Enid Blyton Coin Rejected by Royal Mint

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Split from another topic.

An infuriated Viv has returned!

I have just listened to a review of today's newspapers and have heard that Enid was rejected for a commemorative UK 50p piece for being all the things I believe she isn't

"Royal Mint BLOCKS Enid Blyton commemorative coin because bosses think she is a 'racist, sexist and a homophobe' and fear backlash"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... i-gay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pete9012S]

Idiots!

Oh, and good morning to you Viv!

[Daisy]

This was on the paper review on TV last night and one of the participants came to Enid's defence.

[Courtenay]

Nice to see they did quote a few writers sticking up for her, although I don't know about "Racist I can understand because of the Golliwog in Noddy"... well, we've all been through that discussion before, but I'm just stunned that someone who supposedly grew up on Blyton could make claims about "the Golliwog in Noddy" as if there was only one golliwog in the Noddy books and he was always the villain!!!

As for all the rest, it's just stupid. Incredibly stupid. But yes, good to hear from you again, Viv. Hope things are going well for you.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I know that sometime recently I have come across a website that lists requests for Freedom Of Information.
I can't locate it, but have come across these

(info of interest to Blyton geeks only! Everyone else - enjoy a sunny Sunday)

I wish GCHQ would do a review - it would dispel the nonsense. (4th paragraph from end)
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/1 ... equestors/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can't work out the motivation for this
https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-ta ... 506935.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[joanne_chan]

An infuriated Viv has returned!

I have just listened to a review of today's newspapers and have heard that Enid was rejected for a commemorative UK 50p piece for being all the things I believe she isn't

"Royal Mint BLOCKS Enid Blyton commemorative coin because bosses think she is a 'racist, sexist and a homophobe' and fear backlash"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... i-gay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh but you know I so agree with you, Viv. This is getting so so silly.
I mean how many authors pass modern so-called tests of 'inclusiveness' whatever that is? Shakespeare would fail on several counts for starters it's so queer and some folks are gunning for Roald Dahl too.
Both wrote stories that we and subsequent generations of boys and girls just loved reading from cover to cover, some even challenging the established ideas too which why as adults we guide children through literature, to promote the love of reading for pleasure. Not just because they support certain ideological points of view would-be activists want to instill in the young.
I hope the fuss leads to a change of heart.

[Eddie Muir]

An infuriated Viv has returned!

I have just listened to a review of today's newspapers and have heard that Enid was rejected for a commemorative UK 50p piece for being all the things I believe she isn't

"Royal Mint BLOCKS Enid Blyton commemorative coin because bosses think she is a 'racist, sexist and a homophobe' and fear backlash"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... i-gay.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi Viv! I’m as infuriated as you. An incredibly stupid decision!

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I think that the Chorion era has a lot to answer for, because they would never stand up for their author, however vilified.

Rather they prioritised 'protecting the brand' and the two weren't always the same thing.

It is now 'common knowledge' that Blyton was a bitch and the ignorant conclusion of the experts at the Royal Mint gives credibility to this view.

I despair

Viv

[Katharine]

I couldn't read the article unless I signed up for Cookies which I wasn't prepared to do, but I can't see how anyone can suggest that Enid Blyton was a 'homophobe'.

Romantic relationships didn't really feature in her books, and even if they had, the law wasn't changed until the year before she died, so if she had written about anything other than a male/female relationship, she would have been writing about something that was illegal.

As for the usual sexist, racist comments, I suspect that no one has considered the era her books were written in, and what was normal for times.

I watched a documentary the other day about Prince John. The programme said that his father King George V was a strict man who insisted that his son - the future King - wrote with his right hand, despite being left handed. George VI was born about 10 years before my grandmother, who was also left handed - at school she had her knuckles rapped with a ruler and so was forced to use her right hand - it was obviously standard practice in that era - nothing to do with being a 'nasty' father to his son.

I would love to look 50 years or so into the future and see what aspects of today's society people gasp about and think is totally unacceptable.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Good thought about 50 years time.

I suspect it will be about plastic.

The then adults will be protesting "I loved my Lego bricks but I had no idea that they were so wrong..."

Viv

[Morgan Jones]

For the benefit of those who cannot access the article referenced above:

She has sold more books than any other children's author, enchanting millions of young readers with tales of adventure, ginger beer and buns.

But Enid Blyton was denied the honour of a commemorative coin after Royal Mint bosses branded the creator of the Famous Five and Secret Seven novels a 'racist homophobe', newly-released documents reveal.

The snub has infuriated fans of the Noddy author who insist her books – which have sold 600 million copies to date and still sell hundreds of thousands a year – have inspired generations of children to read.

The idea of a commemorative 50p coin for Blyton was discussed at a meeting of the Royal Mint's advisory committee in December 2016.

The meeting's minutes, obtained under freedom of information laws, reveal that members dismissed the plan because 'she [Blyton] is known to have been a racist, sexist, homophobe and not a very well-regarded writer'.

They also reveal that the committee, which was considering producing the coin to mark the 50th anniversary of Blyton's death in 1968, was worried about a potential backlash if members went ahead with the proposal.

