I'm probably the most militant anti-Ju, but I do like his altercations with the Sticks. The kitchen scene with Mr Stick is probably his best scene, in my view. Just as pompous as ever, but a good target! On the other hand, maybe it would be seen as too classict now - wonder if it has survived pb abr...

I just presumed, maybe wrongly, that Enid was showing from a girl's point of view, how annoying and dictatorial boy's views about girls could be. I know Enid was at heart a pioneer of 'womens lib' (for want of a better expression) ; working mother, career girl, knowing her own mind etc etc, but she...

Sure, but a quote that has the support of the authorial voice, I think (hark at me - I can't even source the quote, lol) I've never thought EB was sexist or racist - but I've never thought the 'know your place' stuff (for want of a better term) was always done in a tongue in cheek manner either, or ...

Isn't there a line somewhere (FF? FFO?) about how decent girls like to be 'looked after', or something? I didn't think it was meant to be taken other than as a masterly put-down. Sorry to be so vague, I'm afraid the irritation factor of that line stayed with me long after the memory of which book it...

Some very interesting points Michael but I personally quite like the tag lines. I find it reassuring to hear that we haven't come to the 'end of the road'. :D I like them too - they have a certain charm. But on the other hand, I like EB's authorial voice generally - with other authors of whom I'm l...

Whilst at the railway in Corfe, I spotted a few second hand books for sale, and browsed through them. They weren't all railway books. I found a hardback 1st edition of Agatha Christie's - Dead Man's Folly, it even had it's dust jacket, torn at the spine, but nothing that a plastic covering won't fi...

I disagree, I think EB ages the girls rather well in MT - and think the pantomime in particular is a very effective mechanism for showing this development as a work in progress. Think EMDB has varying degrees of success with this - Grizel has an amazingly lengthy long-term development, but at the ex...

When I read that I assumed they meant "renowned"... I wondered about that too, but thought that "renowned" ought to stand on its own. "Well renowned" doesn't sound quite right. I wondered if they meant to write "world renowned", just to throw another possibil...

The cover for The Secret Seven : A Personal Anecdotage by Sigmund Freud was approved for publication!



(with acknowledgements (and apologies if necessary ) to SI)

I saw something recently on a mailing list about this - but now I can't find it! :twisted: Anyway, it was along the lines that Enid Boyton was the pen name of an editor at a comic :?: At least I think that's what I read, and I could be wrong - sorry to be so unspecific! I've only seen the name attac...

An old chest used to store his disguises
- A row of fine detective novels.
a crocodile skin on the wall,
A camp bed for our Ern!
A table made by Ern!
a cigarette case, from Woolworths (if Twit the baker returned it)

Can you describe the plot at all - or whether it was set in Europe or America, whether Tom was an adult or child, that sort of thing? Or a rough date? Was it a paperback or hardback, roughly how long? The only Toms I can think of off the top of my head are Tom Swift (not a detective) and Tom Quest (...

Fatty's shed is the most appealing den in world literature!

An old chest used to store his disguises - A row of fine detective novels.

Would your friends mind if the books were second hand - the charity shops seem to have a glut of paperback EBs at the moment, and that might widen your choice considerably? I'd choose one of the Five Find-Outers, myself - they're so entertaining, good for social history discussions, and interesting ...

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Alterations like that annoy me as they take some of the liveliness and colour out of Enid Blyton's writing.

I completely agree with you. It is actually very depressing to read about thing like that.