Norman Dale

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Chrissie777
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Norman Dale

Post by Chrissie777 »

Recently I finished reading Norman Dale's trilogy (1. Exciting Journey (1947), 2. Mystery Christmas (1948), 3. Skeleton Island (1949), book 1 and 3 have beautiful maps on the first pages) with Tim and Sydney and it reminded me a bit of Enid Blyton's Adventure series and Famous Five books.
I thought other EBS members might enjoy reading Dale's books as well.
He wrote his best books in the forties (there's another trilogy which is more suitable for readers younger than 10 years: 1. Secret Service (1943) 2. Dangerous Treasure (1944), 3. The Best Adventure (1945), the books have also maps of the area).
There is one great stand alone book called "Clockwork Castle" (1952) which I read over and over again when I was 11 or 12 years old.

Norman Dale's real name was Norman George Denny and he was born in 1901. Unfortunately that's all I could find out during the pre-Internet years before 1997.
From his 28 childrens books only 7 have been translated into German, so I will try now to get his other books and as there is no description of the books available, I was wondering if anybody could provide me with plot descriptions of
1. The Serpent and the Dove (1938)
2. The Valley of the Snake (1953)
3. The Clock that struck 15 (1956)
4. The Secret Motor Car (1954)
5. Sweet Confusion (1947)
6. The Yellow Book (1949)
7. Arrival in Wycherly (1951)
8. Story in a half-light (1954)
9. Johnnie-by-the-River (1957)
10. The Medenham Carnival (1957) vol. 1
11. The House where nobody lived (1958)
12. All Change for Medenham (1959) vol. 2
13. The Game that really happened (1959)
14. The Pied Piper of Medenham (1959) vol. 3
15. The 6 Stone Faces (1960)
16. Look at Farms (1960)
17. A Medenham Secret (1962) vol. 4
18. The House in Cobble Lane (1964)
19. The Bayeux Tapestry (1966)
20. Loaded Gun (1971)

After 1971 there was no more book by Dale published according to the Dale bibliography which I created at the Hamburg University in the early nineties.

If anybody knows more about Dale's life or the books he wrote, please let me know.
I tried to google him, but to no avail.
Also I checked amazon.co.uk, but there were no descriptions of the lesser known books.
Chrissie

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Re: Norman Dale

Post by pete9012S »

Norman Dale's real name was Norman George Denny and he was born in 1901. Unfortunately that's all I could find out during the pre-Internet years before 1997.
I came across this:

Norman George Denny (Pseudonym: Norman Dale)

http://www.tomfolio.com/AuthorInfo/auth ... eDenny.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Norman Dale

Post by Chrissie777 »

Pete, I never saw your response! :)
Yes, that's even 7 years later still the only information on the Internet on Norman Dale/Denny. :cry: :cry: :cry:
Even his publisher The Bodley Head forgot about him. I corresponded with them, but to no avail. Publishing house employees older than me said they never heard of him.
His books were so blytonesque that It's a shame that they are forgotten.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Norman Dale

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Having read Chrissie's posts about Norman Dale over the years, I was pleased to find a book of his for £5 at a London bookstall the other day - Dangerous Treasure. It's a Second World War adventure story about Peter, Ginger and Veronica, who embark on a treasure hunt. As Chrissie says above, it's the second title in a series, but I don't mind that too much. Three-quarters of the dustwrapper is present and there are plenty of illustrations by Diana John, including a map at the front - always an enticing feature in my opinion! The book is printed on wartime-quality paper, but that only adds to the sense of history.

I have another Norman Dale title which I picked up in a charity shop (The House in Cobble Lane) but I haven't read it yet. So many books, so little time!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Norman Dale

Post by Chrissie777 »

Anita, I'm thrilled that you found "Dangerous Treasure". The other good sequel worth reading in this series is "The Best Adventure". They all come with maps.
But his master piece was definitely "Skeleton Island" which takes place in Cornwall at a river and has underground passages.
Chrissie

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