The Enid Blyton Society

Which artist do you favour for this book?
My era is the 1966 Mary Gernat as that is what I was brought up on alongside the slightly earlier pictures by Charles Stewart.
I didn't discover the original illustrations until much later on,and found them much more dated and old fashioned.
Is there a definitive Find Outers Illustrator? Or do they all have individual merits?

See what you think.....

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7.The Mystery of The Pantomime Cat - Enid Blyton
J. ABBEY 1949 / CHARLES STEWART 1963 / MARY GERNAT 1966 /Rodney Sutton 1991

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I'm afraid the link doesn't work for me, Pete, I get the following message:

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Me too. Come on, Pete!

As with all my favourite illustrators, it is the ones who illustrate the original editions that I prefer - even the weird, but wonderful, Joseph Abbey!

I'm ever so sorry!
Try it now chums...


7.The Mystery of The Pantomime Cat - Enid Blyton
J. ABBEY 1949 / CHARLES STEWART 1963 / MARY GERNAT 1966 /Rodney Sutton 1991

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I have mixed feelings about these various illustrations - until now, I had only seen the original ones by J.Abbey and I must say when I first read the book a couple of those illustrations of Boysie did make my jump as I turned the page! He really looked quite frightening to me then. Some of the later illustrators do quite a good job, I think, but once your mind is conditioned to how the first pictures that you saw, looked, It's hard to see the same characters looking so different. Somehow, it just isn't them.

Some interesting interpretations, there; thanks, Pete. I have the Dragon version of this book, and I think that's the only edition I have on my bookshelves. I often look in the Cave, however when I've read a book and I don't have the first edition just to see the original portrayal of the book. Of course the first edition illustrations refer to the era more accurately than any of the others in this case. Some skilled drawings there - except I don't quite like the spookiness and seemingly wickedness of the cat. I can't see how, with a face like that, it could entertain crowds of young children... Cleverly drawn but not quite refering to the text. The Armada paperback illustrations portray Boysie in the Catskin more like my own imagination. Just innocent, friendly and slightly comical (though we only see the artists interpretation on the front cover). Interesting how similar the illustrations of the drugged figure are in the first edition and this one. The Dragon edition illustrations are remarkably different in my point of view. I like them, however; comical pictures (especially of Fatty - the artist obviously thought his name did describe his figure quite accurately!) Surely this is Fatty at his fattest (of all the portrayals on that page?) And last of all - the other Armada book, which I definitely think look the weakest of all those, there. They just don't stand out at all, for me, as well as being quite modern and boring. All very interesting, anyway - my favourites I think, come in order of their publishing dates, from the first editions to the lastest Armada edition.

Thanks, Pete. The images are coming through loud and clear now!

My 1970s Dragon paperbacks of the Find-Outers series are illustrated by several different artists so I don't associate any particular illustrator with the books. At the risk of sounding hard to please, I have to admit I'm not wowed by any of the Pantomime Cat illustrations shown, though it's interesting to compare them.

Joseph Abbey - Lovely front and back covers in muted shades. They're very evocative of the period and I like the expression on Goon's face! However, many of the people in Abbey's internal drawings look awkward and out of proportion and I agree with Daisy and Poppy that his interpretation of the Pantomime Cat is the stuff of nightmares!

Charles Stewart - The gaudy figures against a grey background (front cover) don't work for me - I find the combination unattractive. I do like the softer-hued sketch of the jetty and boat on the back cover, though. Internally, I'm not fond of all those black lines. The picnic scene is nice, except for the black sky.

Paul Wright cover and Mary Gernat internals - I grew up with this edition and always thought Paul Wright's portrayal of the furry Pantomime Cat on the cover looked babyish. Mary Gernat can be good when she's on top form, but some of her pictures strike me as rather scribbly. The only ones which really appeal in this book are the ones of Fatty and Larry stalking P. C. Pippin (I like the higgledy-piggledy houses) and the picnic scene (pleasant composition).

Photo cover and Rodney Sutton internals - The photo cover is terrible. Why are the children perched on rocks beneath trees, and what are they looking at? Judging from that photo, potential readers would surely be expecting a very different sort of story. Also, the children don't look anything like I imagine the characters to look. Moving on to Rodney Sutton's drawings, I find them alarmingly black and bold although the picnic scene is gentler and more appealing.

All my Find-Outers are the original hardbacks, and I must say I'm used to seeing those illustrations. Boysie however in my copy is quite frightening. I like the illustrations in the Armada book and the one after that too. Fatty looks okay in the Amarda first paperback on the list.

All in all can't say I dislike them at all.

Thank you Pete, it is interesting to compare these editions. The thing that struck me was the blurb on the dust jacket of the original edition. I had no idea that Enid meant to stop at six titles for this series. It is well known that she tried to finish the Famous Five and the Adventure series at six books and the Barney books at four but this is news to me. My childhood copy is the early Armada edition, which I still have but I also now own a Methuen copy without a jacket. I am still learning new things about Enid's books even now.

Kate.

This was new to me, too, Kate. Six seems a recurring number for Enid to want to end her most popular series - as you said this was so in the Famous Five, too. I wonder why? Of course six was popular in the boarding school stories: Malory Towers and St Clares, but I always thought this was because of the form layout in those days? Perhaps this was just an ideal number for her to end a series' on.

Well-spotted, Kate! Thank goodness Enid Blyton didn't stop at six Find-Outers tales - we'd have missed out on some marvellous mysteries!

Six was Enid's favourite number and red was Enid's favourite colour. Six and red are bold elements in a mysterious way. Daniel Tammet, One of the savant who could see numbers in pattern form in his mind has said that 6 was the most difficult number to depict in his mind. He often sees and associates 6 with red in his mind. 6 works in a mysterious way in his mind. They suit Enid's disposition.

Six was a popular dozen We used to call it half-a-dozen. To this day many tv series contain six episodes. God even allegedly made the universe in six days...

As Nigel quite rightly alludes to from the days of yore and dairy, Six is also a congruent number.

My first copy of this book was the early Armada edition and I quite like the cover and the picture on the back. Since then, I've bought the Methuen hardback but I'm not quite sure about Abbey's illustrations, the cat doesn't look right. The illustrations in the later books by Rodney Sutton appeal to me, this is the first time I've seen them.