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Original poster

What was your favourite Enid Blyton book?

280 replies

Flapjacker48 · 02/08/2023 14:04

When I was a child (80s) read loads of Enid Blyton books (passed down from siblings, library etc) and in the past few months have read loads of these free online (original/early editions, none with updated texts) - prob way more than when I was a child!

Although dated in many ways I have a fondness for the "family" type EB books - (house on the corner, family at red-roofs, six bad boys) which were less well known than Famous five/secret seven etc.

Also I have read several books about EB (biography, book by her agent and a book by her daughter about her childhood) and found these really interesting, of course like all authors/famous people in general who you think you know their lives are more complex (and interesting!) and different to how one would expect and how they are "presented"

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MillicentTrilbyHiggins · 03/08/2023 07:48

Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 07:43

@MillicentTrilbyHiggins Tammylan calls Penny "Tupenny" as she is worth more than a penny!

Thanks! I got it the wrong way round then.

Marsyas · 03/08/2023 08:13

Another favourite which I still own was Tales of Toyland, about a sailor doll called Tiptoe and a fairy called Jolly.

I had this one but I think the fairy was Tiptoe and the sailor was Jolly. I think it had other stories as well, one about children on holiday buying presents for their mum or gran, everyone is mean to the child who finds a crab and thinks this would be a good present but then they also find some money and buy a crab brooch instead. Or something. Also children who insist on staying up all night then find they don't enjoy it. It did also, as mentioned, have the awfully racist chapter/characters, I guess the names and toy type must have been updated if it was reissued.

FatCatatPaddingtonStation · 03/08/2023 08:18

I liked the family ones best too - @Flapjacker48 you are the only person I know that remembers the House At the Corner!
Loved that one as well as-
The Family at Redroofs
The Six Bad Boys
The Boy Next Door
The Put ‘Em Rights
Hollow Tree House
The Family Next Door
The Treasure Seekers
Family at Green Meadows
Both Mistletoe Farm books

I enjoyed all of the boarding school ones, including the often forgotten Mischief at St Rollos

i I loved Come to the Circus with Fenella and thought it superior to Mr Gallianos, but enjoyed those ones too.

In terms of adventure books, obviously I read all of the FF and SS but my favourite series were the Barney books and the Adventure series. I liked Five Find Outers too, particular the interactions between the children and Clear Orf. My partner is a copper and my children screech with laughter at his depiction.

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Children's books
Memba · 03/08/2023 08:19

I really loved the school stories: St Clare's, Malory Towers, Naughtiest Girl.

I loved them so much that a few years ago I did a masters degree in children's literature and wrote my dissertation on them!

Big fan of Famous Five too and the 70s TV series currently on BritBox.

Marsyas · 03/08/2023 08:20

*She churned out a huge amount of books quickly and there was a huge amount of repetitions, errors and inconsistencies - certainly from book to book within series.

(Errors such as with the surname of the children in the Famous Five. Also the name of the boy who looked after Timmy and the house keeper.)*

The relationships between J, D and A's family and George's family drove me mad - they are all Kirrins, so the fathers must be brothers, but it's stated that Aunt Fanny owns Kirrin Island and Kirrin Farm and Kirrin Cottage as they came down to her through her part of the family. Maybe it is a common name down those parts! Also I was troubled by the fact that there was a day long car journey between the cousins' houses in the first book but by the end of the series they were cycling over to see each other, but concluded they must have moved. And the fact that poor Timmy had to run alongside them while they cycled for miles, but I don't know much about dogs, maybe they can do that.

It didn't help that lots of the books were updated, and I had some old ones (1950s) and some updated ones (1980s), so in some they were spending shillings and wearing slacks, and in others they were spending 50p and wearing jeans, who knows what else had been changed.

When I read the Famous Five one where they go to the mysterious island with the statues to my son I was struck by the ridiculous timeline, they have a full day doing stuff, go to the beach, decide to get a boat to the island, do loads there and it is still the same day. I think they have dinner about three times. I would never have noticed as a child.

Original poster
Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 08:21

@FatCatatPaddingtonStation I often wonder why EB didn't write more the St Rollo school books but it was a one off.

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TravellingSpoon · 03/08/2023 08:22

St. Claire's gave me my love of reading. My favourite was definitely Claudine at St. Claire's.

00100001 · 03/08/2023 08:36

I remember reading the Magic Faraway Tree....but couldn't tell you what happened in it ha ha

Morewineplease10 · 03/08/2023 08:54

@EBearhug

Love your post and relate to the tapping of panels in old houses/NT properties! I've still yet to find a secret passage much to my disgust.

Apparently there are lots of secret passages in Robin Hoods Bay and I once stayed in an hotel there with a Priests Hole.

LaMaG · 03/08/2023 09:04

Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 07:14

@AnImaginaryCat Would parents be happy now to let their children visit a "wild man" who lives a cave!

She definitely had a pattern of eccentric older men, she must have had some influences! Tammylan, Mr Twiddle, Saucepan man.

