Mavis the singer

[Comerscroft]

Mavis, the singer in 3rd Form at Malory Towers, came in to my mind, and I remembered that in Scotland, the 'Mavis' is another name for the song-thrush.

I wonder if Enid had this in mind when she called her character 'Mavis', or was it happy co-incidence?

Are there any other children/adults in EB whose names are sugestive of their characters and attributes?

[Ming]

Alma Pudden springs to mind! I was quite surprised to hear that there really is an Alma Pudding.

[Philip Mannering]

Alma Pudden springs to mind! I was quite surprised to hear that there really is an Alma Pudding.

That's news to me. Thanks Ming, for the information. Interesting.

[Stephen]

Does Big-Ears count?

[Stephen]

I've just been re-reading 'Second Form at Malory Towers' for the first time in years in which Miss "Nosey" Parker is described as having...

"...rather a large nose which, so the girls said, she kept putting into things that were no concern of hers. Certainly she was a most inquisitive person when she suspected any mischief was going on, and she did not rest till she got to the bottom of it."

The poor woman! What an unfortunate name.

[Philip Mannering]

I've just been re-reading 'Second Form at Malory Towers' for the first time in years in which Miss "Nosey" Parker is described as having...

"...rather a large nose which, so the girls said, she kept putting into things that were no concern of hers. Certainly she was a most inquisitive person when she suspected any mischief was going on, and she did not rest till she got to the bottom of it."

The poor woman! What an unfortunate name.

That seems to me as very unkind.

Maybe it's a reason as to why I thought this book was only average?

[RainbowJude]

I've just finished reading The Island of Adventure and I was reminded of this thread when Bill's real surname, Cunningham, was revealed. I thought it was a great name because he would obviously be cunning and having been undercover, in effect acting a part for the sake of the case, he could be considered an actor or "ham". Granted a ham is an actor who overacts, but in a sense this is what Bill has to do to keep up his front for the children, what with having to suddenly show off some knowledge of ornithology when it turns out that Jack has a genuine interest in birds.

Later days
David

[Yak]

I thought the Alma Pudden thing was rather unsubtle frankly .

[Ming]

What about Rose Longfield, from the Six Cousins books? As Anita said in her review 'Rose' gives the idea of a delicate, pretty person, very beautiful on the outside. But roses have thorns too - and Aunt Rose was in reality a bitter and harsh person.

As Anita once again pointed out in her review, most of the characters in the Six Cousins books have names that show their quality. Peter means 'rock', Linnie means 'staff' - both are dependable people and know their own mind. Twigg needs no justification - his name obviously goes with his love for the nature.

[Yak]

I've actually not read that *blushes*


Goon is another example of an unsubtle name .. Goon being, in England at least, a term for someone who is stupid, clumsy and inept. Poor Theophilus !

[hobbes]

Well Angela is certainly no Angel!

Six cousins is the most obvious use of names to denote characters- Cyril, (S)Melisande and Roderick are effete names reflecting the weak charateristics of their owners.

Jacks are always strong characters

Girls with boyish names want to be boys

Georgina, Jo, Harriet, Whilemina, Roberta, Henrietta etc

[Yak]

I have always wondered just how much my liking or disliking of names has been subconsciously influenced by the huge amounts of Blyton i read as a child. I tend to really dislike some of the names of the less than nice chanacters in many of the books. Do I dislike them because they are fundamentally ugly names (and hence Blyton chose them for being fundamentally ugly), or do I think that they are ugly because I associate them with nasty characters who had a profound influence on my childhood?