Enid Blyton

When I look back at some of the contentious observations about certain groups of people in the books written by both Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie, I think it should be remembered that they were both of their time and their class, that doesn't mean to say that they represent how people feel today, time has moved on. I speak as the daughter of a foreign looking father, foreign would usually be preceded by "suspicious" in many of Blyton's books! For me that is not a good enough reason to censor them, not all past works of literature were politically correct and I for one get a bored with "the book police" Works of literature including Dickens and Shakespeare give us an insight into the mindset of the time, get over it it's part of history, language and attitudes move on. Blyton and Christie both show us how different life was in the early to mid 20th century. Enid Blyton gave many of us hours of enjoyment, I remember the excitement of getting a card from my local library telling me my reserved Enid Blyton book had come in. A bag of sherbet lemons and an Enid Blyton book, small inexpensive pleasures kept a lot of us happy for hours!

Amazon of course - promise it is the iPad and I have not started on the yet!

I had a request from DiL to buy some Famous Five books for DGS - they live in USA- so I have in my luggage four story books and also a Famous Fice Annual 2014 - that is a new one on me but when I saw it on Smazon thought he would probably like that too.! Happy Days.

They were condescending to foreigners, poor people, the lower classes etc, Nelliemoser - but I don't think that coloured how I saw others. I used to have the Bunty comic in the late 50's/60's, and one of the stories in it was called The Four Marys. One of the schoolgirls' fathers was a grocer and she'd won a scholarship to the school .
We did mix at school with all sorts - people poorer than us, those who may have been considered the lower classes because of this, and most definitely 'foreigners'! As children I don't think we saw it this way, though, so how Enid Blyton wrote her stories might just have gone over our heads!

I loved the Enid Blyton books, and they definitely got me hooked on reading. I can still remember the excitement of receiving a new one and settling down to read it. I did prefer the Famous Five I think, more than any of the others!
The first book I remember reading was Milly-Molly-Mandy, and I managed to get these from Amazon for my DGD's when they were young. When I'd finished Peter Pan (hardly any illustrations in that one), I felt quite upset when I reached the last page! Alice in Wonderland was also a favourite of mine, and my eldest (now grown-up) DGD surprised me on one of my birthdays by giving me a 1930's copy of it (which she'd found for me on Ebay.

I loved the stories but they were condescending to, foreigners, poor people the lower classes etc.

I also loved them. I can't help feeling that the "Book Police" who banned them in libaries and schools have a lot to answer for. Or maybe we are all scarred for life for devouring and loving so many.

I loved all the Enid Blyton's started off with The Magic Faraway Tree and the Noddy Books and went on to The Secret Sevens, Famous Fives, The Adventure series and Mallory Towers. If I remember rightly I went straight from Enid Blyton at the end of junior school to Agatha Christie at the beginning of senior school. I did read many other books in between. hebridean lady I also loved The Water Babies, I bought it to read to my children when they were young and I hope to read it to my granddaughter in a year or two. Other great loves were both the Alice books and Wind in the Willows.

So many of us hooked on reading thanks to Enid. I loved the secret 7, couldn't stand Anne in the 5, but spent many happy hours engrossed in their adventures. JR has done an excellent job in getting youngsters hooked on the Harry Potter series.

The Magic Faraway Tree, Mallory Towers, Famous Five and St Clare's. My favourite childhood books that hooked me on reading. They were of their time and I still have a few around, but there are lots of equally good books now. The Gallagher Girls are the modern equivalent, I suppose. Compulsory reading for for pre-teens, who are spreading the word about these great books that have them waiting eagerly for the next one to be released.

I didn't knw about the circus books. I loved the Mallory Towers ones.

My earliest Enid Blyton books were Sunny Stories and Mary Mouse and the Dolls House. Still remember them, and the excitement of getting a new one.
I was very young then.

mrsmopp my DGC love all those traditional stories, I have found a series of books for DGS 7 which are similar to Enid Blyton, Adventure Island series by Helen Moss , he is going through them at a speed of knots.

My favourite was "The water babies"

I wondered what today's children would think of them, as we have no grandchildren.
Come to think of it, do today's children still enjoy those traditional stories we used to read to our children? The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The elves and the shoemaker, The Princess and the Pea, Red Riding Hood, etc etc?
We had a stack of those in Ladybird books and my kids loved them.

charley they must be lots of us about , I would hide away with my book under the covers and hope I wasnt caught reading.

I do not think that I would be the bookworm that I am now if it had not been for Enid Blyton. I avidly read the Secret Seven and the Famous Five, learning to read at a very early age.

I cried when I read the last circus book, I could not believe that there would be no more..... do you think I subconsciously wanted to run away. Yes I probably did.

Her books were the reason a lot of children became hooked on reading. Finish one then look forward to the next. They were on my Christmas and birthday present lists not to mention the well worn path to the library.

One school I went to had a head that disapproved. He called her 'Mama Blyton' and hauled you in front of the class if you were caught reading one. Rather than change our reading habits we just made sure he didn't catch us out.

I loved Noddy and Big Ears, also noddy's car

Oh Enid Blyton was my escape, my favourite books were the circus series..... Mr Galliano.... My DD has bought me the set and Ive read them to DGS and I relived every minute of them, but the Mallory Towers also made me wish I had been able to go off to boarding school.