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

[Kate Mary]

A super uncollected story this week and very amusing to make party-hating Clare into a reluctant gatecrasher. It has been brilliant to be able to read the Enid Blyton Magazine, I have never collected them so I would never have been able to read these stories except for Rob's clever idea of reviewing each issue and Tony adding them to the website, thank you guys, I really appreciate the work that has gone into this. I'm looking forward to reading the issues for 1959.

Happy New Year to all forumites and Society members.

Kate

[Anita Bensoussane]

I agree with Pete and Kate that this is a super thread. It's fun to look at the magazines at the right time of the year and share our thoughts on the stories, illustrations, editorials, etc. I usually do the puzzles as well, even if I am rather older than the target age!

In her Editorial Letter which can be read by following the link, we ear that for Enid it is still very much before Christmas, as she had to write this magazine extra early in order to get it to the printers. She chats all about the treats and theatre visits and parties she is sure her readers will be enjoying...which gave me pause for thought, as I'm sure there were very many poorer readers who would not have known such treats. I wonder what those children thought when they read Enid's letter this week!

Many readers wouldn't have been to parties or the theatre but they'd probably have enjoyed family games, presents and a special meal. I suppose children living in poverty were unlikely to have been reading Enid Blyton's Magazine as there wouldn't have been money to spare for a subscription.

I'm impressed with the work some readers put into their presents for Enid Blyton. The carved wooden Noddy and the hanky with Enid Blyton's name embroidered in four colours must have taken quite some time. I wish we could see them - and the cards and calendars that youngsters made.

'She Didn't Like Parties' is a lovely story. I understand how Clare feels as I too used to be shy in certain situations - though not at friends' parties.

R. Paul Hoye's illustrations suit The Goblin Shop but that piece of rainbow doesn't look like the "yard of rainbow" mentioned in the text.

There's also a nice Noddy painting competition...

The picture for the Noddy painting competition is very jolly. I'd have loved colouring that, even though the Noddy stories aren't my favourites!

She Didn't Like Parties! is quite a long short story, meaning that this week there isn't any room for more - only the several ongoing series stories Enid is currently including. Its fairly unusual for Enid to have three serials running at once...but I would think that this was partly to do with her 'winding down' the time she spent writing the magazine. These three novels would have been written months before and all completed, so she didn't have to do any extra work on them in preparation for each magazine. As we leave 1958 behind, its a bit sad to realise that this is the last New Year as well as the last Christmas, we will share with Enid via her magazine.

Yes, it's a sad thought. What a shock readers must have had when the magazine folded. It was clearly a valuable source of entertainment, inspiration and interaction for many.

Thanks very much indeed to Rob for the write-ups and to Tony for scanning the pages for the Cave. I know it must take a fair amount of time each fortnight but you both do a great job and it's much appreciated. Happy New Year to all!

[Courtenay]

Yes, I enjoyed this week's story too. Actually, I really felt for Clare — I was very shy as a child too and didn't much like large and noisy groups of people. It was nice that she was accidentally pulled into a party and treated with such kindness and able to share her talent at the piano, though I wonder if nowadays, with such a reluctance to make friends and be part of social gatherings, she'd be diagnosed with something like Asperger's syndrome and permanently labelled as "different". Things were certainly simpler in Enid's world...

I also really enjoy this thread and am looking forward to the issues for 1959, though a little sad to know they'll wind up before the year is out. Do we know why Enid stopped publishing her magazine? (I'm sure it's been discussed, but I can't remember and I'm not as familiar with the details of her life story and publishing history as some here are.) Was she finding it harder to cope with the workload — I'm aware she was showing definite signs of dementia by the early 1960s — or were there other factors as well?

Thanks again to Rob and Tony for your work in sharing this with us every fortnight!

[Rob Houghton]

Do we know why Enid stopped publishing her magazine? (I'm sure it's been discussed, but I can't remember and I'm not as familiar with the details of her life story and publishing history as some here are.) Was she finding it harder to cope with the workload — I'm aware she was showing definite signs of dementia by the early 1960s — or were there other factors as well?

