The Sea of Adventure

[caretaker.thms]

hi Viv of Ginger Pop

I am a school caretaker in a junior school in Norwich, Norfolk uk
i have been a member a while on the forum but lead a very busy life and don't have too much time to post articles but do keep looking in

i just had to post on this subject as i find this young lady so inspiring.
her grammar and style of writing and the fact that she is taken time out from computers and games to read an old fashioned (albeit brilliant)book deserves a round of applause

well done Anna
hope you read all of the adventure series, the famous five and secret seven (all my favourites)

[Anna Moss]

aww thanks for all the compliments The sea of adventure is the first of the adventure series I have read, but I have recently bought a copy of the island of adventure
(unfortunately unlike my 1958 copy of the sea of adventure, I couldn't find a copy of the island of adventure in this form, so I had to purchase a modern one, but to find some old unabridged copies me and my dad will search on ebay) and I have begun to read it. Yes, I have a collection of some famous five and secret seven books, which I enjoy aswell.

[Nadia]

Hi Anna.

I need to give you your locker keys you gave me. Thank for you lending them to me! See you tomorrow.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Hi Anna.
I need to give you your locker keys you gave me. Thank for you lending them to me! See you tomorrow.

Hello Nadia, you can always PM Anna, if you want to send her a private message.

This post is for the book Sea of Adventure.
A book I have to confess not been opened for more years than I care to remember

[Rob Houghton]

It's funny that The Sea of Adventure was, for many, the first EB book they read, because for me it was one of the last ones I read!! I was about 32 when I read it for the first time! It is actually one of my favourite 'Adventure' books, due to the atmosphere, the lonliness of the islands, etc. I love the feeling of being lost on a remote island when Bill sails away. the children are really stranded, with no way of escape! brilliant!

[Philip Mannering]

It's funny that The Sea of Adventure was, for many, the first EB book they read, because for me it was one of the last ones I read!! I was about 32 when I read it for the first time! It is actually one of my favourite 'Adventure' books, due to the atmosphere, the lonliness of the islands, etc. I love the feeling of being lost on a remote island when Bill sails away. the children are really stranded, with no way of escape! brilliant!

Same here, Robert. I couldn't find Sea at all in the first few months when I started reading Blyton - hence it was one of the last I read. However I was certainly not 32 at that time! Just 10. (And even now I'm just 12.) I agree with you that it's one of the best of the Adventure series, reasons same as you mentioned. The ending, however, was a bit of a let-down. All in all, though, it was great! An excellent Blyton book.

[Wolfgang]

I've read about 2/3rd of the French edition so far (they found the guns in the lagoon and learned that the gun-runners want to get rid of Bill), and it's really badly abridged. Jean-Marie Simonis made a list of the differences (in French), and apart from some minor errors it's a good start. As I mentioned there's no governess scene, the train chapter is also almost completely left out. Philip's mice don't appear and there are no puffins at all. Also the description of Bill's feelings concerning Lucy-Ann when she suffered from vertigo is missing.
Actually I start to think it's no surprise that the adventure series doesn't seem to be rated as high in France than in many other countries.

[Courtenay]

That's really sad, Wolfgang. Sea is possibly my favourite of the Adventure series and it's a shame to hear the French translators apparently felt the need to cut it down. Bill's protectiveness of Lucy-Ann is one of the most heartwarming little vignettes in the whole series — it's a hint of how much he's becoming a father-figure to the children, and goes to show how, even while being a big, tough man in an often dangerous line of work, he's sensitive enough to understand Lucy-Ann's fears and to make sure she feels safe. And as for leaving out Huffin and Puffin...

[Anita Bensoussane]

Sounds terrible. After all, there's a lot more to an adventure story than just the excitement and danger of the adventure itself. In Enid Blyton's original book the slow build-up creates a dreamy atmosphere of expectation, small scenes of interaction between the characters help us get to know them better, and the puffins provide humour and comfort at times of tension. It isn't the same story without these little details, even if the bare bones of the plot are unchanged.

[Rob Houghton]

Until now I'd always thought that a foreign edition of a book would be the same book just translated. It's beginning to seem as if the publishers felt it was too much of a fag to bother translating the whole thing. Wonder why they bothered at all? Oh yes - making a quick buck!!

[John Pickup]

No puffins. Sacrilege!

[Francis]

Obviously the curse of updating has been given the cover of translating = imagine what would happen if they were translated back into English and then translated into French and so on. The end result would be frightening. One of major themes of these books is love of the natural world so no puffins is very sad indeed.

[Lucky Star]

As Anita said there is far more to an Adventure series book than the mere mechanics of the plot. This series in particular is noted for it's mature approach to relationships. The warmth and intricacy of the interaction between characters, the backstory of the rather odd familial arrangements of all the characters, the love of birds and animals of Jack and Philip (and Dinah's hatred of them) and Lucy-Ann's devotion to her brother all go towards making this series as beloved as it is. Take away those elements and it may as well be a story in a comic book.

[Wolfgang]

I finished the book yesterday, and there are some more features missing. Horace didn't tell tales about the kids, the passage

„You’re only kids - but you’re the finest company of friends anyone could have. You know the meaning of loyalty already, and even if you’re scared you don’t give up. I’m proud to have you for my friends.“
„Oh, Bill!“ said Lucy-Ann, tremendously thrilled to hear such a speech from her hero. „You are nice. You’re our very very best friend, and you always will be.“
„Always,“ said Dinah.
The boys said nothing, but they glowed inwardly at Bill’s praise. Friendship - loyalty - staunchness in face of danger - they and Bill both knew these things and recognised them for the fine things they were. They felt very close to Bill indeed.

is replaced by "you're great kids", but not surprisingly Kki's crest isn't mentioned at all despite "he" creeches during the shooting at night while they're escaping - simply because Kiki is a parrot and not a cockatoo.

The French edition also changed the scene on "Puffin" Island when the gun-runners were looking for the one who had lighted the fire. There's no quarrel between Jack and Kiki, Kiki simply stays outside, the men see him and realize that he's a parrot and only wonder who taught her to talk.

Unfortuntaley there's always the danger that by updating or translating books things are changed - there are several cases in German editions as well .

[Anita Bensoussane]

Incroyable! Fancy removing that passage about friendship, loyalty, staunchness, etc. It's a pivotal moment in the relationship between Bill and the children. As John (Lucky Star) said, the "mature approach to relationships" is a vital element of this series - and it's in The Sea of Adventure (though maybe not in the French version!) that we're told that Lucy-Ann "often wished that Bill were her father". It's important for readers to see the bonds between the characters deepening, as Bill and Allie and the children are soon to become a family.