'Looking For Enid' - free paperback copies

[Green Hedges]

This book, a quasi-biography of Enid Blyton, is officially released on June 1st. It's the paperback version of the book that was first published in hardback a few months ago and which is discussed, with many links to press reviews, in the thread elsewhere in these forums called 'The Mystery of the Odd Anagram'.

The publishers have sent me 25 author copies, which is too many for someone with so few Enid-loving chums living on his doorstep. So I'll give away at least five to users of these forums.

I'll ask an Enid-related question in a minute. In 24 hours I'll check to see if any answers have been posted. If there is one correct answer, then he/she gets a book, which I'll sign. If there is more than one correct answer, I'll decide, on fairly arbitrary grounds no doubt, which answer most deserves the day's free book. Then I'll set a second question and 24 hours later another book will be awarded. And so on for five days after which I'll post my e-mail address on this thread and request that those awarded books should forward me an address for me to send the prizes to. I'll send out to anywhere in the world. Just as Enid used to send out prizes worldwide - from her mansion Green Hedges - to prizewinners she would list in her Sunny Stories magazine.

Does that make a little sense? I hope so.

OK, question one. Where am I?

Let me give you a clue. It's a fine hiding-place that Enid originally came up with in the pages of one of her finest books. To get here you have to push aside green fronds that hang down like a curtain from a giant fern. It's a cave, and its interior is dry because the fern curtain screens it from the airborne spray that is right outside. The cave has a fairly low roof, with moss growing on the floor making for a soft bed. There is a stone ledge running round one side of the space. It is on this natural shelf that I have laid out all my copies of Looking For Enid, both the handsome hardbacks and the paperbacks which feature quotes from reviews on the back cover and all over the first page. I've parted the fronds so that sunshine falls into the cave. And I've tied back some of the fern so that the pool of light is there all the time, allowing me to read and write. There is really a superb view outside - first of all, the cascading waterfall, with rainbows caught in it here and there; then beyond it the steep mountainside, and far beyond that, lower down, the green valley which stretches to the foot of steep mountains on the opposite side, towering up one behind the other.

So there you go. Where am I?
"Fatty's shed," says a bird which has just flown on to my shoulder. But that sly squawker is just trying to put you off.
"Toad of a fat boy."
Now she's trying to put me off.
Let's just ignore her prattle. I'm going to lie down on the moss and relax into this heavenly space. Why don't you relax into a favourite Blyton place too? But first, post a reply to this thread telling me where exactly in all Enid's wonderful wide world I am.

Thanks.

[Daisy]

You're in a war-torn valley in Austria, hiding in a cave near a wonderful waterfall having been taken there by accident when you should have been going on a few days holiday with Bill. The men who landed there are after treasure which they suspect has been hidden at the beginning of the war.

[dsr]

As a word of warning, you are about to have to squash yourself into a small tunnel with no promise of escape - but don't worry, you'll make it in the end .

[Beats me where EB found all these dry caves (especially the seaside ones). I've only ever found cold damp ones.]

[Green Hedges]

Quite right, Daisy, prize-winner. I am indeed in a cave close to a waterfall that features in The Valley of Adventure. The fact that the valley is supposed to be in post-WW2 Austria never really established itself in my mind while I was reading the book. The thrill of the chase through an exotic and elemental landscape was what captured my imagination. (Enid did not visit the interior of central Europe as far as I'm aware.)

dsr is right also, in that yesterday I was about to squash myself into a pipe-like tunnel that was only just wide enough for Dinah and Lucy-Ann. Maybe the tunnel has got wider in the last seventy-odd years, because I got through it without too much difficulty. That took me into a great echoing cave that Enid placed there so that she could put over an atmospheric couple of pages of cave description and Kiki chaos. Anyway, following in Dinah and Lucy-Ann's kneesteps, I crawled along a winding passage which led slightly downwards. I could hear the roar of the waterfall but it still came as a surprise when the passage suddenly took one last turn and revealed subdued daylight that flickered and shone. I'd come out on to a flat ledge directly behind the waterfall. In front was a great mass of falling water. It made a rushing curtain between me and the open air. It poured down, shining and exultant. The power behind it awed me. I felt small and feeble as I watched the great volume of water pouring down a few feet in front of me.