I think Enid does attempt to explain it to her readers...though not in much detail. She tends to blame her husband a bit I think...and a need to spend more time with him because they lead a busy social life...etc. This is just off the top of my head - but more will be revealed in the magazines of 1959.

For those wondering how 12 issues of Enid Blyton's Magazine will take us up until September to review - there was also a printer's strike (which may have contributed to Enid's decision to end the magazine) and so between June and September no issues of EB's Magazine were produced. She then produced two final issues in September before ending it altogether.

I can't help thinking what a sad time that would have been for her readers - especially as school was just starting...and no EB Magazine to look forward to each fortnight!

[Courtenay]

I think Enid does attempt to explain it to her readers...though not in much detail. She tends to blame her husband a bit I think...and a need to spend more time with him because they lead a busy social life...etc. This is just off the top of my head - but more will be revealed in the magazines of 1959.

That's right, blame the husband. I would guess there would be a few factors involved and it'll be interesting to see how much or how little Enid lets on to her readers.

I can't help thinking what a sad time that would have been for her readers - especially as school was just starting...and no EB Magazine to look forward to each fortnight!

Ooer, how horrible! I can imagine how much I would have loved EB Magazine if I'd been growing up in Britain in the 1950s. I once got a few issues of it in a job lot of books I bought, so I gave them to my mum as a birthday present and she just loved them. She would have been about the right age to read EB Magazine when it was being published, as she was born in 1949, but I don't think she knew about it, though they had a lot of Enid Blyton books at her school. Mum always says "there was nothing else to read in those days!"

[pete9012S]

Post contained spoilers - please forget what you read if you saw the post.
If you didn't see the post, even better!

Humble apologies for jumping the gun Rob - I can be such a clod!!!

[Rob Houghton]

hmmmm...well now all has been revealed. That's pretty much all ENid writes about ending the magazine - in the last issue, with no hinting before hand. A real shock to her readers I guess!

thanks for reminding us of this Pete...er...I think!!

I was hoping people might wait for all to be revealed during next years magazine reviews...

[Courtenay]

I didn't see it, Pete, so don't worry. I expected anyway that Enid wouldn't say anything in the magazine itself about it folding until it actually happened, so that's no surprise, but I'm happy to wait till next year to see the details when Rob and Tony "reprint" it here.

[Rob Houghton]

Post contained spoilers - please forget what you read if you saw the post.
If you didn't see the post, even better!

Humble apologies for jumping the gun Rob - I can be such a clod!!!

Pete - you really didn't need to delete it! I guess I was feeling grumpy just then lol! I'm sure that many people have already read what you posted, as its in the biography...but I just thought it would be good to reveal it when the time arrives!

Apologies if I made you feel bad.

[pete9012S]

No, I'm absolutely fine Rob - I think you are right and the info will be much better appreciated when we come to the end of the 1959 series.

Please tell me your bike is now undercover though??!!
Confession - mine hasn't moved since it snowed last year - so I don't really have any freedom of speech to quiz you about yours!!!

[Courtenay]

It's OK Pete, I wouldn't have been devastated even if I had seen it! I've encountered far worse spoilers in my time — the identity of the murderer in Roger Ackroyd and what happened to the children's father in The Railway Children, for example — so don't worry. I know your intentions were totally good and you were just giving an enthusiastic response to my question about the end of EB Magazine, that's all.

[Rob Houghton]

Please tell me your bike is now undercover though??!!
Confession - mine hasn't moved since it snowed last year - so I don't really have any freedom of speech to quiz you about yours!!!

Lets just say that photo of my bike I posted (last year?) would still go for today!!

[pete9012S]

Oh dear - our pore old bikes! I'm considering a slight change of usage for mine - might suit you too Rob??

[Daisy]

Brilliant, Pete.

[Courtenay]

Nice one, Pete!