The minutes state: 'Deep concern that this theme will bring adverse reaction… concern over the backlash that may result from this.' The committee decided to seek other subjects to celebrate.

Blyton, who published her first book in 1922 and went on to write 700 titles, is ranked seventh most successful author of all time.

In the past five years, more than two million copies of her books have been sold. Literary critics in the past have branded her a 'Little Englander' and dismissed her stories as twee and middle-class.

Criticism subsided in recent years after Blyton's publishers rejigged some of the characters and dialogue to help the author remain relevant to youngsters.

Last month, the BBC announced plans for a new 13-part drama based on Blyton's Malory Towers stories. It follows a new stage adaptation of the stories which has opened to rave reviews.

Novelist Jilly Cooper dismissed the Royal Mint's criticism as 'rubbish', saying: 'Enid Blyton was a brilliant storyteller and her books have got millions of children hooked on reading. She definitely deserves a commemorative coin. I adore her and so do my grandchildren.'

Michael Rosen, the former Children's Laureate, said: 'On the negative side, she was some of the things she is being accused of. But at the same time she enabled millions of children to enjoy stories.'

Literary biographer Laura Thompson, who grew up loving Blyton's work, said: 'I don't think she can be described as sexist. George in The Famous Five and the girls at Malory Towers were very sparky and some of the boys seemed feeble by comparison. I also don't get homophobic. Racist I can understand because of the Golliwog in Noddy.'

Members of the advisory committee declined to comment but a spokeswoman for the Royal Mint said: 'The point of the advisory committee is to ensure that themes commemorated on UK coins are varied, inclusive and represent the most significant events in our history. For these reasons not every event will progress to a UK coin.'

[timv]

Another irritating example of the 'Great and the Good' on an official body rushing to judgement and not bothering to look at the evidence, I'm afraid! I fail to see where the 'homophobia' charge comes from, and I'd love to see one of these committees forced to explain exactly what their evidence is rather than to be able to brush it off quickly via ' A Spokesperson' using vague phrases that could cover anything.

I presume the committee would have been a mixture of Royal Mint officials (some of whom may come from a cautious civil service background) , designers, and commemorative art and coin 'experts' in the London antique art world . I suppose they want to avoid anything remotely controversial, even if the said controversy is based on half-truths, exaggeration and rumour - 'protecting the brand' in modern business slang. I doubt if any of them have come from a background with anything to do with children's literature or authors. Did they just have a look at comments on Enid in magazine articles or TV programmes or recall that TV play with Helena Bonham Carter?

[John Pickup]

I suspect the decision was made for *politically correct* reasons. Can't be upsetting the anti-golliwog, anti-feminist movement, can we? She's been dead for over fifty years and still manages to sell two million books in the last five years.
My love of books stemmed from reading Enid's work when I was a small boy. She has taken me to some magical places that I still love to visit. A stupid decision.

[Courtenay]

I just find it really, really sad and infuriating. I mean, I can understand why someone like Rudyard Kipling might be turned down for a commemorative coin — and yet I think most people can appreciate that he lived in a totally different era from ours, that his views on race and Empire were "of his time" but were actually somewhat more nuanced than one might expect, and that one can still enjoy his incredible talent as a writer without having to agree with everything he believed in. But Enid Blyton... why is it that as soon as she gets mentioned, there are all these screams of "UGGGH! RACIST! SEXIST! CLASSIST! (and now "homophobic" is one I haven't heard before for her) Get her out of here!!!"...??

I've seen other writings from her era that were far, far worse on the racism or sexism etc. — and yet in all I've ever read by Enid (uncensored — I don't buy modern copies of her) I've only very rarely run across anything in her writings that makes me think "Ooer, I wouldn't want today's children to read that." Most of the possibly controversial bits in her writings are pretty normal for the era she was writing in, and in many ways it could be good for young readers to be exposed to writings from the past and to realise how the world has changed. For example, seen in the context of when Enid was writing, George wanting to be a boy isn't simply a result of her possibly being transgender (which I'm sure some readers today assume, much though that wouldn't have been acceptable in Enid's time). It's her reaction to the fact that she's living in a society where girls are constantly told they can't or shouldn't do the kinds of active, adventurous things that George wants to do, and she's rebelling against that pressure. I understood that as a young reader and it really helped to open my eyes to how lucky I was to be growing up in a world where I was assured that girls can do and be anything they want to. I don't think I would have grasped that nearly as early on if it hadn't been for Enid's books.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Like others, I think it's sad that Enid Blyton has been denied the honour of a commemorative coin just because some people can't understand that historical context needs to be taken into account when appraising the work of authors who were writing some decades - or even centuries - ago.

It's heartening to read the sensible comment from writer Jilly Cooper and I'm sure most people who actually read Enid Blyton would agree with her:

Novelist Jilly Cooper dismissed the Royal Mint's criticism as 'rubbish', saying: 'Enid Blyton was a brilliant storyteller and her books have got millions of children hooked on reading. She definitely deserves a commemorative coin. I adore her and so do my grandchildren.'