The Enid Blyton Society

Although the original Happy House books were illustrated by Kathleen Gell, who I've never been overly keen on, the versions of the stories I grew up with, crammed into the ends of the Dean & Sons books 'Happy Hours Storybook' and 'Sunshine Book' were illustrated by someone else. I've always been a big fan of these illustrations, and have often wondered who drew them. I've looked them up in The Cave of course, and see they are 'illustrator uncredited' as were most of the Dean & Son books.

For a while now I've wondered if these illustrations could possibly be the work of Dorothy Hall, whose work looks remarkably similar. I also feel she may have illustrated the Dean versions of Galliano's Circus...but maybe they just look a similar style.

I wondered what others might think? Is it possible that Dorothy Hall illustrated these later versions, much as Rene Cloke illustrated the Faraway Tree books etc, without being credited?

I'm not very familiar with Dorothy Hall, but I agree that the artist who illustrated the "Happy House" stories for Dean & Son might well have illustrated the Galliano's Circus books too. I think the same person might also have illustrated the Dean & Son editions of Come to the Circus! and the Cherry Tree/Willow Farm series - and maybe the Dean & Son Adventurous Four and Mr. Twiddle books as well, though I'm not absolutely sure. I think they also illustrated some of the short stories that appear in the Dean & Son books.

Looking at the front cover of Mr. Galliano's Circus (Dean & Son, 1972), there's a signature in the bottom right hand corner which appears to say "G. Robinson". The internal pictures weren't always illustrated by the person who did the cover, but it's a possibility.

Thanks Anita. I've never noticed the signature on the cover. Maybe that is a possibility as the covers and internal illustrations are quite similar in style.

Doing a search for G Robinson, I see he illustrated some Ladybird Books...but I'm not sure he is the same G Robinson!

He probably did the Ladybird books, but definitely not the Dean books.

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Interesting about the Ladybird books. Looking online, it seems that a G. Robinson illustrated Numbers - A Ladybird Learning to Read Book (1959) and The Ladybird Book of Things to Make (1963). He/she might have illustrated others too, but that's all I could find in a quick search. The Dean & Son books we've mentioned came out only a little later (I think), in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mind you, G. Robinson is a common name so who knows? Unfortunately I haven't got those Ladybird books so I can't have a look at them.

Regarding the early Enid Blyton books, the illustrations by Gordon Robinson in The Green Goblin Book (available in the Cave of Books) don't look like the illustrations in the Dean & Son Happy House stories, Galliano's Circus books, etc.

I don't know the circus books, but I agree that the Happy House and Willow Farm illustrations look as if they've been done by the same person in the Dean books. I've always liked that style.