What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Eddie Muir wrote:Thank you all for your kind comments. Finding Five Are Together Again today has inspired me to reread the whole Famous Five series. :D
That's great - I'm doing the same, and really enjoying the experience. It's the first time I ever read the whole series in order (though I started with book 2 and will read book 1 last - just so I finish on a better book than 'Together Again!').

It's really fascinating to see the Five grow, and the stories follow on from each other, with ideas taken from the book before sometimes (such as Trouble, which involves camping out, as did the book before, Camp). The one thing I've noticed reading them this way, is the fact that Julian becomes more and more aggravating and pompous as the books go on! :lol:
Eddie Muir wrote:Thanks for your comments Rob, Pete and Poppy. :D
pete9012S wrote: You were robbed!! :wink: :D
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Robbed by a monkey climbing up the walls, I hope! :wink:

Anita Bensoussane wrote:A good find, Eddie!

Returning to your paperback of Mystery Stories, Robert, I like the castle, rocks, sky and greenery. They look mysterious and shadowy and create just the right mood. It's a pity the children's faces are a bit strange, but the features that really grate are the garish circle and bar proclaiming "Two books in one" and "New in paperback". They spoil the artwork and make the book seem cheap and tacky.
I agree Anita. The overall picture isn't bad, but I always hated the strange look of the boy in particular, and the circle and bar do make the paperback look cheap and tacky. I bought it new - for 85p so I guess that was quite expensive for a book in 1982! ;-)

I also had the paperback version of 'The Mystery That Never Was' - the first time I ever read this disappointing book. It also has a stripe spoiling the cover.

Image

I never liked either of these books at the time, and although I still dislike 'The Mystery That Never Was' I have grown to appreciate both Smuggler Ben' and 'Cliff Castle' as good early Enid Blyton stories.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

That paperback edition of The Mystery that Never Was was the last Enid Blyton book I ever bought as a child and I too found it disappointing. Rather a nice cover though, except for the red stripe!
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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

I agree the cover illustration is great - 1000 times better than most cover illustrations these days!

I love what it says on the red stripe - 'A THRILLING ADVENTURE STORY!' - as if to underline the fact, despite the book being generally below par. :lol:

Looking at these books, I've realised that many of the Blyton books I read around this time (when I was 'growing out of' Enid Blyton, albeit only for about three or four years!) are the Blyton books I liked least. I also had the paperback companion volume to 'Mystery Stories' - 'Adventure Stories' (Children of Kidillin and Mischief at St Rollo's) and I disliked them all at the time (though I grew to appreciate them as an adult!). Having read The Adventure of the Strange Ruby' which I also disliked at the time, followed by The Adventure That Never Was, I began to lose interest in Enid's books, aged about 13.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by sixret »

I began to lose interest in EB's books at 15 because I went to boarding school for 2 years when I was 16 and 17. The last series I read in Malaysian language was Adventure series(all 8 titles) at 15. I remember they were very good but I was at a phase where all teenagers went through. Then I studied in university until I was 24. I started to rekindle my interest in EB's books when I was about 24 years old in 2003. The first thing I did, bought some titles in English that I didn't have online. Then I searched Enid Blyton on internet and came to Enid Blyton yahoo group, Enid Blyton Society(blue website), Michael's webpage. Heather's website, Avital's website and many more. I have continued my passion ever since.

I started buying more books in English. At first, I bought the cheapest books I could get. Mostly paperbacks. I didn't know that the texts were not originals in some books. Through times, I've learned many things from this website. In May 2014, I decided to buy EB original hardcovers books only because I wanted to read the original texts. :D

It seems that many EB enthusiasts have gone through the same phase. Lose interest in EB's books at one point in our lives(usually when we were teenagers). :D
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Moonraker »

