60 Years Ago This Week - Enid Blyton's Magazine 1958

[Rob Houghton]

The next EB magazine is now available - a Bonfire Night edition, with a picture on the cover to match!



Plunging straight in, the cover shows an illustration by one of my favourite EB illustrators - Anne Read - from the first uncollected short story of this issue - Adventure For A Guy. Its an interesting story because it follows fairly closely the main section of 'Good Work Secret Seven' in which Peter disguises himself as a guy and watches for the villains. The boys in this story are even called Peter and George and could almost be members of The Secret Seven.

The story paints a nice cosy picture of the days now long gone when a newspaper man could leave his tin of money unattended while he popped round the corner for a cup of tea...if ever those days really existed! I know when I was a kid people would often leave their front doors wide open in hot weather...but I'm not sure they would have left a tin of money unattended on a busy street! Even worse - the newspaper man has had this happen four times - each time when he pops round the corner for a cuppa. You'd really think he'd have got wise by now and decided to take his money tin with him! Even worse, when the boys do actually set up watch, the newspaper man actually empties his tin before going for a cup of tea!

You can read the story by following the link.

In Enid's Editorial Letter she tells us about all the letters she receives from children. She links this up with writing for the magazine, and I found the letter a bit reflective...almost as if she was beginning to think about winding down the magazine. Of course, that's just speculation on my part, but given that the Magazine now only has another 10 months (give or take a week) to run, it just made me wonder whether the seeds may have already been planted in Enid's mind.

Our Puzzle Page

Sunbeams Prize Puzzle -

Can you complete the names of these three popular indoor games?

1) _ _ A U _ _ _ _
2) _ I _ _ L _ Y _ I N _ _
3) _ U _ O

Famous Five Prize Puzzle -

I am sure that all my Famous Five Club members will be able to find the titles of two Famous Five books in the following sentence. What are they?

"Five men went into a cave on a treasure hunt and five others were able to fix their boat and get to an island near by."

A Puzzle For My Busy Bees -

Can you find the name of a large bird hidden in the following sentence?

"Shall I serve this fruit first, or keep it for tea?"


Next we have chapter two of the new Secret Seven serial - Bonfire Night for the Secret Seven. There's another nice illustration by Burgess Sharrocks. Although not my favourite Secret Seven illustrator (that is still Derek Lucas in my view!) - the magazine illustrations are always better drawn than those in the novels, in my opinion. Even so, most of his illustrations tend to show characters 'standing around' rather than getting involved in any action.



Adventure of the Strange Ruby continues with chapter 13 - and another rather bland illustration by R Paul Hoy. Again, I much prefer those by Roger Payne, as shown below - even though this week its a rather needless illustration of Tessa with the cat on her lap!





On page 23 there's an advert for Books You'll Enjoy' - not recommended by Enid as such, just adverts - but I thought some of them sounded interesting - they include River of No Return - by Ronald Syme, Dark Horse - by Patience McElwee, Leathers After Big Game by Edward M Christie, The Demon Wreck, by Frank Crisp, and Biggles On Mystery Island by Capt W.E Johns.

The Goblin Shop continues next, which can be read in The Cave, and then after the usual entertaining Our Letter Page which includes letters on making orange chocolate truffles, looking for a lost hamster (which ended up being found in 'mummy's hoover' - not 'Daddy's hoover, you might note!!) we have the next uncollected short story.

Its interesting, given that the last Magazine had a story about a tricycle, that this issue does too! Enid must have been going through a tricycle phase in autumn of 1958! Here we have Away Went the Tricycle - a very entertaining but rather short story, with a good satisfying conclusion! I must admit I didn't see the twist at the end until it was happening - I'm not very bright! A good fun story, with some very nice illustrations by N. Newman.

next we have an advert for a free gift available with kellogg's Frosties. I include it because I would have loved it as a child - a bendy Tony the Tiger! I still have Frosties now, sometimes - and I would have loved that Tony Tiger toy as a child! here's a photo of him off the internet. No rude comments about his tail, please!!




