It is taken from this book which is available on amazon:
Twentieth Century Classics is a collection of essays on 20th-century English society through surveys of leading prose writers of that period. In this book the author, Rajiva Wijesinha, puts together 51 writers of English literature whose works have the best claim towards the hallmark of 'classic' in the 20th century. Each of the writers included in this book is representative of the period in terms of his or her literary concerns and choice of themes and subjects. Initially published in Sri Lanka in the newspaper, The Island, as a weekly column, the essays also contribute much to our understanding of the society they describe, the changes the society experienced and the moral perspectives that governed it. The essays are educational and written in a lucid manner. They can be a reader's best guide to good literature of the previous century.
Like Rajiva Wijesinha, I rather like the "streak of the unorthodox" in Enid Blyton. I was always intrigued by the characters who led out-of-the-ordinary lives (e.g. Barney, Lotta and Jimmy, Tassie and Ragamuffin Jo) and by Whyteleafe, the somewhat experimental school.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