The mass and the power of the waterfall seemed like a fine metaphor for Enid Blyton's writing. The Valley of Adventure was one of about TWENTY books she published in 1947. For me the highlights of the year's titles are Five on Kirrin Island Again, The Mystery of the Missing Necklace, More about Josie, Click and Bun, The Second Form at Malory Towers, Enid Blyton's Treasury and The Adventurous Four Again

It was amazing to be able to stand on a ledge just behind the waterfall and yet not to be affected by it in any negative way, but instead to feel the fine refreshing spray misting the air. The stone ledge is wide and runs the whole width of the fall. There is a rock about a foot high at one end of the ledge, and I sat down on it, mesmerised by the amazing sight of Enid's output in all its metaphoric glory. "Sluice gates: close sesame!" I shouted into the glistening downpour. No change. It was worse than trying to hold back the tide. A lot worse! So I just sat there grinning into the seemingly infinite flow.

Today, back in the soft mossy cave, with the fronds tied back to let in the sunlight, it strikes me that 1947 was perhaps Enid's best year in terms of the quality of that great trio of series': the Adventures, the Fives and the Mysteries. Indeed, if anyone can suggest a more enchanting year's triple-whammy than The Valley of Adventure, Five on Kirrin Island Again (the tunnel-dungeon sequence in this book is superb) and The Mystery of the Missing Necklace (some of Fatty's best conversations while sitting on a bench disguised as a tramp can be found in this novel), then please let me know, so that I have an excuse for sending you a paperback copy of Looking For Enid.

[Lucky Star]

1950 was'nt a bad year either. We got The Ship of Adventure (great atmosphere, great secret passage chapter), Five Fall into Adventure (Ragamuffin Jo's debut, thrilling plot) and The Mystery of the Invisible Thief (superb mystery, Goon's hilarious disguise attempts).

AS if all that was'nt enough we got Six Cousins Again, The Wishing Chair Again and Secret seven Adventure among others. Its a wonder Blyton did'nt collapse with exhaustion or something.

[JuliaE]

Well, I think 1942 was a superb year!
In this year, Enid wrote Circus Days again, the third book about the lovely circus where you can have so much fun and where always some mystreries happen which need to be solved.
And then there was the second St. Clare book with more about the twins and there school. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to go to a school like Isabel and Pat?
And there is another highlight in the year 1942, the first famous five book was published, so it was the beginning of a time with the five friends, mysteries, caves, bad people, and of course, with many things to eat and GINGER BEER!
But that isn't all, 1942 was also the year of the second Willow Farm book, the stand-alone-novels The Land of Far-Beyond and Shadow, the Sheep-Dog and of the second Naughtiest Girl book (more boarding school!)
So 1942 was a really good year with something for every one.

My top tripple of this year is The O' Sullivan Twins, Circus Days Again and of course Five on a Treasure Island!

[Viking Star]

I think JuliaE deserves a free paperback!

[Green Hedges]

Yes, JuliaE, 1942 was indeed a great year for Enid as a published writer, for the reasons you suggest. However, my question - not too clearly presented, I admit - concerned the years in which a Five, a Mystery and an Adventure all appeared.

Having weighed things up, I did not intend to award you a prize, Julia with an E! However, following Viking Star's intervention, I concede this would be a bit harsh. Therefore a paperback WILL be winging its way to you in due course.

Quite right, Lucky Star, legitimate prize-winner! Actually, every year that Enid came up with a book in each of the three series is impressive when summarised on that score alone:

1944
The Island of Adventure
Five Run Away Together
The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat

1946
The Castle of Adventure
Five Go Off in a Caravan
The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters

1947 (as previously mentioned)
The Valley of Adventure
Five on Kirrin island Again
The Mystery of the Missing Necklace

1948
The Sea of Adventure
Five Go Off To Camp
The Mystery of the Hidden House

1949
The Mountain of Adventure
Five Get into Trouble
The Mystery of the Pantomime cat

1950 (as previously mentioned by Lucky Star)
The Ship of Adventure
Five Fall into Adventure
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief

1952
The Circus of Adventure
Five Have a Wonderful Time
The Mystery of the Strange Bundle

However, let's stick with Lucky Star's 1950, as it's in the summer of that year that I set each of my own Find-Outers scenes in Looking For Enid. One of these scenes did not make it to the published book, and it's this I want to make public here...

Let me set the scene. The Find Outers have sneaked into Green Hedges on an evening when Enid and her husband are out. They have come across the manuscript of The Ship of Adventure which is nearing completion. Fatty has left the other Find-Outers reading a section of the book in the living room/study while he has gone on to explore the library to see if there are any more signs of Enid's valuable signed first editions having been stolen. The scene continues...