After the last uncollected short story, we have a Jungle Puzzle - which is included in Tony's scans in The Cave. Can YOU find the three monkeys and four elephants? I'm afraid I was defeated. I only found two monkeys and possibly three elephants - though I wasn't sure about the third one.

The short stories, and this puzzle, can be found by following the link -

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/mag ... ?magid=949


The Ragamuffin Mystery follows - with illustrations the same as those to be found in the novel, although sadly one of my favourite illustrations from the novel was not in the magazine version - this one -



At least, unusually, this time if you've read the novel you haven't missed out on any illustrations, as there are far more added to the book version! This is pretty unusual I think! Shows how short the story was compared to the others in the series.

On page 41 there's an advert for Mr Pink-whistle's Big Book - which had just been published in 1958. Its a lovely book, and I'm happy I have a copy, but its one of those I would like to find in a dust wrapper - and this has proved almost impossible - at least, at a reasonable price. Its even quite hard to find without a wrapper. Its a big annual--sized book, as the title implies.



https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... s+Big+Book

Happy reading until next time! hard to believe there are only four more issues of EB's Magazine this year!

[Courtenay]

Thanks for another enjoyable issue, Rob and Tony! I love the Bonfire Night cover too.

The story paints a nice cosy picture of the days now long gone when a newspaper man could leave his tin of money unattended while he popped round the corner for a cup of tea...if ever those days really existed! I know when I was a kid people would often leave their front doors wide open in hot weather...but I'm not sure they would have left a tin of money unattended on a busy street! Even worse - the newspaper man has had this happen four times - each time when he pops round the corner for a cuppa. You'd really think he'd have got wise by now and decided to take his money tin with him! Even worse, when the boys do actually set up watch, the newspaper man actually empties his tin before going for a cup of tea!

I found all that a bit hard to believe too, but it was a good story anyway. I was also a little surprised the two boys had the guts to go to the culprit's house and confront him there, but at least it had the desired effect!

Adventure of the Strange Ruby continues with chapter 13 - and another rather bland illustration by R Paul Hoy. Again, I much prefer those by Roger Payne, as shown below - even though this week its a rather needless illustration of Tessa with the cat on her lap!

That was one of my favourite illustrations when I read the book years ago — I always felt a bit sorry for the poor cat, that it was living with such questionable humans, and wondered what happened to it in the end. I wished Tessa and Pat could have adopted it!

The Goblin Shop continues next, which can be read in The Cave...

I love the dragon illustration!!

...and then after the usual entertaining Our Letter Page which includes letters on making orange chocolate truffles, looking for a lost hamster (which ended up being found in 'mummy's hoover' - not 'Daddy's hoover, you might note!!)

I hate to think how it got in there — let alone what might have happened if the hoover was switched on!!

Here we have Away Went the Tricycle - a very entertaining but rather short story, with a good satisfying conclusion! I must admit I didn't see the twist at the end until it was happening - I'm not very bright! A good fun story, with some very nice illustrations by N. Newman.

I didn't see the twist coming either, don't worry! That was a good story too, with another wrong-doer getting a satisfyingly appropriate comeuppance. "Blyton Karma" at work, if you like!

next we have an advert for a free gift available with kellogg's Frosties. I include it because I would have loved it as a child - a bendy Tony the Tiger! I still have Frosties now, sometimes - and I would have loved that Tony Tiger toy as a child! here's a photo of him off the internet. No rude comments about his tail, please!!

Ha ha. I don't think I would even have thought of any such comments when I was 8 years old or so — although the boys at school might have...

After the last uncollected short story, we have a Jungle Puzzle - which is included in Tony's scans in The Cave. Can YOU find the three monkeys and four elephants? I'm afraid I was defeated. I only found two monkeys and possibly three elephants - though I wasn't sure about the third one.