Lisbeth50 · 03/08/2023 09:11

As a child, I loved the Famous Five, St Clare's, Malory Towers. I read Enid Blyton prolifically - she was my favourite author.

I read the Adventure series with my dses when they were younger & they (and I) really enjoyed it.

Amazingly, I've never read The Faraway Tree - I'll have to get hold of it !

Original poster
Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 09:36

@Marsyas Remember in the first famous five books Julian, Dick and Anne second name is given as Barnard.

So George should probably be George Barnard if Quentin and Julian's fathers are brothers.

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KimberleyClark · 03/08/2023 09:38

I loved Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm and its folllow up Six Cousins Again. Felt sorry for Aunt Rose.

Version12 · 03/08/2023 09:39

Does anyone remember The Yellow Fairy Book? (It's also on Audible titled "Adventure of the Goblin Dog", I bought it 😳.) It had a bit of crossover with the Faraway Tree and had two normal children going to rescue their fairy friend, who was kidnapped. At one point, in the land of giants, they have to hide in a cuckoo clock and the cuckoo turns out to be alive and helps them.

RaraRachael · 03/08/2023 10:15

@Flapjacker48 I looked into that site you recommended as I fancied putting some EB books on my kindle to relive my childhood.
I couldn't access it as it asked for my Kindle email which I don't have. I never needed one ending in .kindle to set up my account.
Any other ways to access this?

LaMaG · 03/08/2023 10:16

Tilllly · 02/08/2023 23:11

I still have - and still read - most of these mentioned

Dated yes - none so bad as Tales of Toyland. I can't even tell you the Golliwogs names as I'd get banned

I googled it, shocking to see the N word!! I have a copy, 80s edit and those chapters have been removed. There is a golliwog but doesn't seem to have a name. This gave me a laugh though...

What was your favourite Enid Blyton book?
Cherrysoup · 03/08/2023 10:17

Faraway Tree, just brilliant. I so wanted the biscuits Silkie made.

LaMaG · 03/08/2023 10:18

Marsyas · 03/08/2023 08:13

Another favourite which I still own was Tales of Toyland, about a sailor doll called Tiptoe and a fairy called Jolly.

I had this one but I think the fairy was Tiptoe and the sailor was Jolly. I think it had other stories as well, one about children on holiday buying presents for their mum or gran, everyone is mean to the child who finds a crab and thinks this would be a good present but then they also find some money and buy a crab brooch instead. Or something. Also children who insist on staying up all night then find they don't enjoy it. It did also, as mentioned, have the awfully racist chapter/characters, I guess the names and toy type must have been updated if it was reissued.

Tiptoe and Jolly

What was your favourite Enid Blyton book?
MillicentTrilbyHiggins · 03/08/2023 10:18

RaraRachael · 03/08/2023 10:15

@Flapjacker48 I looked into that site you recommended as I fancied putting some EB books on my kindle to relive my childhood.
I couldn't access it as it asked for my Kindle email which I don't have. I never needed one ending in .kindle to set up my account.
Any other ways to access this?

You will have a kindle email address. If you look in the settings on kindle it's there.

incognitomosqiito · 03/08/2023 10:21

My favourite one was " a story party at green hedges" where she invited lots of children to her house and each child asked for a story about a certain thing and she knew a story about each one. I adored the idea

RaraRachael · 03/08/2023 10:29

I've gone on to my settings but can't see an email address anywhere

Highlyflavouredgravy · 03/08/2023 10:30

I remember a book of short stories too. One was about a boy who kept getting in trouble at school because he never had a clean handkerchief. Then one day he remembered his hanky but fell over on the way to school and had to use the hanky to mop up the blood and he STILL got in trouble! Horrible teacher!

RaraRachael · 03/08/2023 10:31

Sorry. Brain fog. Found it, Thanks for telling me where it was

Marsyas · 03/08/2023 10:43

Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 09:36

@Marsyas Remember in the first famous five books Julian, Dick and Anne second name is given as Barnard.

So George should probably be George Barnard if Quentin and Julian's fathers are brothers.

I don't think it was in my versions (Knight Books, pics from the TV show on the cover often bearing no resemblance to the actual story) - although I didn't own them all so it might have slipped past me in the ones I read two or three times from the library instead of about 50 times! I've Googled and apparently they were called Barnard in Five Get Into A Fix, which was one of my favourites but it belonged to my sister so I didn't read it as much as, say, Five on a Treasure Island.

Original poster
Flapjacker48 · 03/08/2023 11:21

@Marsyas Haven't read "Fix" for ages, but they were definatley called Barnard in the first FF (Five on a treasure Island) - at least in the early 1/2 editions.

The best explanation - which was essentially an error on EB part, or she made a change as the FF became so popular, is that Quentin had taken his wife's surname in Lieu of his own (unlikely in the 1940s!). The other idea of Quentin being the brother in law and Fanny the sister doesn't really work as "Five on a treasure Island" is clear that the Kirrin name is hers and they were the land owners in the area.

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