The Enid Blyton Society

Having had a look at Gillian's Diary at Seven Stories, I've written a piece on how her real life experience seems to into the first of Enid's Malory Towers book. The link is here: http://www.enidblyton.me.uk/styled-15/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Duncan

Gillian (in her diary in June 1946) wrote:In the letter Mummy wrote she said she thought I would make a good actress and that if I wanted to be an actress she and Daddy would back me up.

It's interesting that by the age of 14 (and perhaps even earlier) Gillian was referring to Kenneth as "Daddy".

What a lovely article - thank you so much for sharing.

It fills me with joy that Malory Towers could have been based on a real school. The setting is wonderfully described in the books and even now I wish I could be a pupil there and experience the world that she created.

The observations on the comparisons with Gillian and her mothers messages to her daughter through the story are very interesting. I really enjoyed reading it - thank you again.

I really enjoyed reading this article. Apart from the comparisons between Gillian's school life and that of Malory Towers I also felt it redressed the balance of Enid's image as a mother, which has often been seen in a very negative light by the media.

I know that Enid hasn't always been seen as the ideal mother, especially when compared to the mothers she portrayed in many of her books, however from the extracts from Gillian's diary it would suggest that Enid wasn't a 'bad' mother either.

The long letters, the treats she sent and more importantly the support she was willing to give Gillian in her chosen career just don't add up to a totally uncaring mother.

I was interested to see the photo of Lulworth Castle. The drawings for Malory Towers also put me in mind of Bodiam Castle, is it possible there might be a link there too?

I know what you mean about Bodiam Castle, Katharine. The Towers Convent School in Upper Beeding, Steyning, West Sussex always puts me in mind of Malory Towers. It is about 11 miles from where I live in Brighton.

That's a lovely looking building. Reminds me of German castles.

Great article, loved reading about Gillian's diary. I've been to the Hotel Bristol in Newquay, and didn't know that it was Gillians school for a short while in the 40's.

Very interesting thanks Duncan!

Thanks for these responses to this piece. I've now extended it to cover Second Form at Malory Towers. The link is still http://www.enidblyton.me.uk/styled-3/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re your comments:
Anita. Yes, Gillian is calling Kenneth 'Daddy' in Jan 1946, when she was 14 and a half. Imogen and Gillian were told about the marriage in autumn 1943, when Gillian was 12. I expect Imogen was also calling him Daddy by 1946 or before, since when Gillian got her name changed to Darrell Waters prior to going to Benenden, Imogen asked that her name be changed as well, as she tells us in A Chlldhood at Green Hedges. Not that Imogen seems to have had a warm attachment to her step-father. She just didn't want to be the only one left with an obsolete surname!

Julie. The Hotel Bristol in Newquay has been in the Young family for 4 generations. I've written to the present owner to see if there are any photos of Enid or info about her visit(s) to the hotel when it was functioning as Benenden School. I expect there was a half term visit in autumn of 1945. That may have been all. But if it was the only visit, it was enough to set Enid's imagination off and inspire a rich seam of writing.

Duncan

Love reading the diary of Gillian's, it brings a lump to the throat!

I hope you'll keep us updated Duncan as to the response from the family at the Hotel Bristol.

It's interesting to read the diary entries. How strange that Enid Blyton sent Gillian her fountain pen, blue crayon and red crayon one by one over the course of a few days - unless that method saved on postage or something!

There's a reference to "Imp" (February 20th), probably meaning Imogen I expect. Did Gillian call her "Imp" then, or is it possible that the word was "Imo"? Just wondering!

Yes, Anita, Gillian uses the term 'Imp' repeatedly, I think when referring to Imogen. She may even use 'Imp' exclusively when referring to her. At Seven Stories, I was making pencil notes quite quickly and can't say for sure whether in the quote I use in the first part of the piece, where Gillian is talking about her temper and knocking 'Imogen' down, whether the word in the diary is 'Imp' or 'Imo' or 'Imogen'. The rest of that quote is accurate.

Coincidentally, the only word I changed from my notes when typing up my piece was the word 'crepon' (which isn't in the dictionary) to crayon. In other words, my pencil notes say the following:

Feb 23: I got a parcel from Mummy containing a letter, my fountain pen and The Castle of Adventure.
Feb 26: I got a parcel in which was my crepon (blue) a few assorted fudge and a note from Mummy. I also got a letter from Mummy and one from Imp.
Feb 28: I got my red crayon and a letter from Mummy.

As I recalled being unsure about the word 'crepon' when I originally noted it, when I was typing the piece I decided the word was probably 'crayon', but that does lead to your query. Why the drip feed of writing implements? I suspect letters went back and forth quite often. In thanking Enid for the fountain pen, Gillian may have asked for her crayon. On getting the blue crayon she may have said that the one she meant was the red! And Enid, with nothing better to do with her time, went upstairs to the nursery to fetch the red crayon!

Next time I'm at Seven Stories, quite soon, I'll check one or two such things out.

A crepon is a heavy crépe fabric - maybe it was from her wardrobe, a type of tunic.

Thanks for the clarifications, Duncan - and Nigel.

Seven Stories has kindly sent me their own transcription of Gillian's diary for 1946. That takes the word to be crepon both times. This is obviously correct as on Jan 10th Gillian writes: 'This morning I went up to London. Mummy bought me 3 summer frocks red, mauve and green, a cherry red crepon, an aertex blouse, a green overall, a super pair of pyjamas and 2 tricolour tunics.'

So the extract from Gillian's diary becomes:

Feb 23: I got a parcel from Mummy containing a letter, my fountain pen and The Castle of Adventure.
Feb 26: I got a parcel in which was my crepon (blue) a few assorted fudge and a note from Mummy. I also got a letter from Mummy and one from Imp.
Feb 28: I got my red crepon and a letter from Mummy.

Glad that's cleared up. If Enid really had sent Gillian three writing implements in a week it might have looked as if she was encouraging her daughter to follow in her footsteps and become a writer. (Only joking!)