Enid Blyton - The Untold Story

[Jack400]

Thanks for the info, Aussie Sue and Barnard

[Courtenay]

Don Spencer appeared in both the British and Australian versions of Play School.

Now that I didn't know! I always loved his songs about Aussie animals — he also had a show called Feathers, Fur or Fins and released several albums of catchy songs, some of which we used to sing at school. But this is getting off topic.

Meanwhile, my copy of Enid Blyton: The Untold Story is officially in the post, so I expect I'll see it some time within the next few days...

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm guilty of having joined in with a bit of off-topicness but it would be great to have some further comments on the content of the book.

[pete9012S]

Somehow, I think the further Off Topic we go Anita, the happier Brian will be.

I do hope we get to read some further authoritative reviews. I almost got to do one today, but as my wife insisted I do some painting and decorating instead, that potential avenue of pleasure quickly became a cul-de-sac.

[Fiona1986]

One thing I noticed was that Rob Houghton is quoted in the book, something he said on the forums about her cinema-screen writing technique. Only he's described as a Scotsman. I always thought Rob was a Brummie?

[pete9012S]

Yes, I thought Rob even had strong Welsh ancestry too!

I'm actually planning my first tattoo, which I want to have to mark my 50th birthday in January...probably something with a dragon, as befits my Welsh ancestry!

I do miss Rob on the forums and hope when the time is right for him we will see him here again.

[Lucky Star]

Hear hear. I would love to see Rob back on both the forums and the Journal. Hopefully he is doing fine. And yes he has a strong Welsh ancestry though I have never known him mention any Scottish heritage.

[Daisy]

The Scottish heritage was a mistake on Brian's part which he has since acknowledged and apologised to Rob about.

[pete9012S]

If you are still in contact with Rob, Daisy please send him our very best wishes. Thank you.

[John Pickup]

I've read the first chapter of Brian's book, Enid the Naturalist. As the author states in his introduction, readers can start the book at any chapter they choose but, as a correct order freak, I prefer to work my way from front to back.
Following an overview we are given a journey through Enid's experiences, from remembering her father's imparted knowledge of wildlife and botany on their shared nature walks, through her qualifications to becoming a teacher to her articles in Teachers World which was a major cause in her rise to fame.
We are told about her progress in writing books about nature, we are even reminded of the controversy about her disparaging remarks about gypsies in her final nature book, the Enid Blyton Animal Lovers Book.
There are some beautiful illustrations from Enid's own The Bird Book, the title pages from many more of her nature books and a reproduction of the Teachers World cover from August 29th 1934 which featured Enid in her garden at Old Thatch.
Links are provided to the appendices at the back of the book and I found the chapter informative and written in a pleasing style, not just a list of facts but an appreciation of Enid's career in this field.
I would certainly recommend this book, from what I have already read, and I hope others will maybe review other chapters so we have a balanced view for others to read, who are maybe thinking of buying this book.

[Fiona1986]

The Scottish heritage was a mistake on Brian's part which he has since acknowledged and apologised to Rob about.

Thanks, Daisy. A pity it couldn't have been corrected before it went to print.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I too would like to see Rob back on the forums and writing for the Journal once again.

John (Pickup), I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your review of Chapter 1 of Enid Blyton - The Untold Story. It's great to see Enid Blyton's deep interest in nature being brought to the fore.

As Brian Carter says, it's only one of the characters in Enid Blyton's Animal Lover's Book who makes disparaging remarks about gypsies - not Enid herself. The story of Zacky (Zachary Boswell), who befriends two children named Richard and Susan, is Enid Blyton's most sustained and positive portrayal of gypsy life. Zacky is friendly and honest and cares about wildlife, patrins are mentioned and Enid Blyton even introduces a few gypsy words such as "yokmush" for "policeman" and "disilo", which means "day comes". In the final chapter, Susan remarks that one thing she and Richard have learnt from Zacky is "to make friends with everything we can." She adds, "That ought to be Zacky's motto. He should carve it all round his waggon: I MAKE FRIENDS."

[Courtenay]

My copy of the book arrived today — and gosh, I can see what others here mean about it being hefty! I wonder why Brian had it printed on such heavy paper? Aside from that, though, it looks very very interesting and I look forward to getting into it.

[Boatbuilder]

My copy of the book arrived today — and gosh, I can see what others here mean about it being hefty!

Hence my earlier comment about excess baggage, Courtenay.

[Fiona1986]

Has anyone else had a chance to read it yet?