Stephen Isabirye

[pete9012S]

Eforts to replace The Famous Five illustrations with those of Betty Maxey proved to be a miserable flop, thus enabling the comeback of the Eileen Soper illustrations in the Enid Blyton birth centennial editions of 1997

I didn't realise that the Betty Maxey illustrations were that badly thought of. Of course, to me Eileen Soper's originals can't be beaten!

I appreciate Nigel abhors Betty's artwork Stephen,as he has eloquently reiterated his heartfelt feelings in a most earnest and emotively frantic manner regularly on the subject.

On what basis are you saying that Betty's work proved to be 'a miserable flop'???
Is it because the centennial editions used Soper's work? Or do you have other information that explains your strident views on the artwork in the Knight paperback editions?

[Enikyoga]

You say "In fact BBC accused her of indulging in self-promoting her books". Citation needed, please.

You asked for a citation and you got. In fact, most of the Helena Bonham Carter's BBC movie was all about Enid Blyton's self-promotion:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... rself.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stephen I.

[Katharine]

Interesting Telegraph article. Pity we haven't got a way of travelling back in time. The article states that Hugh Pollock gave her 'her first break'. I wonder if he did, or whether she'd have been a successful without his help. She had already had several pieces published including a book of poems before she met him.

I also query the bit which says "As her fame grew during the 1940s and 1950s, she launched a magazine, Sunny Stories"

According to The Cave, Sunny Stories was launched in it's original format in 1926. It was changed to Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories in 1937, and the Enid Blyton Magazine was launched in 1953.

Not quite sure how those dates fit in with the quote from the Telegraph. Sadly another tabloid inaccuracy, maybe small and fairly insignificant, but it just goes to show, you just can't believe everything you read in the newspapers.

[Domino]

Just to respond to your post, Stephen. I don't think the contents of a play that was broadcast by the BBC equates with your saying "the BBC accused her of indulging in self-promoting her books". Nor do I think the play itself or Imogen Smallwood ever suggested exactly that. It may have been felt (at least, by Imogen) that she attended a lot of promotions at the expense of spending time with her family, but those promotions would have been organised by her publishers and it would have been a contractual obligation for her to co-operate. That is not the same thing as 'self-promoting', as has been pointed out above.
On the other hand, you have self-promoted the Anecdotage as being an academic study, so you can't complain if it is subjected to the rigours of criticism that would be pertinent to such a work.
Incidentally, I am probably the only person on this forum who is not a 'dyed in the wool' Blyton fan, so I have no pro-Blyton axe to grind.

Dave

[Enikyoga]

On the other hand, you have self-promoted the Anecdotage as being an academic study, so you can't complain if it is subjected to the rigours of criticism that would be pertinent to such a work.

Oh did I? I recall having placed my book on the same scholarly level as those of, for instance, David Rudd. Maybe "scholarly" and "academic" is blurry. Nonetheless, whatever one thinks of my book, I would like it to be judged by the many issues it has brought to the table as the spritely discussions on this forum and elsewhere suggest.

With all due respect, Stephen, that is a false analogy. EB did indeed attend book-signing sessions, but she didn't sign the same book scores of times.

I am in agreement with you that she may have not signed the same book scores of times, but copies of the same book scores of times as many authors and writers, especially very successful ones, have done over the past couple of generations.

Interesting Telegraph article. Pity we haven't got a way of travelling back in time. The article states that Hugh Pollock gave her 'her first break'. I wonder if he did, or whether she'd have been a successful without his help. She had already had several pieces published including a book of poems before she met him.

Katharine, I would, to some extent agree with you that Enid would have succeeded as a writer with or without Hugh's help. However, it seems that George Greenfield, a longtime agent of hers, alluded to the role Hugh Pollock's publishing company played in launching Enid's writing career in his biography on her. An analogy has even been made of Enid Blyton and her major predecessor in children's writer, Beatrix Potter, who also married her publisher. However in hindsight and fast forward, marrying a publisher may not guarantee one to be a successful writer and that association may have been proven to be immaterial and irrelevant nowadays, after all J.K. Rowling never married a publisher and look where she is; a very great literary success. If I am not mistaken, Agatha Christie also never married a publisher, and the list goes on...
Stephen I.

