Website Additions

[Moonraker]

Go on, Katharine, you won't be able to resist now:

Katharine, do not read Terry Gustafon's review

[Tony Summerfield]

I have added a Non-Fiction Contributions section to the Cave.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... ictioncont" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Katharine]

Very interesting Tony. I would love to know what Enid's answer to the moral question was.

I can't help thinking it was a little hypocritical of her to write the introduction to a cookery book when she was no domestic goddess herself. It smacks a little bit of being happy to put her name to anything if there was a fee involved. Although as I haven't read it, perhaps I'm being a little harsh. Maybe it says something along the lines that she can hardly boil an egg herself, and wishes she'd had a book like that when she was growing up to inspire her to take more on an interest.

[Rob Houghton]

Very interesting indeed. I, too, would have been interested to know Enid's answer to that particular question...especially as she had no real strong religious beliefs herself. I'm presuming her answer was that children should be taught religious beliefs rather than be allowed to discover their own beliefs later, but maybe I'm wrong to assume that!

I'm guessing that the cookery book introduction was something that the publishers begged Enid to do, knowing it would probably sell twice (or thrice!) as many copies of the book than if her name wasn't on the cover. I don't really agree that it was hypocritical of her - if she was asked to do it, she can hardly be blamed for writing it, and especially as food holds a very important place in most of her books, she probably seemed a good choice to get children interested in cooking. Again, it would be interesting to know what she wrote, though - whether she wrote it from the 'I can't cook very well' viewpoint!

[Tony Summerfield]

Very interesting indeed. I, too, would have been interested to know Enid's answer to that particular question...especially as she had no real strong religious beliefs herself. I'm presuming her answer was that children should be taught religious beliefs rather than be allowed to discover their own beliefs later, but maybe I'm wrong to assume that!

At the moment I am intending to put her answer to the question in the next Journal, but as you can see from the page count it is not a one line answer!

I may also put her recipe for Cherry Cake in as well, but I am agreeing with Katharine in thinking it doubtful that she ever actually tried it herself!

[Kate Mary]

I'm quite fond cherry cake and would love to try the recipe!

[Rob Houghton]

still...it probably WAS her favourite recipe - made by the cook.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Maybe Enid was asked to do it, as she was at the height of her career in that year of publication.

[Courtenay]

Are these books recent finds then, Tony, or just ones that have been lurking in the back of the Cave without an official category until now?

I'd be very interested to read Enid's answer to the religion question, especially after Angela Canning's very intriguing article in the second most recent Journal about Enid and religion. Would also love to have her cherry cake recipe, even if she never made it herself!

Her introduction to the cookbook would also be worth seeing, as a couple of people have already said, just to find out what she actually wrote! Could you possibly give us an idea of it, Tony, or perhaps reprint it in an upcoming Journal as well?

[Tony Summerfield]

As We Like It is a recent find, not by me, but by David Chambers who has a knack of finding these obscure publications. He is also responsible for finding Moral Problems, but that has actually been sitting in the Periodical section for a year or so (it is still there as I haven't removed it yet!) which we thought was the best place for it as there wasn't a non-fiction place for it until now, but it is really a book and not a periodical.

I have known about The Young Cook by Philip Harben for several years, but as Enid only wrote the introduction I have not done anything about it until now, as again there wasn't really a suitable place to put it. However, I can't tell you about Enid's introduction as I have never bothered to buy a copy! I believe that this might be the book that Katharine unwittingly bought a postcard of recently, but as always I could be wrong about this!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, Tony. It's very interesting to see these items. My children and I have made Enid Blyton's (or her cook's!) cherry cake many times, as the recipe was once printed in a copy of Green Hedges Magazine. Unfortunately, in recent years I've become allergic to cherries.

[Katharine]

I have misplaced the postcard for the moment, but it looks the same to me. Maybe one day I'll get the book as well.

[Tony Summerfield]

I have actually also given what is being called the 'Famous Five Special Issue' its own section, but I still have work to do on it. As the plan is to eventually release all 21 books with a different cover illustrator for each I thought it should perhaps be separately listed with ISBNs etc., but I have also left them in the reprint section.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/recr ... ecialissue" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tony Summerfield]

I think I may have been talking about this in another thread but I have at last finished loading the whole book of How to Count in the Cave. It has taken a number of hours out of my life, I was younger when I started doing this!

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... 28No.61%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's lovely to see this rare book - thanks, Tony! Though the last verse is rather sad!