.To compare what Enid first wrote with what she eventually decided on, is a privilege which few are able to have. I wonder if there are many, or indeed any, more scripts which could be similarly used to give us some insight into her thought processes. (Looks hopefully in Anita's and Tony's direction).

Enid's hand written diary extracts were lovely to see - and just about decipher! I enjoyed Tony's comments on the entries!

To all the contributors, many thanks, and especially to Tony for the huge task he undertakes in producing such a beautiful and well thought out Journal.

[Lucky Star]

And so another wonderful issue comes to an end. Actually I read it in one day just after I got it but for various reasons I am only getting around to writing about it now.

I used to cherry pick my way through the journal reading the articles of most interest in descending order. It is a mark of the current golden age of Journals that for the last three or four issues I have simply read it cover to cover as all articles are good and interesting. Thus after Tony's editorial which I always read immediately I rip open the envelope it was on to John Lester's Appreciation of Uncle Quentin. I've always considered him a somewhat dark and intriguing character but John gets behind this with an excellent analysis of Quentin's all too human flaws and circumstances. We are skillfully shown his human side via his very close though stormy relationship with his only child and his generosity is evident in his intention to give his wonderful inventions to mankind free of charge. His loyalty to colleagues is also amply demonstrated. Indeed he is a vital ingredient in the FF series.

A Terrible Muddle by Enid herself was most enjoyable. A fine mess created by laziness and inattention with the perpetrators getting their deserved comeuppance in typically Blyton fashion (no pun intended). Angela Canning's article was fascinating. True enough I have never heard of Edgar Hodges but I realise that I have seen a fair bit of his work in my time. Good to know he is still alive and well.

The Ladies Yearbook gave a fascinating insight into the daily routine of being Enid Blyton and then it was on to William Ferguson for his very entertaining dissection of one of my favourite books; Five go to Smuggler's Top. This two parter has been an excellent and deep look at the book and I do hope William will apply his technique to other books in the future.

Julie's article rang very true with me as many of her favourite characters are mine too and I also had to join the society just as soon as I discovered it. The first thing she mentions is nostalgia. I feel exactly the same. Reading Blyton takes me right back to happy days.

After perusing the beautiful colour section of FF jigsaws I turned the page to be confronted with a salad! Now I am not usually a salad eater but as this one came from my favourite chef and looked very tasty I raised knife and fork and tucked in. Just like me Rob discovered Enid through her short stories. Also like me it seems to have been the Purnell Sunshine Library series. Fireside Tales for Rob, in my case it was Goodnight Stories. As these were the first I read I was not disappointed at all by the illustrations, in fact I have only to open those books at an illustrated page to tumble headlong back to the age of 5 or 6. As I read on I realised that I knew only about half of the stories that Rob mentioned although I have a fair number of short story collections on my shelf. I will have to implement some sort of "One Story per Night" regime to reacquaint myself with the lesser known ones. I have said this before but this is a particularly enjoyable series of articles ranging as it does so freely over Blyton's work. Somehow it always seems fresh and exciting. Just as a salad should be I suppose.

John Henstock's short article on Barney's grandmother raised an intriguing question although I think the discrepancies are probably due to Enid's memory rather than any mystery. Tim Venning meanwhile continued his very enjoyable series looking at everyone's favourite TV series the 78 FF series. When I someday get around to making a serious exploration of this beautiful area I will be bringing these articles along as my guidebook.

Anita's article as always was riveting and highly enjoyable. I like how she chose the first FF book last time and the last one this time as there is quite a difference between the two. The first book glows with fresh summery optimism and anticipation for the many wonderful adventures ahead; the last one labours tiredly along under a recycled plot, a rather uninspiring location and the irritating presence of Tinker Hayling and his wretched car impersonations. I noted that Anita finds it endearing! If he ever comes to a forum gathering she can look after him then. To be honest I have never particularly liked Five are Together Again. The best thing about it is that we get one final visit to Kirrin Island before the series ends but otherwise I actually do prefer it's predecessor Mystery to Solve. admittedly it's been a long time now since I read it. I'll put that right shortly. Nevertheless another great article and I'd love to see Anita turn her spotlight on some more FF books.

And so another great Journal goes to it's bed on the shelf alongside it's fellows. It never fails to amaze me that Tony marches on year after year without ever letting the variety or quality of the Journal drop. It's a beautiful and consistently excellent publication and my thanks as always go out to all the contributors and to Tony himself for tirelessly putting it all together in such spectacular fashion.

[Chrissie777]

I enjoyed Julie's piece of nostalgia and agree with her. I find it a great source of help to read our old books from childhood when we see what is on the news these days! It's good to escape.

So true!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments on my article. As far as I know, only a handful of Enid Blyton manuscripts still exist and they may not all have been edited to the same extent as Five Are Together Again. However, I certainly hope I'll have the chance to examine a few more. Thanks for making Five Are Together Again available, Tony - and thanks too for producing yet another smashing Journal of such high quality. I've enjoyed reading it immensely and will comment on various articles in about a week when I've got a bit more time.

[Eddie Muir]

I agree totally, Anita. The latest Journal is an absolute delight and I, too, have enjoyed reading it immensely. Thank you, Tony and all the contributers.

[Kate Mary]

I enjoyed all the articles in the Journal but was particularly pleased to see the poem 'The Enchanted Tree' included in it. I've always been intrigued by the opening lines as they appear in the Cave - 'Under a slender tree I stood, lost in the rain in Cuckoo Wood'. While browsing through the Teachers' World, I found this 'From My Window' article from the 11th March 1925:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... &perid=170" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both the poem and the column were inspired by an actual incident of Enid being caught in the rain and sheltering under a birch tree. The article was written on 27th February 1925 and the poem on 2nd March. I was delighted to make the connection between the two of a small incident that happened in Enid's life over 94 years ago.

[Courtenay]

That's just lovely, to read about the incident that inspired one of Enid's poems! Thanks, Kate Mary. It's always fascinating to see how even very early in her writing career, Enid had this childlike propensity to look for and find "magic" everywhere, especially in nature, and of course to capture it in words and convey that sense of wonder and delight to young readers. It's no wonder she became such a popular and enduring author.

I'm another one who doesn't at all mind the large number of contributions from Enid herself in the Journal, Tony — please keep them up wherever you can! And thanks again for the excellent quality of the publication, as always. This reminds me, I must get back to working on the idea I had for a series of articles myself (no spoilers, sorry)...

[Anita Bensoussane]

Interesting stuff about the link between the poem and the column - thanks for that, Kate Mary!

Anita's article as always was riveting and highly enjoyable. I like how she chose the first FF book last time and the last one this time as there is quite a difference between the two. The first book glows with fresh summery optimism and anticipation for the many wonderful adventures ahead; the last one labours tiredly along under a recycled plot, a rather uninspiring location and the irritating presence of Tinker Hayling and his wretched car impersonations. I noted that Anita finds it endearing! If he ever comes to a forum gathering she can look after him then.

Thanks, John (Lucky Star). That just about sums up the two books, though I don't mind Tinker. He doesn't seem to be very popular with readers but I don't think the car impersonations would bother me much. In any case, anyone who loves monkeys and lighthouses can't be too bad so I'd be glad to see him at a forum gathering!

Book Page – No. 38: Boys' and Girls' Circus Book
What a great rear end.

A whole section of The Journal could possibly be created from the story behind this story.
Indeed on these forums I think there is a voluminous thread about it - can anyone deft lay their hands on it??

I found the following thread but there may well be others:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/for ... ys#p260831" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;