[Anita Bensoussane]

On the other hand, you have self-promoted the Anecdotage as being an academic study, so you can't complain if it is subjected to the rigours of criticism that would be pertinent to such a work.

Oh did I? I recall having placed my book on the same scholarly level as those of, for instance, David Rudd. Maybe "scholarly" and "academic" is blurry.

I'm sure we've said this before, Stephen, but your book is not at all "on the same scholarly level" as David Rudd's. David Rudd wrote his book as a university thesis (as part of a PhD, I think) and his work would have been overseen by tutors. It's evident that your book was not written under similar circumstances.

An analogy has even been made of Enid Blyton and her major predecessor in children's writer, Beatrix Potter, who also married her publisher.

Actually, Beatrix Potter didn't marry her publisher (Norman Warne) as he died not long after they became engaged.

[pete9012S]

I was just reminding myself what one of Stephen's friends, Jonathan Musere, wrote about the book on Amazon.

By Jonathan Musere - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Internationally renowned British author Enid Blyton is a beloved 20th century children's books writer. A dedicated and intriguing author, more and more continues to be dissected about Enid Blyton. Stephen Isabirye convincingly delves into the mind of Enid Blyton as he offers his comprehensive and remarkably detailed analysis of Enid Blyton. Isabirye goes into the social backdrop, the environmental and political aspects of the era of Blytonian writing, the setting of the powerful British Empire and colonial incursions at the time, the ancient and contemporary literature that likely influenced Blyton. Further, what apparently were Blyton's role models and what impact did they have on the impressive long list of books that Blyton wrote so wonderfully? These are some of the many aspects that Isabirye uncovers. Isabirye goes as far as to compare Blyton with such writers as American Mark Twain, African authors such as Cyprian Ekwensi and Barbara Kimenyi; Isabirye goes into ancient mythology that may have influenced Blyton, into theses in Blytonian writing that are similar to those in past literature. Isabirye analyses the extent to which Blytonian writing was influenced by the racist climate of the time; he looks into how and why characters in Blyton's literature are racially and genetically distinguishable in line with their behavioral characteristics and expectations. Authors like James Baldwin and countless others are presented to help us understand and appreciate the magnitude of Enid Blyton. Oh, and even American humorist Dick Gregory is brought into the picture. The unique and unexpected is indeed in this volume!

What kind of mother was Enid Blyton? It is revealed in the book that Blyton was an overzealous and voluminous book writer with less than expected dedication to her children. But Blyton gives a variety of familial characteristics, and a variety of settings to the British environment and adventure in which the characters operated. Blyton wrote for decades, and the author displays how the changes in aspects of Blyton's writings reflected changing times.

Isabirye efficiently answers the question of why famous Blyton has never taken a firm hold in the American landscape. What American literary works had similarities to those of Blyton? What book marketing aspects have a lot do do with it? What about the British versus the American English? What about the competitive rivalry between American and British authors? Isabirye dedicates his lengthy volume to delving into such issues.

The minutae into which Dr. Stephen Isabirye goes into, in dissecting "The Famous Five," is beyond belief. He uses a breadth of countless references from literature from all over the world and produces a volume that will forever be a tour de force in understanding and appreciating the life and works of Enid Blyton. Isabirye's analysis serves as a reference, textbook, and general literary work that can be used by students, scholars, researchers, and general readers. Isabirye is a literary author, whose extensive academic background in political science, history, and sociology fuels his capacity to produce such a wonderful volume.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Famous-Five ... roduct_top" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The last paragraph makes some amazing claims for the quality and academic credentials of this self published work from Stephen.

[Enikyoga]

Eforts to replace The Famous Five illustrations with those of Betty Maxey proved to be a miserable flop, thus enabling the comeback of the Eileen Soper illustrations in the Enid Blyton birth centennial editions of 1997

I didn't realise that the Betty Maxey illustrations were that badly thought of. Of course, to me Eileen Soper's originals can't be beaten!

On what basis are you saying that Betty's work proved to be 'a miserable flop'???
Is it because the centennial editions used Soper's work? Or do you have other information that explains your strident views on the artwork in the Knight paperback editions?

