Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Lucky Star wrote:It was one of the last articles on the BBC Ten o Clock news. They had a nice little comment from Imogen and some comments from Hannah Green(?) of Seven Stories. They also had some very positive opinions from children. I seem to have heard of Mr Tumpy's Caravan before. Wasn't there a journal article about it some time ago?
The clip from the Ten O' Clock News has now been added to the article to which Rob (Viking Star) gave a link in the first post of this thread. It makes for interesting viewing. Here's the link again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12511512" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Journal article would have been about Mr. Tumpy and His Caravan, John, which was a cartoon strip book published in 1949. The 1930s book is a novel and is a completely different story. A marvellous find!
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Viv of Ginger Pop »

You can read the first page at the end of the article

http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/whats-on ... an-n347#Mr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Tumpy's Caravan

John & I have just had a naughty idea - let's re-write this first page to save later editors the trouble... :twisted:

For a start the gypsy will become a strange looking fellow...

Viv
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Interesting that Tumpy has friends called Muffin and Puffin, who might possibly be a muffin-man and a parrot (judging by the chapter titles). Jack Trent and co. had puffin friends with similar names (Huffin and Puffin) in The Sea of Adventure.
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Just found the Radio 4 clip about Mr. Tumpy's Caravan. It starts at 27.59 and lasts about two minutes - it doesn't say much other than that the book was never published and is an exciting find:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... 2_02_2011/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's also an article in the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... chive.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Eddie Muir »

Thanks for the links, Anita. Most interesting! :D
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Fiona1986 »

Viv of Ginger Pop wrote:You can read the first page at the end of the article

http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/whats-on ... an-n347#Mr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Tumpy's Caravan

John & I have just had a naughty idea - let's re-write this first page to save later editors the trouble... :twisted:

For a start the gypsy will become a strange looking fellow...

Viv
In that case, may I suggest Mr Tumpy is heading home with some sort of reduced-fat spread rather than butter. As promoting fatty butter to our children certainly wouldn't be a good idea.
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Rob Houghton »

just got back from a prolonged absence - been pretty busy of late - and found this exciting news. I read about it in the paper this morning (The Birmingham Mail' - so the news seems to be spreading to local papers!

Hope it gets to be published in its unaltered state...or else it gets left as an unpublished work. I'd hate to think of it being modernised straight away by Chorion. :evil:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
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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: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Eddie Muir »

Welcome back, Rob. :D I was wondering what had happened to you. I hope you are well.

The news of the "lost" book is good news indeed. Let's hope, as you say, that it gets published in its unaltered state.
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.

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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Lucky Star »

Robert Houghton wrote:
Hope it gets to be published in its unaltered state...or else it gets left as an unpublished work. I'd hate to think of it being modernised straight away by Chorion. :evil:
Welcome back Rob. Its good to hear from you again. Absolutely agree with you here, lets have it as Enid wrote it or not at all.
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Moonraker »

Robert Houghton wrote: Hope it gets to be published in its unaltered state...or else it gets left as an unpublished work. I'd hate to think of it being modernised straight away by Chorion. :evil:
Would this be a first? Updating a book that had not been published in its original form? :?
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Kate Mary »

If "Mr Tumpy's Caravan" is published in a bowdlerized form, and it probably will be, any chance of the original text being issued as an EB Society publication?

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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Rob Houghton »

Eddie Muir wrote:Welcome back, Rob. :D I was wondering what had happened to you. I hope you are well.

The news of the "lost" book is good news indeed. Let's hope, as you say, that it gets published in its unaltered state.

Hi eddie: I'm quite well apart from a slight cold at the moment. Just been 'elsewhere' - but now I have my new computer up and running I'll be back more often!

reading the chapter headings of this new book, and the first page, its style and certain plot elements (such as the princess and the dog headed dragon) reminded me of The Book of Brownies - where there is, if I remember rightly, a 'Dragon bird (rather than a dog headed dragon) and a princess. Tumpy's caravan seems very much written in the same style (as far as I can tell from the first page) 8)
'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: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Robert Houghton wrote:Reading the chapter headings of this new book, and the first page, its style and certain plot elements (such as the princess and the dog headed dragon) reminded me of The Book of Brownies - where there is, if I remember rightly, a 'Dragon bird (rather than a dog headed dragon) and a princess. Tumpy's caravan seems very much written in the same style (as far as I can tell from the first page) 8)
Funnily enough, I've just said exactly the same thing in an email to Tony, Rob!
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Moonraker »

It could only be reader's of The Guardian to comment like this.
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Re: Lost Enid Blyton book 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan' found

Post by Viv of Ginger Pop »

Dear God, what a bunch of 'hilarious' sub-Littlejohn parodies. You couldn't make it up.

This is the Grauniad comment that made most sense... :?

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