************************************************************************
When he was finished in the library, Fatty returned to the lounge and the rest of the Find-Outers. Daisy and Pip were stretched out on the floor, immersed in their reading of Enid's typewritten pages. Larry was sitting in a seat staring into space - he seemed to have finished his allotted batch of The Ship of Adventure. Bets was sitting in the seat at the other side of the fireplace from Enid's. She looked up from her pages and smiled when Fatty came into the room. 'Why the great hurry, Fatty?' said Daisy, who had the biggest stack of typewritten sheets in front of her.

'Because, Enid and Kenneth will be back at ten o'clock, so that the busy author can have her early night. She needs to be up bright and early to write the final section of The Ship of Adventure. But that still gives us plenty time to go through what she's written so far. Bets you're first, so you can sit in Enid's writing chair. If we're very lucky I'll be able to come up with an ending for Ship of Adventure this very evening. Why should we wait until Enid's version of the book is published in a year or so's time? Why should we even wait until tomorrow evening for a typewritten version?'

Why, indeed? It surprised Fatty how he could go from 'The Mystery of the Missing Books' to 'The Manuscript of Adventure' so easily. Perhaps some of Enid's qualities of mind really were beginning to rub off on him. Without further ado, Fatty urged Bets to launch The Ship. 'What's the vessel called?' he asked.

'I'll tell you soon enough,' said Bets, who was getting tired of being pushed around by the leader of the Find-Outers.

'That's the spirit,' said Fatty, 'Enid's chair is giving you confidence.'

Of course it gave Bets confidence! No wonder Fatty had been able to carry off his Enid Blyton impression when he had been sitting here! When sitting on this chair you could do or say anything. Certainly Bets could remember the vivid piece of writing she'd read not ten minutes ago.

She began: 'Philip, Dinah, Jack and Lucy-Ann are to go on a cruise organised by Mrs Mannering, Philip and Dinah's mum. Bill Smugs is not to go because every time he is with the children, they get mixed up in a dangerous adventure. Even worse news is that wonderful Kiki isn't to go either.'

'Why not?' asked Fatty.

'Because pets aren't allowed on cruise liners,' replied Bets, happy enough to be interrupted by questions. It gave her a chance to observe that she'd needed to be reminded by the new story that Jack and Lucy-Ann had lost their parents, and that Mrs. Mannering and Bill were a sort of substitute mother and father. Indeed Mrs Mannering was their guardian, though Bill had no official position.

'Maybe Mrs Mannering and Bill should get married or something,' suggested Daisy.

'Oh, Fatty can you make that happen when you tell us what happens at the end of the book?' said Bets.

'I think we're getting ahead of ourselves,' said Fatty. 'Carry on with the story as Enid Blyton has written it, will you, Bets?'

Bets carried on: 'So, Jack is upset about Kiki not getting to go on the cruise, and he makes an arrangement for her to stay with an old school friend of his who lives in Southampton where the boat is to sail from. Of course, on the day of the sailing, in a lovely scene, Kiki flies away from the boy who's supposed to be looking after him and joins the others on The Viking Star.'

'Thank goodness for that!' said Fatty. Though deep down he knew Kiki couldn't really have been left behind. It would be like a Famous Five book without Timmy.

'Viking Star is a great name for a ship,' said Pip.

'I wish I was called something exciting like that,' said Daisy.

'Carry on, Bets,' said Fatty, who didn't want them to get side-tracked.

Bets slipped off her shoes and folded her legs under her, nestling further into the sides and back of Enid's writing chair. 'Kiki has to stick to Jack's cabin. Which she's not too happy about. "Poor Kiki," she says more than once. But she gets a companion when the ship stops off in Morocco.'

'Morocco, already! The Viking Star doesn't hang about in international waters,' observed Fatty.

'Philip rescues a monkey from boys who have been stoning the poor creature. The monkey's name is Micky and he gets on well with everyone except Kiki who is jealous of all the attention Micky gets. Kiki has the upper hand over her rival though, because of her bewildering range of sound effects. Kiki scares Micky with her train-whistle impression, and Micky pays her back by pulling her tail feathers. "Bad Micky," is another of Kiki's repeated lines in the first section of The Ship of Adventure.'

'"Poor Kiki' and "bad Micky"! Not very inspired,' commented Fatty.

'Kiki's not much good in the section I've been reading either,' said Pip.