It is obvious. The Betty Maxey illustrations were not used in the centennial editions. By 1997, it had become apparent that for the centennial editions to sell better, it would be imperative to use the Eileen Soper editions that had captured the mood of most Famous Five fans over the decades.

Here's a snippet of the anecdotage's review of the build up to Five Run Away Together..

I quite enjoy reading extracts from the Anecdotage, but for all the wrong reasons I'm afraid...
Poor Tinker Thus!

It depends on what sections of the book posted here. For whatever reasons, far more positive sections of the book are not posted here. Thus, one has to read the whole book rather than relying upon select quotes.

Stephen I.

[Tony Summerfield]

As the Betty Maxey illustrations were used for over twenty years I don't think you can call them a 'miserable flop', Stephen. The centennial editions were put forward as facsimiles of the originals, but I don't think that they quite got the point of what a facsimile should look like. They did however use the original illustrations and to me that was obvious that they should do so.

[Enikyoga]

Five Go to Smuggler's Top - "...the ash tree facing the house crushes into the children's rooms upstairs, narrowly killing them.".

Okay, okay, I apologize. Maybe, I was trying to translate from the (my) vernacular, albeit in a quite a sloppy manner.
Stephen I.

[Enikyoga]

Here in the UK, the other respected Enid Blyton experts who have read your book are not ready,(just yet)I feel, to change their stance on Enid Blyton despite your best intellectual theorisations...
Pete

Anyway, each person is entitled to his/her opinions about any "theorizations;" probably that could be the only way we can eventually reach a consensus. My experiences in reading a lot of messages, especially on this forum, suggests that there is a lot of learning about Enid Blyton that has as yet to take place.
Stephen

[Enikyoga]

Perhaps Stephen should read Kingsley Amis's seminal works The James Bond Dossier and The Book of Bond.

Fleming based Bond on an amalgam of real people he had met in Naval Intelligence [/b]

On the outset, it would seem as if Ian Fleming based most of his James Bond character on his naval experiences. However, Robert Druce (whom we have mentioned several times on this thread, lately), author of This Day Our Daily Fictions: An Enquiry into the Multi Million Bestseller Status of Enid Blyton and Ian Fleming differs from that above assertion. incidentally, he also quotes Kingsley Amis's works on James Bond. Robert Druce's assertion was that the Bond character was created out of his reading intelligence novels of the 1930s.
In a pioneering effort in my coincidental support of Robert Druce's above assertion, I too stumbled upon my own original observations pertaining to the origins of The James Bond character which in, my opinion as I state in The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage was based on a fictional character in Joseph Conrad's semi-autobiographical novel, The Nigger Of The Narcissus by the name of James Wait who had in turn been inspired by a real black crew man named Joseph Barron http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... -name.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), http://quizlet.com/5919967/joseph-conra ... ash-cards/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) on a trip Joseph Conrad had undertaken at sea. For instance, we are told that James Wait is, "cool, towering, superb." In fact in his "swaggering" introduction, "My name is Wait-James Wait" is replicated in the James Bond series, insofar as introducing the secret agent, who often, after a swagger, introduces himself in the books and more so in the movies as, "My name is Bond-James Bond." Therefore, it would seem that Ian Fleming removed the name, "Wait" and replaced it with "Bond."
Stephen I.

[pete9012S]

My experiences in reading a lot of messages, especially on this forum, suggests that there is a lot of learning about Enid Blyton that has as yet to take place.
Stephen

Sounds thrilling Stephen!

[Moonraker]

My experiences in reading a lot of messages, especially on this forum, suggests that there is a lot of learning about Enid Blyton that has as yet to take place.

Don't worry, Stephen, I am sure the more you read on this excellent website, the more you will learn about our esteemed authoress. The first important lesson to learn is the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Enikyoga]

I am glad to inform you that tosay happens to be the fifth (half-a-decade) anniversary of the publication of The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage. It is great that the book has stimulated a lot debate about Enid Blyton asnd her literary writings. Thus, may it continue to do so in the foreseeable and perhaps unforeseeable future.
Stephen I.