What was your favourite Enid Blyton book?

[Flapjacker48]

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"

So many great memories of her books I can't wait to read them to my daughter

Just downloaded the pdf of island of adventure. I feel rather emotional! I’m worried it’s not going to be as good as my memory of it.

Her books were and are amazing! They were a huge part of my childhood and kept me company or many boring days, and instilled a love of reading in me. Everything she wrote seemed to be interesting!

Five Find Outers and Dog (First Enid Blyton book I ever read was The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage)
Malory Towers and St Clare's
The Magic Faraway Tree/Enchanted Wood
Famous Five
Secret Seven
The Secret Island
Mr Pink Whistle
The Naughtiest Girl Series
and the not so well-known one, but very much loved - The Land of Far Beyond (Children's version of the Pilgrim's Progress)

All that remains of my original collection!!

Such great memories here. I am really glad people have mentioned Mr Galliano's Circus and Mr Pinkwhistle. And the Willow/Cherry Tree Farms.

I was racking my brains trying to think of the name of the book that was like The Pilgrim's Progress so I'm also delighted to have been reminded of The Land of Far-Beyond.

Another favourite which I still own was Tales of Toyland, about a sailor doll called Tiptoe and a fairy called Jolly. She had to pretend to be a doll and hide her wings. My favourite part was when Tiptoe bought her a dress with a hole at the back so she could show her wings. Something completely magical about it all.

Yes, five get into a fix
On the snowy mountain with Ailie and her pet lamb

Definitely Malory Towers which were my own and also The Caravan Family which belonged to my Mum, particularly the one where they went on the Queen Elizabeth to New York. https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book-groups.php?pick=cat&value=caravanfamily

The put-em-rights

Also have fond memories of Summer Term at St Clares on a tape which I listened to endlessly on long car journeys - a simpler time!

Love the boy next door 🤗

Another vote for the Faraway Tree books. They were my favourite as a wee girl, my mum used to read them to me til I was able to read them myself. Love them ❤️

I love mr twiddle 😁

Think galoshes are like flexible wellies that go over your shoes

The Wishing Chair. The Faraway Tree.

I loved the escapism of Enid Blyton. I had such a terrible, abusive home life as a child that books about children having wonderful adventures away from adults were my idea of heaven.

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

Malory Towers
Secret Seven
Famous Five
St Clare's

Faraway Tree
The Wishing Chair
Amelia Jane
Naughtiest Girl
Famous Five
Five Findouters
Secret Seven
Any adventure stories

@gingerguineapig I loved my Enid Blyton book of the year and read it over and over

Shadow the Sheepdog!

Yes, loved these! There was a another book after I think as well?

I loved the Secret Seven - preferred them to the Famous Five anyway. Though I would have read SS at a younger age, so that could have some bearing on that opinion.

Randomly I can tell you that the big shoes on a small man theme was also used in one of the Five Finder Outers books. Can't tell you which one, but can tell you it was Fatty and his brilliant brain that worked it out - due to a passing comment Bets made (well probably Bets). That being a common way the mystery was solved in those books.

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.)

It's very likely the repetition this was something her readers liked. (I mean I can remember looking forward in each of the Finder Outer books to Fatty's disguises - and how the other four would be fooled!). The excitement of mystery tunnels and secret passage was so great it just didn't matter it occured over and over.

Also figure the errors just don't matter. I can only imagine they occurred so frequently due to how quickly the books were written. I now love to read about then as an adult - the gapping plot holes that went over my head or I just ignored.

Did anyone else really want to sleep in a cave with a conveniently hidden entrance or a puffin burrow?

Just had to look this up as i was going to say it was Cherry Tree Farm. But it turns out that was a seperate set of books, on which set of siblings sent to their uncle's farm due to their being ill. (Willow Farm book being the other two books in that series.)

Mistletoe Farm was the Six Cousins books.

Loved all of these ones - especially Tammylan who was in the Cherry Tree/Williow Farm ones (and not in Mistletoe Farm ones as I've just discovered 😄.)

@AnImaginaryCat A researcher into her work had access to the handwritten notes EB made before writing a book (in this case Malory towers) - the list of characters/details from the previous books was listed then bullet points about new characters and plot lines. Apparently the notes differed hugely from the published book so I think EB (as she talked about in her early 50s autobiography) was able to quickly think and type out a book quickly, coming up with details as she wrote. I think she did have a good memory - most of her business correspondence with publishers etc she was able to re-call very easily without recourse to notes, her literary agent in the 50s was impressed by this.

Also in a letter she wrote she does mention places she has visited that stuck in her mind and he re-used - Cheddar caves for example. A monor house she stayed in when in her early 20s and training as a teacher in Suffolk had secret passages etc. She invested in a farm and golf course in the 50s and these make appearance too.

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

Thanks for reminding me of the "Wild man's" name @AnImaginaryCat . Wasn't the youngest child called Penny, but he called her ha'penny because she was so small? I'm hoping I've still got the cherry tree/willow farm books. I've got most of my EBs, but a few books (in general, not just hers) have disappeared.

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