Newnes Tower House Series

[Tony Summerfield]

I thought I would take a break from the Cave where I have been loading uncollected stories from Teachers World in the Periodical Section and visit one of my bookshelves instead.

The six Mary Pollock books which can be seen in the Cave were all published as part of the Newnes Tower House Series in the mid to late 1940s. There were 16 books in this series and the other ten books are not often seen. It took me 12 years to collect all of them and I guess it would be a much harder task now, so I thought you might like to see them. I have not spent hours repairing these so you are seeing them straight off a shelf in the inner Cave!







And just to keep my fellow anoraks happy, a bit from my files:-

Newnes Tower House Series
1 Six in a Caravan (November 1945) by Bridget Mackenzie (ill Eileen Soper)
2 The Kennys on Their Own (November 1945) by Jill Latimer (ill G. E. Breary)
3 Ringed Round With Foes (November 1945) by C. Bernard Rutley (ill C. P. Shipton)
4 Smuggler Ben (November 1945) by Mary Pollock (ill E. H. Davie)
5 Those Turbulent Twins! (November 1945) by Agnes M. Miall (ill Dudley C. Cowes)
6 Three Boys and a Circus (December 1945) by Mary Pollock (ill Edith Wilson)
7 The Luck of Riverlands (November 1945) by Cecily M. Rutley (ill Dorothy White)
8 The Children of Kidillin (December 1946) by Mary Pollock (ill Edith Wilson)
9 Demon Island (October 1946) by Cecil R. Baldock (ill W. Bryce Hamilton)
10 The Secret of Cliff Castle (July 1947) by Mary Pollock (ill W. Lindsay Cable)
11 The Adventures of Scamp (July 1947) by Mary Pollock (ill uncredited)
12 Mischief at St. Rollo’s (July 1947) by Mary Pollock (ill Hilda McGavin)
13 The Runaway Four (April 1948) by Ann Beverley (ill G. W. Backhouse)
14 Peril on the Ridge (April 1948) by Michael Poole (ill Arnold Bond)
15 Kidnapped on King’s Moor (May 1948) by Cecily M. Rutley (ill Jessie Land)
16 The Mystery Man (January 1949) by Charlotte M. Kelly (ill S. Bright)

Enjoy!

[Julie2owlsdene]

What a delight. You are so lucky, Tony to be around such lovely books. Some of the titles sound very Blyton like. And the first book shown - Six in a Caravan - reminds me of the Caravan Family and the Runaway Four of the Adventurous Four.

I guess I won't be able to find any of the titles that appeal to me, but I've made a note and will search EBAY and old book shops.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's great to see these! I have Six in a Caravan, but without a dustwrapper. I like the sound of The Runaway Four, Demon Island and The Luck of Riverlands. The covers for Demon Island and The Luck of Riverlands are particularly attractive, I think, as is the cover for Six in a Caravan.

[Eddie Muir]

What a delight indeed. Thank you for sharing these wonderful images with us, Tony.

[Timmylover]

Thanks, Tony. That's a lovely collection. I don't own any of them but would love to read them, the covers are very appealing.

[Lucky Star]

They are indeed a lovely collection Tony. Why dont we see great illustrated covers like those anymore? Several remind me of Blyton covers; The Runaway Four looks (and sounds) like The Adventurous Four and Peril on the Ridge's cover reminds me of the original cover for The Secret of Killimooin. When I saw the cover of The Mystery Man I was also instantly reminded of Five Get Into a Fix.

[Tony Summerfield]

As I spent the afternoon being spelaeological (pause as Julie consults her dictionary! ) I thought I would relax and go back to my shelves and add another ten Newnes books from the 1940s.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, Tony! The cover of The Week Before Christmas is lovely - very atmospheric. I've read The Holiday that Wasn't, although I don't own a copy, and I have to say I found it thinly-plotted and unexciting. Not a patch on Blyton!

[Tony Summerfield]

Just a quickie here for the benefit of people who ask questions on EnidBlyton.net but don't bother to visit our website! This one isn't Newnes I'm afraid.

[Timmylover]

The second group of books looks as equally attractive as the first bunch. The cover of A School Divided reminds me of the fronts of the old School Friends annuals. Thanks again, Tony, for a real treat.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Tony says:- As I spent the afternoon being spelaeological (pause as Julie consults her dictionary! ) unquote

Tony, you rascal, how did you know that I would have to look that word up??? Seeing as I did you probably already know that it can be spelt two ways, the other is - speleological -

What another great selection of books you have in the Cave, I'm green with envy now

I just love the dust jacket covers. A couple of them remind me of St. Clares dust jackets.

I do think that these dust jackets are so intriguing and just invite you to look inside the books!

[Julie2owlsdene]

Looking at the books, Tony has kindly posted, I've been on the hunt on EBAY. (I just love old books), and I see they have The Lower Fourth Excells Itself, by Nancy Breary at £28.50. And other one titled - Rachael Changes Schools, by the same author at £25.00.

So it would seem these books are just as expensive to buy as an Enid Blyton book, if you can find them that is!

[Tony Summerfield]

I have just found The Week Before Christmas on abebooks.co.uk at £60. I am afraid that very few of these books can be bought for next to nothing now. It is worth pointing out that although all these authors were popular in the 1940s, Enid Blyton is the only one still in print!

I have read most of these books and I rather agree with Anita's remark in an earlier post. I'm afraid today that they just wouldn't 'cut the mustard'! I have read a number of children's books this year and all of them have been published within the last two or three years. I have to say that everything that I have read is vastly superior to the children's books of yesteryear, but I do love those early dustwrappers!

[dsr]

I've got all the Nancy Breary ones - I've got a full set of hers, in fact, or I thought I had.

But that Ann Beverly book is instantly top of my "must have" list - because that, I am told, is Nancy Breary writing under another name. In fact, it's just come off the top of the wanted list and onto the bought list, as Abe has a reasonably cheap selection. Thanks, Tony - I didn't really believe she existed! Possibly because I was looking for her under the name "Anne Beverley", and the internet isn't all that flexible over misspellings.

[Jen-Jen]

The covers on these books are fabulous!!!! I envy your collection Tony. Thanks for sharing:)