The Enid Blyton Society

IceMaiden wrote: On another note, I have finished Mystery of the Strange Messages and whoever said it was one of the best in the series is right - it is! I thought I'd read it once before but after reading it now I don't think I have as I couldn't recall or remember any part of it. A marvellous and thoroughly enjoyable read, I wish I'd come across it sooner!

It was me...I think! Its been one of my favourites for years - and yet I never read it as a child - so its one of those books which seems to disprove the theory that our 'best books' are those we read in childhood. I first read it about 20 years ago and thought how very well plotted it was - especially since Enid was pretty much at the end of her 'golden age' by 1957.

Currently reading the secret of moon castle after having read the others in the series, the secret mountain and the secret of killimooin for the first time ever

I'm now reading 'The Naughtiest Girl In The School' - for the first time in an original hardback version. I'd only ever read the Dean versions before with the money updates - so its good to be able to read them as Enid intended them to be! Great fun!

I finished my last Find Outers book last night and after reading it again I have to say I still can't see what is poor about Banshee Towers . I found it every bit as enjoyable as the 14 others I've been reading for the past few weeks,the description of Banshee Towers is very atmospheric and the plot works well. I also think that unlike Five Are Together Again, this book has more of a finality about it, like Enid knew it was going to be the last in the series. The way that at the last chapter Mr Goon finally seems to have softened towards the children, even thinking how always being against them is daft, feels very much like 'character gets a realisation/ happy ending at the last five minutes of a show'. Mr Goon had almost warmed towards Fatty & Co in a couple of the other books but of course it couldn't last or the next books wouldn't have worked, but Banshee Towers is the last one and it feels like Enid is giving Goon a happy-ish ending of making peace to a certain point now that he can do so. One thing that does stand out in this book is that for once Fatty does no disguising at all (and appears to now be called Fatty by both his mother and Chief Inspector Jenks!) but it's still a jolly good read in my opinion.

I've often said I don't like Banshee Towers as much as the others - but that's not to say its not enjoyable in its own way - its just that the previous books are mostly very strong. I like the setting and the plot isn't too bad. I'm not so sure about the fact Fatty doesn't disguise himself - after all, that was a major part of the other books, and would be expected by the readers. I'm also not so fond of the fact that this is the only Fatty book to have a secret passage. I love secret passages...but not in a Fatty Mystery!

Its also quite a 'thin' book - only 18 chapters, compared to 22/23 in most of the others - and of course Fatty is suddenly taking Buster to school with him - something that doesn't fit with the rest of the series. But its still miles better than Five are Together Again and Fun For The Secret Seven.

My first FFO book was the Banshee Towers. I couldn't say I didn't enjoy but I just didn't like, (I don't know why) and after that I got the wrong idea that all FFO books were like that and thus I stopped reading them for a few years. It's strange but for me The Banshee towers doesn't really portray the true spirit found in the other Fatty's books. The adventure an style of it its written in a beautiful way yet it lacks something. Although I think I should read it again to know what I really think about it because right now but memory of this novel is fading a bit...

Machupicchu14 wrote: It's strange but for me The Banshee towers doesn't really portray the true spirit found in the other Fatty's books. The adventure an style of it its written in a beautiful way yet it lacks something.

This sums up exactly how I feel about it, too! It's definitely lacking something - a bit like 'The Mystery That Never Was', written around the same time.

What Banshee Towers is lacking is Pip, Larry and Daisy. It's all about Fatty and Ern.

I never noticed Banshee Towers was a real let-down, but then, when I read it, I had no idea it was the last in the series (I only read about half of the books as a child, and not in publication order) and that Enid's mental clarity was fading at the time. There have been others in the series that I also thought were a bit weaker than the stand-out ones (Secret Room and Hidden House, for instance, both of which had brilliant moments but the mystery itself was a bit tame). I haven't read Banshee Towers for a long time, so I look forward to a re-read when I get to it, but I still don't know if I'll find it very much worse than some of the other books that weren't as strong plot-wise as the others.

Courtenay wrote:There have been others in the series that I also thought were a bit weaker than the stand-out ones (Secret Room and Hidden House, for instance, both of which had brilliant moments but the mystery itself was a bit tame).

nteresting you picked out those two titles, as these are two I also find fairly weak and unexciting, except in patches. Also Vanished Prince.

I agree with John that Banshee Towers is too much about Fatty and Ern, though Bets has her moment too.
What really irks me is the way Fatty is portrayed in this book - as overbearing, condescending and full of irritating platitudes. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when Fatty says (in response to Ern's comment, "You're a friend,"), "...that's about the best thing anyone can say about anyone else...I bet I'll say that about you someday, Ern!" What?! Ern is already a brave, caring and loyal friend and has been for some time!

The idea that visitors would be driven away by the wails of the "banshee" doesn't ring true either. Surely most people would be keen to linger and find out what was really going on!

Definitely my least-liked Find-Outers title.

I agree entirely with John and Anita. Banshee Towers is also my least-liked Find-Outers title. It's a very sad end to a wonderful series.

Blimey I must be reading a different version then, as I honestly do not have any of the issues everybody else has with this book . The closest I can come to thinking of it is as weak is that it's very quick, there are no searching for clues, no disguising, no interviewing, no sudden lightbulb moments and the plot is like Find Outers does Scooby Doo (made up spooky mythical creature to drive away people so they don't guess what's going on). It's a very simple 'paint-by-numbers' mystery and I can see why some would not like that, especially compared to the extremely well done and clever plots of previous books. Personally I like it, it's oddly the only FO book whose location I have no real problem picturing in my mind and I think its a nice, not too complicated book to tie up the series. I was once told by one of my teachers not to use 'nice' to describe something as it's not informative or detailed enough but I think for Banshee Towers it is the perfect term to describe it. Nothing special or thrillingly exciting, it's just nice.

I read the find outers book, in order a few years ago. I think The adventure series and this series were the only ones I read in the correct order.
I never warmed to Banshee towers much, partly because the setting seemed too different from the Peterswood of the earlier books. Fatty was rather condescending, the others were non existent. I read the series, when I was about 19, and enjoyed reading about the dynamics of the place, than the mystery itself. The final book, I might have liked it if it was a stand alone novel. It just did not seem like a find outers book, to me.

I am planning to read one of my all time favourite books in bed, The valley of adventure.
Sowmya

centcat wrote:I am planning to read one of my all time favourite books in bed, The valley of adventure.

Sowmya, "Valley of Adventure" is my favorite of all suspenseful Enid Blyton books. For me it's her master piece.