Another Australian article review about Enid Blyton

[Maureen1954]

Just found this recent newspaper article in the " Brisbane Times " July 12 ....

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/enterta ... 219f0.html

[Kate Mary]

Interesting article, thank you for posting it Maureen. I especially liked the line "why shouldn't young children be allowed to understand that people used to speak differently and, indeed, think differently?."

[Anita Bensoussane]

A good article - thanks for the link, Maureen. I like the remark: "By golly, those children sound awfully queer - but so what? They speak book language, just as the things that happen to them only happen in books." That's exactly how I felt about Blyton books as a child (and books by authors like E. Nesbit and C. S. Lewis). The slightly old-fashioned feel was all part of entering the fictional world and I accepted it and didn't worry about it in the least.

Funnily enough, the other line I was going to comment on was the one picked out by Kate Mary. Yes, why shouldn't children be able to learn about the language and attitudes of the past, and reflect on them? It's not as though phrases like "I say" and "That's jolly decent of you" are hard to understand, especially when there are plenty of clues from the context and sometimes from illustrations as well.

[Julie2owlsdene]

And of course we have Tony's name mentioned too.

"Why does Blyton have to be so heavily altered when other authors from the same era aren't changed at all?" demanded Tony Summerfield of the Enid Blyton Society.

[Maureen1954]

Thank you Kate & Anita....

I like too where the author of the article quotes and our Tony Summerfield quotes ....

Inevitably, the program of revisions has drawn fire from upholders of the faith - those for whom Blyton's books are an inalienable heritage - and from parents who complain to online forums that they want their children to be able to read the ''classics'' they loved themselves. ''Why does Blyton have to be so heavily altered when other authors from the same era aren't changed at all?'' demanded Tony Summerfield of the Enid Blyton Society.
''No one's going to change E. Nesbit's The Railway Children … Children can appreciate these books were written in a different time.


The silly thing is in my view even present revised books that will be revised in the future by publishers spoils the " Classic Version", but their revised versions will never be " Original Classics".

[Moonraker]

And of course we have Tony's name mentioned too.

"Why does Blyton have to be so heavily altered when other authors from the same era aren't changed at all?" demanded Tony Summerfield of the Enid Blyton Society.

I can't imagine Tony "demanding" anything.....

[Julie2owlsdene]

Funnily enough when I read that Nigel, I thought, that doesn't sound like our Tony!!

[joanne_chan]

Sensible well argued case for the relevance of Enid Blyton's work and why it's not a good idea to play with her original words.

[Poppy]

Nice article Maureen!
Some comical lines in that!

[Darrell71]

Yup.... and yes, I thought Tony wouldn't demand something....
But nice article and thanks for posting it Maureen!