Robert Houghton wrote: I love what it says on the red stripe - 'A THRILLING ADVENTURE STORY!' - as if to underline the fact, despite the book being generally below par. :lol:
Yes, the red stripe certainly attracts the eye - especially on a shop bookshelf where it has to compete with all the hundreds of other titles. I can fully understand why publishers do it, although I agree with Anita that it does tend to look a bit tacky - rather like a red-top headline.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Robert Houghton wrote:I love what it says on the red stripe - 'A THRILLING ADVENTURE STORY!' - as if to underline the fact, despite the book being generally below par. :lol:
:lol:
Robert Houghton wrote:Looking at these books, I've realised that many of the Blyton books I read around this time (when I was 'growing out of' Enid Blyton, albeit only for about three or four years!) are the Blyton books I liked least. I also had the paperback companion volume to 'Mystery Stories' - 'Adventure Stories' (Children of Kidillin and Mischief at St Rollo's) and I disliked them all at the time (though I grew to appreciate them as an adult!). Having read The Adventure of the Strange Ruby' which I also disliked at the time, followed by The Adventure That Never Was, I began to lose interest in Enid's books, aged about 13.
My experience is similar to yours, Robert. When I was 11 I bought Adventure Stories (containing Mischief at St. Rollo's and The Children of Kidillin), Mystery Stories (containing The Secret of Cliff Castle and Smuggler Ben), and Dog Stories (containing Three Boys and a Circus and The Adventures of Scamp) at a Bring and Buy Sale at my junior school. They were yellow Collins hardback books, sadly without their dustwrappers, but I liked the look of them. However, when I read them I found the plots lamentably thin. A little later I bought a brand new copy of Adventure of the Strange Ruby and again found it only "okay". It was a bright yellow Beaver paperback and looked quite different from the Knight/Armada/Piccolo/Dragon Blytons I'd bought in the past - more brash and modern. I think that contributed to my lack of enthusiasm. After that I bought no more Enid Blyton books (I had all the main titles anyway) until I spotted The Mystery that Never Was in WHSmith when I was about 13. I felt guilty buying it because I knew I was supposed to have "grown out of" Enid Blyton, but I couldn't resist. However, it turned out to be a disappointment. Although I put my Blyton books away in boxes shortly after that, I still felt affection for them and always knew I'd re-read them at some time in the future.
sixret wrote:I began to lose interest in EB's books at 15 because I went to boarding school for 2 years when I was 16 and 17. The last series I read in Malaysian language was Adventure series(all 8 titles) at 15. I remember they were very good but I was at a phase where all teenagers went through. Then I studied in university until I was 24. I started to rekindle my interest in EB's books when I was about 24 years old in 2003... It seems that many EB enthusiasts have gone through the same phase. Lose interest in EB's books at one point in our lives(usually when we were teenagers). :D
Interesting that you went to boarding school for a couple of years, Sixret. Despite being disappointed with books like The Mystery that Never Was, I never really lost interest in Enid Blyton. I just suppressed my interest for a decade or so because I thought it wasn't socially acceptable to be open about it!
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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Despite being disappointed with books like The Mystery that Never Was, I never really lost interest in Enid Blyton. I just suppressed my interest for a decade or so because I thought it wasn't socially acceptable to be open about it!
I think that was the same as me. I never really grew out of Blyton, and I did put the books in the loft for a couple of years, almost like a guilty secret, and when I occasionally read one again ( I think I only lasted from about 13 to 17 without EB at the most!). I felt very guilty and almost naughty to be reading them!! :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by John Pickup »

It's a shame that quite a lot of us felt that we had to keep our love of Enid's books a secret when we were younger. I was the same and, indeed, it's only a few years ago that my son used to pull my leg for reading children's stories when I was in my fifties. People I work with now know that I'm a member of the Enid Blyton Society and I've never had one disparaging comment.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Courtenay »

I still don't admit it to just anyone! :lol: But while I can't say my family always understand everything about me, they DO understand my ongoing love of Enid Blyton. 8)
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Poppy »

Robert Houghton wrote:Image

I never liked either of these books at the time, and although I still dislike 'The Mystery That Never Was' I have grown to appreciate both Smuggler Ben' and 'Cliff Castle' as good early Enid Blyton stories.
To say the least, I like this front cover because of the picture of Punch the dog! He looks just like my Nana's dog, there! Also, the illustration of the building in the background is very nice.

It is interesting to read comments about Adventure of the Strange Ruby. I read this book for the first time recently, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Courtenay »

I haven't read The Mystery that Never Was (although we had it at home when I was little), and I think I've just about been put off it by the almost universal panning it gets (similarly to Five Are Together Again). But I must concur with Poppy in putting in a good word for Adventure of the Strange Ruby. While it's hardly one of Enid's all-time greatest books, it's still quite a strong story with plenty of mystery and intrigue - the kidnapping of the twins, the forbidding old mansion of Brinkin Towers, the island in the lake with its strange little temple and mysterious idols, the excitement as the children hide out there... and oh yes, that statue that sneezed! :mrgreen: There's nothing outstandingly original about it, but I've always enjoyed it and found it stands up to re-reading. It also has one of Enid's relatively rare references to real-life locations - Swanage and Corfe Castle! :D
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

as an adult I actually quite like The Adventure of the Strange Ruby - especially because some of it is actually set in Dorset and Corfe. It was one of the last Blyton books I read as a teenager and compared to the richer, more adventurous stories written by Blyton at her peak, I found it disappointing at the time. I think this had a lot to do with the version I was reading, and where I read it, however - so maybe I judged it unfairly.

It was an old paperback, which I bought very cheaply at a school jumble sale. It was this edition -

Image

but half the cover was missing from the front, and almost every illustration had been coloured badly with red and blue Biro. Whoever had the book before me had coloured the eyes of the children in every illustration in red Biro, and often had obliterated their teeth and eyes with blue Biro so they all looked a bit demonic. I think I only bought it because I'd never read the story before. On top of all this, I read the whole book on a car journey to North Wales on a very chilly grey day. My feet were cold sitting in the back of the car and so I sat cross legged on the seat (we didn't need seatbelts in the back of cars then) and as I was pretty much reading all the way there, and I often suffered car sickness, I was nauseous throughout - so for years I had quite uncomfortable feelings associated with The Strange Ruby! It wasnt until I bought a first edition a few years ago that I realised it wasn't such a bad book after all.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
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(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Francis »

I am always blurting out my love for Enid Blyton - it's surprising how many people have a deep affection for her books. Today I bought two early paperback editions (originally priced 2/6d) of 'The Adventurous Four (second)' and 'The Adventurous Four Again' (first) both illustrated by Clyde Pearson. Rather nice looking books.
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

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Adventure of the Strange Ruby
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Moonraker wrote:Adventure of the Strange Ruby
No one can argue that this wasn't set in Dorset!! ;-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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