'Nor mine,' piped up Larry. 'Not a patch on her mimicking of the puffins in The Sea of Adventure.'

'Wait for it, you lot. You'll get your turn soon enough,' said Fatty, trying to keep some sort of order at his story-party.

Up to now, Bets had been dutifully accessing her short-term memory. But it was a bit frustrating doing that, she was finding. So she decided to try something different. She did what she'd learned to do recently, not just at night but at any time of day. She closed her eyes and let her mind clear. Seconds later, her mind began to fill up again, only this time she was happier with what she saw and heard. And as she opened her eyes and began to speak again, there was suddenly more conviction about her words, and a richer flow: 'One day Lucy-Ann was on the bridge and she noticed that her deck-chair had sprouted wings.'

'Hello!' thought Fatty, his ears perking up.

Bets continued: 'Before she knew it, Lucy-Ann was flying in the air above The Viking Star. Fast as the ship was sailing, the wishing-chair was flying faster. It was a lovely feeling, the wind in her face. But she did miss not having Kiki with her. How she wished that Kiki was with her rather than with Jack all the time. And suddenly Kiki was flying all the way from her cabin on the starboard side of the ship - up-up-up - towards her.'

'Do you mean starboard or port?' asked Pip, who didn't trust his sister when it came to telling the difference between left and right in any circumstances, never mind in nautical terms.

Bets ignored Pip's remark. No, she didn't ignore it, she took it on board as she carried on with her very own Ship of Adventure: 'Kiki flew from the starboard side of the ship and perched on the starboard side of Lucy-Ann's chair. "Oh, Kiki, isn't this marvellous?" said Lucy-Ann, "The sea-air in our faces". "Aye-aye, Cap'n," said Kiki, her crest blowing out to its full length in the wind.'

Bets re-crossed her legs underneath herself and straightened her back: she felt she was sitting right on top of Wishing-Chair. Next best thing to being on top of the Magic Faraway Tree! She could feel the book's spine attaching itself to her own spine, via the base of her bottom. Good. She was Lucy-Anne as she went on with her version of events, the only story she could have told by this time: "'Who's a lucky little girl to have a wishing­chair?'" said Kiki in Lucy-Ann¹s starboard ear. Lucy-Ann just smiled in reply. Then Kiki jumped over her head. "Aye-aye, Cap'n. Pieces of eight. Who's a lucky little girl to have a wishing-chair under her big fat bum?" Said Kiki into Lucy-Ann's port ear. "Oh, shut up, Kiki," she said. "The wishing-chair and I don't want to listen to you babbling in our ears as we enjoy the salty smell of the ocean-air high above the waves. "Wishing chair: take me to Treasure Island!" "Hard to port! Hard to port!" screamed Kiki.'

Fatty and the others sat entranced.

Bets carried on: 'As the wishing-chair flew on, Lucy-Ann had to put up with Kiki, perched first on one arm of the chair, then the other, chanting: "Who's a lucky little girl not to have a daddy? Who's a lucky little girl not to have a daddy?" Lucy-Ann put up with the cheek until she couldn¹t stand it any longer. "Oh, shut up, Kiki. I'm on the lookout for the greatest treasure of all, and all you can do is harp on about what's done and dusted. If you can't say anything that helps in my search, keep your Snoogly beak shut!"'

Pip couldn't resist clapping his sister.

Bets: 'After a while Lucy-Ann thought she could see something exciting in the distance. Was it just a spot on the hazy horizon, or was it the greatest treasure known to man? "Is that it, Kiki?" she asked. "Yo-ho-ho," squawked Kiki, trying her best not to rock the wishing-chair. So that Lucy-Ann could see - could really see - what was looming up on the horizon. "'It is, Kiki, it is,' she shouted, 'It's a castle on an island!'"

'A castle on an island?' thought Pip, wondering how he was going to manage to link all this to the relatively mundane part two of The Ship of Adventure that he was due to present whenever Bets came back down to earth.

'A castle on an island?' thought Fatty, marvelling at what was taking shape there in front of him in the lounge of Green Hedges.

Bets: '"KIRRIN, KIKI, KIRRIN!" shouted Lucy-Ann.'

'Give that girl a coconut!' shouted Fatty, proud of the Find-Outers as a unit, and Bets in particular. My goodness, the girl's ability to conjure up the essence of Enid Blyton was even better than his own!

Bets: '"Aye, aye, Cap'n. Yo-ho-ho, and a castle on an island," squawked Kiki.'