Ooh, I love puzzles like that with hidden animals or other objects! I did find all of them — it helps to turn the picture upside down. (And no, the two clearly drawn elephants don't count — there are definitely four hidden ones!)

I should add, in Enid's editorial letter I really enjoyed her examples of "astonishingly enterprising" children who have set up their own little charitable organisations. I can imagine how honoured the ones named must have felt to have Enid Blyton herself say about them: "This kind of children are, I think, the ones who will be our finest men and women later on — our leaders in this and that enterprise, with plenty of ideas, and the will and courage to carry them out."

Actually, the story of the two sisters and their Lost Pigeon Service reminds me of when I was in my teens and living in Melbourne, and we had a pigeon visiting our little back garden regularly — the ordinary feral town pigeons never came down into the garden, but this one did, and he had rings on his legs, so we knew he must belong to someone. I started offering him food until he was trusting enough to eat out of my hand, and then I was able to get close enough to write down the numbers and colours on his leg rings. Dad passed those on to someone from a local pigeon society and he informed us that this pigeon had come all the way from Sydney!! (Just short of 450 miles, as the crow (or pigeon) flies.) Unfortunately the pigeon disappeared very soon after that and we never saw him again. It's possible a cat or other predator might have got him, but we never saw any sign of that, so I've always hoped he found his way back home.

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks for your lovely post, Courtenay - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Its good to see other people's thoughts in such great detail!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one not to see the 'twist' in the second story.

Now I'm off on an elephant hunt!

[Courtenay]

Don't shoot them, will you?

[Kate Mary]

Thanks for the review Rob, I like the Bonfire Night cover too and the first story was a good one even though it is a re-run of part of the plot of Good Work Secret Seven.

I've had a copy of Mr Pink-Whistle's Big Book for years but I must admit I've never got round to reading it, it is one of a handful of Blytons I own that I've never read, I really must get round to it.

Thank you for the scans Tony.

[Courtenay]

I wouldn't mind a copy of Mr Pink-Whistle's Big Book either — it sounds lots of fun, with picture strips and poems as well as stories! He was one of my favourite Blyton characters when I was little, as I got bullied at school and loved the thought of a magical character who could come along and fix up any bad situation, including school bullies, of course. (And I also liked the fact that Pink-Whistle had a black cat as his helper, since we had a big black cat ourselves and I liked to pretend he was a magic cat too.)

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks as always to Rob for the write-up and Tony for the scans. I thoroughly enjoy reading people's thoughts on these interesting and entertaining magazines every fortnight, and this edition has a particularly eye-catching seasonal cover.

I got a copy of Mr. Pink-Whistle's Big Book (without a dustwrapper) as an adult and it was fabulous to have so much new Pink-Whistle material in one go. If only he were real!

It's lovely to see Enid Blyton praising some of the "astonishingly enterprising" children who raised money for various causes over the years. Reading about their worthwhile work and imaginative ideas must have been an inspiration to others.

Plunging straight in, the cover shows an illustration by one of my favourite EB illustrators - Anne Read - from the first uncollected short story of this issue - Adventure For A Guy. Its an interesting story because it follows fairly closely the main section of 'Good Work Secret Seven' in which Peter disguises himself as a guy and watches for the villains. The boys in this story are even called Peter and George and could almost be members of The Secret Seven.

The story paints a nice cosy picture of the days now long gone when a newspaper man could leave his tin of money unattended while he popped round the corner for a cup of tea...if ever those days really existed!

I love the way this story whisks us into another era. I too was struck by the similarities to Good Work Secret Seven, Rob. George even remarks that he came up with his bright idea because he'd come across it "in a book somewhere" - no doubt Good Work Secret Seven, published in 1954! As there may well be more than one thief about, let's hope the newspaper-man decides to invest in a flask!

