The Enid Blyton Society

I have a few of these - all the Famous Five painted ones from the 1970's and a 'Mystery' jigsaw featuring the Find Outers, but I came across this one on eBay.

I'd never really looked at them closely before (though I have seen them in The Cave'0 - but it just struck me as one of the ugliest jigsaw illustrations I've ever seen! Can anyone have been glad to own this jigsaw when it came out?!

They couldn't even spell 'Malory' correctly.

Blimey... with those lurid colours under such a glowering sky, the girls look like they must be holding a kind of ritual dance for witches or something.

I agree - awful!

Please could one of the clever admin people alter my title too? I see I have a typo of 'Jigsawa' instead of 'jigsaws'!

- 'Tis done!

I hate the colours - and that big black/blue cloud blotting out the sun?! What is that all about? (actually on a second look, I think it must be the moon - can't remember if this is a midnight swim? Looks like there are stars in the sky!) -still very odd, though - and the others aren't much better!





Considering how atmospheric the Famous Five Whitman puzzles are (which I have) it's surprising the artwork on the 'Mallory' Towers ones are so bad!

The artwork for the Famous Five jigsaws is much more appealing, delicate and lovely, but I must admit I rather like the "Mallory Towers" jigsaw showing the midnight feast at the pool. It's such a wild swirl of colour - slightly awkward-looking, but very vibrant - and I think it would be fun to do.

I also quite like the one of Mary-Lou on the cliff-ledge, though it looks as though she'd be able to clamber up fairly easily if only she wasn't being dazzled by that mega-powerful torch!

Daisy wrote:They couldn't even spell 'Malory' correctly. :cry:

     For some reason, the misspelling "Mallory" is extremely, extremely common. In fact, if you exclude people well-informed about Enid Blyton, who know the correct spelling, and consider various commentators, booksellers, and so on who don't seem to know a lot, but have reason to mention the series, "Mallory" seems far more common than "Malory". I've never quite understood why, though. I do find it rather irritating, though.

Regards, Michael.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:The artwork for the Famous Five jigsaws is much more appealing, delicate and lovely, but I must admit I rather like the "Mallory Towers" jigsaw showing the midnight feast at the pool. It's such a wild swirl of colour - slightly awkward-looking, but very vibrant - and I think it would be fun to do.

     It's kind of atmospheric in a rather wild, dream-like way - although slightly cartoonish. But totally non-Blytonian in atmosphere and feel, so I suspect that, for me to appreciate its merits, it would have to be separated from a Blyton context.
     I suppose the Famous Five ones are sort of more Blytonian, although the actual characters look more like Maxey than Soper to me. So influential was Eileen Soper on my perception of the Five as a boy, and since, that I cannot separate it - so other depictions will always be at a disadvantage to me solely for not being Eileen Soper - which may not be fair, but that's how it strikes me. (I see the artist's name, John Cooper, on one picture, so clearly it's not Betty Maxey - I was just saying the effect of the human characters recalled Maxey to me more than Soper.)
     Also, Kirrin Island in one picture looks a lot more empty and barren than I normally think of it as. (Probably, once again, influenced by Soper.)

Regards, Michael.

MJE wrote: So influential was Eileen Soper on my perception of the Five as a boy, and since, that I cannot separate it - so other depictions will always be at a disadvantage to me solely for not being Eileen Soper - which may not be fair, but that's how it strikes me.

I think that is how many of us feel - I know there has been quite a bit of lighthearted banter between those who first 'met' the Five with Soper or Maxey illustrations. In the main we do prefer what we first encountered. They just are the characters for us.

I like the first one with the girls by the pool. It looks like a lot of fun is being had and the scene is generally attractive. I think many young girls especially would have been happy to own that when it came out. The second puzzle showing someone shining a torch strikes me as being more Faraway Tree than Malory Towers. It just looks like a fantasy style setting. The person with the torch could easily be Silky Elf.

And what on earth is going on with that lady in purple in the next jigsaw. She looks like she's striking a disco dancing pose in that doorway.

Lucky Star wrote:The second puzzle showing someone shining a torch strikes me as being more Faraway Tree than Malory Towers. It just looks like a fantasy style setting. The person with the torch could easily be Silky Elf.

That's exactly what I thought!

Lucky Star wrote:And what on earth is going on with that lady in purple in the next jigsaw. She looks like she's striking a disco dancing pose in that doorway.

All together now... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjNjplL6ayI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't mind the Mal(l)ory Towers ones that much! I wouldn't say they were fantastic but the're not terrible. They remind me of some of the 90s book covers.

As for the misspelling Mallory is how you would spell the girls' name, so it's not that surprising that people would write it that way. Malory gets 406,000 Google results, mostly Thomas Malory and Malory towers on the first page. Mallory gets 39,300,000 with a variety of people having it as a surname, or first name, as well as Mallory Park near Leicester.

Just don't ask me to explain where Kirren came from!

Interesting to see these jigsaws. I'd say I'm fairly indifferent to them all - too 'modern' for my liking, but ok in their own way. That is with one exception. I can't understand the 'Mary-Lou' one at all. If I didn't know the story, I'd say it looks like the girl in brown is pushing the other girl off the cliff by means of a magical beam. If I bought the book on the basis of that jigsaw, I'd expect the story to be one of witch craft! Especially as the girl with the torch looks as if she's wearing a witch's hat. The other girl looks as if she's just about to topple right off the cliff - I can't see how she would be saved from a position like that.

Katharine wrote:If I didn't know the story, I'd say it looks like the girl in brown is pushing the other girl off the cliff by means of a magical beam. If I bought the book on the basis of that jigsaw, I'd expect the story to be one of witch craft! Especially as the girl with the torch looks as if she's wearing a witch's hat. The other girl looks as if she's just about to topple right off the cliff - I can't see how she would be saved from a position like that.

I'm afraid that really is what it looks like — apart from the lurid colours, the positioning of the girls looks very un-lifelike as well. The moon and the "castle" (I know it's meant to be the school) in the background only add to the fantasy effect!

Fiona1986 wrote:Just don't ask me to explain where Kirren came from!

     Yes, I've seen that one, too; and it is a mystery, because Kirrin and Kirren seem both equally uncommon to me.
     The closest I know was an Australian Labor politician of a couple of decades ago called John Kerin. And the only thing I remember about him now is a joke he told at the expense of politicians, which I found quite funny:

  Q.: What is the definition of waste?
  A.: A bus full of politicians going over a cliff - with one empty seat!

Regards, Michael.

Hadn't heard that one, Michael.