'SWANAGE, FATTY, SWANAGE!' shouted Bets in her everyday voice. Full of wonder at how far the fabulous wishing-chair had flown in such a short length of time.

************************************************************************

OK, so now for question three in this thread.

In setting out the above scene, I realise that I've made a continuity error. Luckily, making a continuity error in a largely fabricated piece of writing is not a hanging offence. But can anyone see what the mistake is?

Post ANYTHING YOU LIKE as an answer. Viking Star will perhaps try to ensure that you get a free paperback out of it.

[JuliaE]

Yes, JuliaE, 1942 was indeed a great year for Enid as a published writer, for the reasons you suggest. However, my question - not too clearly presented, I admit - concerned the years in which a Five, a Mystery and an Adventure all appeared.

Having weighed things up, I did not intend to award you a prize, Julia with an E! However, following Viking Star's intervention, I concede this would be a bit harsh. Therefore a paperback WILL be winging its way to you in due course.

Oh, sorry, I missunderstood the question. But it was a lot of fun searching different years and finding the one I liked best

[Laura]

I have no real idea about the answer to this question, but I'm prepatred to give it a go. There could be a continuity error in the fact this scene is set in 1950, yet Lucy-Ann passes over Kirrin Island, which only contained treasure in 1942 (when Five on a Treasure Island was published ), and by 1950 the Famous Five stories had mostly moved away from Kirrin (Five Fall into Adventure was published then, as Lucky Star has said, and that was the last book to be set there, and that wasn't set on the island itself). Therefore, there is a slight continuity error to have Lucy-Ann flying over it. Only my suggestion!

[Viking Star]

Having weighed things up, I did not intend to award you a prize, Julia with an E! However, following Viking Star's intervention, I concede this would be a bit harsh. Therefore a paperback WILL be winging its way to you in due course.

Quite right, Lucky Star, legitimate prize-winner! Actually, every year that Enid came up with a book in each of the three series is impressive when summarised on that score alone:
Post ANYTHING YOU LIKE as an answer. Viking Star will perhaps try to ensure that you get a free paperback out of it.

Sorry. I didn't realise you had set another question. I just thought JuliaE had given a lovely description of books in a certain year!

[Green Hedges]

No need to be sorry, Viking Star, or JuliaE! I'm truly glad when anyone takes part in this on-line communication. It's not really about correct answers.

Viking Star's forum name, plus Lucky Star's 1950 post, gave me a good excuse to dig out that scene pastiching the Find-Outers and The Ship of Adventure. So, thanks to all concerned.

That's an interesting response from Laura, re question 3. I'll send her a book. However, what she suggests is not the continuity error I was thinking of. To my mind, Kirrin Island, complete with ruined castle, will always be a treasure island because it features so prominently in the early Fives. There's no treasure like a fabulous book, after all.

So I'll leave that third question open for a while. After all it's asking quite a lot to expect people to read such a long, long post, never mind think about it. So the least I can do is give fellow forum users a bit more reading and mulling-over time.

Do you think Enid was thinking of the word 'cuckoo' when she came up with the name 'Kiki'?

That's not a proper question, by the way. Just a passing thought of nil consequence!

[dsr]

Why did Lucy-Ann have a deck chair on the bridge? Open access maybe, but I don't see a Captain, however tolerant, allowing deck chairs!

And shouldn't they have gone straight ahead from Morocco to Swanage, not turned to port?

[Fatty]

Do you think Enid was thinking of the word 'cuckoo' when she came up with the name 'Kiki'?

I'm inclined to think Blyton read about the New Zealand parrot called kea, and came up with "kea-kea" as a suitably onomatopoeic name for Jack's bird. The pronunciation of the Maori name would be closer to kay-uh-kay-uh than kee-kee, but Blyton may not have known that — or more likely ignored it.

Kea are legendary for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment... Their curiosity leads them to peck and carry away unguarded items, or to pry apart rubber parts of cars — to the entertainment and annoyance of human observers. They are often described as "cheeky".

That sounds remarkably like Jack's Kiki to me. The phonetic association with "cuckoo" (and even "cheeky") may have helped.

[Anita Bensoussane]

One of Enid Blyton's aunts owned a parrot called Kiki. It may have been a popular name for a parrot at the time, perhaps influenced by some of the things you've suggested, Fatty. Names like Fifi and Lulu were once fashionable for small dogs like poodles.

Anita