'Away went the Tricycle!' is a dramatic story with an excellent twist at the end - and N. Newman's illustrations are very attractive.

On page 23 there's an advert for Books You'll Enjoy' - not recommended by Enid as such, just adverts - but I thought some of them sounded interesting - they include River of No Return - by Ronald Syme, Dark Horse - by Patience McElwee, Leathers After Big Game by Edward M Christie, The Demon Wreck, by Frank Crisp, and Biggles On Mystery Island by Capt W.E Johns.

Interesting. I've never heard of Ronald Syme but River of No Return is a great title for a book.

[Tony Summerfield]

Humble apologies! I wondered why you hadn't shown the Secret Seven illustration, Rob, as you normally do - and I then realised that I hadn't added it to the Cave - pretty stupid as I worked on it at the same time as the rest of that issue and it was all ready in my files. I have added it to your post now, Rob - as well as the Strange Ruby illustration.

[Rob Houghton]

Ah, thank you Tony! I didn't like to say anything as I know how busy you are - but the additional illustrations are much appreciated. I could have taken photographs from my copy of the magazine, but I was too lazy, as I have to resize them and then host them privately on facebook and then copy them to the EBS - which is a bit long-winded! Its always interesting to show the illustrations that appeared in the magazine, if they are different to the book illustrations, and I think the Burgess Sharrocks illustrations are a good example, as they seem to be so much better drawn than the ones in the book!

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's good to see the illustrations. R. Paul-Höye's style doesn't quite suit Adventure of the Strange Ruby in my opinion but it's just right for The Goblin Shop. Like Courtenay, I love the picture of the dragon. Great rhymes from Enid as always!

Some of Burgess Sharrocks' illustrations aren't bad but I prefer the ones by Bruno Kay and George Brooks as their pictures are more shadowy and full of depth. The Burgess Sharrocks illustration in Rob's post is pretty good but the children's cheeks and mouths make them look a bit like cartoon characters chuckling!

[Rob Houghton]

I agree on both counts, Anita - R Paul-Hoy is perfectly suited to The Goblin Shop - and also to Bom, which he is probably most famous for, but The Adventure of the Strange Ruby needed someone more realistic - as in the novel.

Burgess Sharrocks is probably my least favourite Secret Seven illustrator of all, and I agree his two predecessors were much better...though I still prefer Derek Lucas over all of them - maybe that's nostalgia for my childhood!

[Anita Bensoussane]

The illustrations by Derek Lucas are nostalgic for me too and the children seem very real.

[pete9012S]

Really enjoyable review - thanks Rob and Tony.
Loved the part in the opening letter to readers were Enid mentioned that readers who were now 'grown up' still kept in touch with her!

[Rob Houghton]

You've coloured those illustrations really well, Pete!


Well - I'm a bit late this time but another fortnight has sped past and here we are with another edition of Enid Blyton's Magazine! Here it is - freshly delivered to you!



Another nice issue, with some entertaining short stories. The first is the cover story - The Ugly Little Dog which is a nice heartwarming story about a poor stray dog. Its nothing innovative - there are several other Blyton stories with practically the same plot - but I found it enjoyable and it had a good satisfying ending!

In her Editorial Letter Enid has plenty to say about her various charities, especially about her Centre for Spastic Children, and also the pen-friend society, which hooks up children from America with British children wanting a pen-pal. It seems penfriends have become something of a rarity these days...or maybe I'm mistaken? Does it still happen? Is it via email these days?

You can read Enid's editorial by following the link below. She also tells us about the new Enid Blyton diary and the Noddy Pantomime.

After the Ugly Dog story, we have chapter 3 of Bonfire Night for the Secret Seven. Again, rather like with 'Five Get Into A Fix' which serialised mostly over the summer, I wouldn't have seen the attraction of this Bonfire Night serial once Bonfire Night had finished. I tended to like reading autumnal stories in the autumn...and Bonfire stories before Bonfire Night - but not after. By this time of year I would be hoping for a few Christmas themed stories - or at least snowy winter ones! I must have been a very exacting child...just as I am as an adult, lol.

This chapter of Bonfire Night for the Secret Seven does have a rather nice illustration - so much better than those in the book - and very busy-looking! I particularly like the way Sharrocks has depicted the face of Janet and Peter's mother - very welcoming and kindly!



PUZZLE PAGE

Sunbeams Prize Puzzle -

Can you find the names of three famous Welsh towns hidden in the following sentences?

1) I can see a car different to ours over there.
2) We will be able to feed the swans easily from this bank.
3) Isn't your garden big, Harry!



(the last one made me smile, as my dad is called Harry (Henry) and came from a village very close to the hidden Welsh town...!

Famous Five Prize Puzzle -

Take the first letter of each word in the sentence below and rearrange them to make the name of your favourte dog!

"You may move in tonight!"

A Puzzle For My Busy Bees -

What am I?
Open me up, pack me well, press me down, I won't yell. Close me tight, lock me right.

Next we have chapter 8 of The Ragamuffin Mystery - same illustrations as in the novel - except for the rather attractive 'headline' illustration used for each magazine chapter. I really like it, except that, in my opinion, Roger, Diana and Snubby all look too young!



Mind you, the same thing can be said for all of Gilbert Dunlop's illustrations in this book, in my opinion. Usually he depicted the children as teenagers...or near to being teenagers, but in the last book he seems to have forgotten and depicts them as being aged about 10 - 12.

The Goblin Shop follows next - and can be read by following the link - then chapter 14 of Adventure of the Strange Ruby

R.Paul Hoy offers us this rather bland illustration -



While in the novel Roger Payne gives us this much more dramatic depiction of the 'temple' the children run away to -



in Our Letter Page we have two interesting letters detailing the fund-raising efforts of two Famous Five club members, who run their own Famous Five Clubs - one from a club in Kowloon in China, the other from a club in Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.

A Friend For John is my favourite uncollected story this week - although its nothing very exciting - but a realistically portrayed story about a boy befriending a squirrel. I liked the atmosphere of this story - it gives a good impression of life in the late 1950's, when more and more people were living in flats with large green spaces surrounding them - very much like a few of the high-rise flats built in Kings Norton during the 1950's and 60's. these days we look upon them as being, basically, a failure, because they can create antisocial areas, and they isolate people from their neighbours - but back then they were a definite answer to the housing problems of inner cities. As a child I watched 'Mary Mongo and Midge' which sort of glamorised life in a high-rise block of flats - well, to me as a child anyway! This story has a similar feeling to it somehow - quite modern and a sign that Enid's stories were contemporary and she understood the problems her modern readers were often facing.

Our News Sheet gives all the usual news about Enid's charities - and also some other things that are Blyton-themed - such as the Noddy In Toyland Pantomime - which in 1958 - 59 was to be performed at The Victoria Palace.

Enid also tells us about her Noddy Sculporcraft sets - which have enjoyed some discussion lately on the Forums. Unfortunately, the adverts in the Enid Blyton Magazines never seem to feature a Mrs Tubby Bear as per the other thread enquiry - but I am sure there would have been other sets - maybe at a later date. Its interesting that these don't feature in The Cave...or maybe I've failed to find them, hidden in the depths!

So there we have another magazine ready to read! Follow the link -

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/mag ... ?magid=950

Happy reading!

[Kate Mary]

Great stuff Rob, thanks for the review. I must say I was a little surprised at the children's initial attitude to the stray dog in the first story, although it was necessary to the plot I suppose, perhaps it reflected the general attitude to stray dogs in Enid's youth, either that or I'm just hopelessly soft-hearted when it comes to suffering animals, even in fiction. I liked the second story more. It's always a pleasure to read the reviews and the stories. Thank you for the scans Tony.