The Enid Blyton Society

pete9012S wrote:It's Goon who follows The Find Outers in Secret Room. Don't the Secret Seven follow people in the snow too?

The mystery of the secret room

Down to Milton House again

Next morning the Five Find-Outers and Buster set off to Milton House. The snow was very thick, and they left the marks of their footprints behind them.

Pips and Bets had to pass Mr. Goon's house to meet the others, and the policeman saw them. He wondered if they were doing something he ought to know about. He felt so certain that the children were on the track of some mystery, and old Clear-Orf couldn't bear the idea of their getting in first again. He decided to follow them.

He couldn't very well ride his bicycle in the thick snow, so he set out on foot, keeping them in sight, but trying not to be seen himself. However, as soon as Pip and Bets joined up with the others, Buster knew they were being followed.

He stopped and growled, looking back along the road. The children turned too, and caught sight of the familiar dark-blue uniform slipping into a gateway.

I'm beginning to think this is the scene I was thinking of - thanks Pete.

Chrissie - Tally Ho is one of my favourites, but I think the scene I was remembering was indeed Secret Room - which I've probably read a lot less than the other books. I was thinking the children were following someone, but it was the part where they look back and see Goon, I think!

Don't forget the Secret Seven - I'm sure they followed a trail in the snow...

Thanks pete!

I must admit I was looking for a wintry book to read...and now I have several ideas...so I'm starting with 'The Secret Seven' then either 'Five Go Adventuring Again' or 'The Mystery of the Secret Room'.

I've just finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was brilliant to read stories by Enid that I doubt I would have been able to access any other way. I also enjoyed the fact that the stories contained words such as shilling, farthings and galoshes. I don't know if the stories have been altered much, there's no mention of gollies, and I would have thought that at least one of the 29 stories would have featured the toy. No 'gay' or 'queer' either, but if these words have been removed/altered, then I didn't feel it was obvious.

The only minor fault I found was in the story The Christmas Pudding That Wouldn't Stop The two goblins in the story count up their money which was:-

two pennies
one halfpenny
one threepenny bit
three pennies
three halfpennies

I make that ten old pennies, but the book makes it two shillings. I think I'm right in saying that when decimal currency was first introduced, the old two shilling coins were worth ten new pence. I suspect that the story has been updated at some point, possibly when it was reprinted in 1996 in The Little Witch-Dog and other Stories and that it has been converted back incorrectly. Or have I made a mistake?

A really lovely book though, and I'm definitely going to buy one of the others in the series, which hopefully will be just as good.

I think there was one story I recall in the Christmas collection that contained a monkey, which in the original version was a golliwog. Typically, the monkey/golliwog was the cleverest character, who organised a party (if I remember rightly) and also did some baking!

I'm planning on getting the Spring stories collection next.

Absolutely agree with Katharine and Rob! I plan to buy every book in this series as and when they are available to the public although I may wait for a while to find the cheapest new copy. Usually, after 6 months or so, the online bookstores will sell them half the original price. I can get it under £5(including postage to Malaysia). It is possible.

I have bought them all except the books publish in 2018.

These books are the perfect opportunity for us to collect and read EB's short stories especially the ones that haven't been collected in any previous collection. Cheap, readily available and convenient(the stories with the same themes in one book).

I hope Hodder will publish more book in this series with different themes like animals(cats, dogs etc), naughty children, families, friendships and so on.

Thank you so much Hodder and Tony!

I have the Christmas Tales and enjoyed reading it in January. I may get some more - not sure, as I still have some collections of short stories which I have not yet read! I have always enjoyed the longer stories more, particularly those which are part of a series. However many of the short stories carry useful messages for children, which I appreciate.

I find them great for reading in bed at night, one story a night! Its a great concept to have various themed collections. As a child I would have lapped them up, as I always tried to read seasonal stories (always read Good Work Secret Seven and Secret Seven Fireworks in October/November!)

I totally agree Sixret.

I too plan to collect them all for exactly the same reasons as you.
Until this brilliant series of books was published I thought I would never ever ever ever ever ever ever buy a modern Blyton.

Just a shame they're not illustrated. But that's my only minor teensy weensy gripe!

pete9012S wrote:Until this brilliant series of books was published I thought I would never ever ever ever ever ever ever buy a modern Blyton.

Just a shame they're not illustrated. But that's my only minor teensy weensy gripe!

My thoughts exactly.

If any of my family want to buy me something for Easter, then I shall ask for the Spring stories.

I've just noticed one small update, The Fairies' Christmas Party was originally published as Peggy's Musical Box. I did wonder at the little girl's name which was Emma, which didn't strike me as an Enid Blyton sort of name. I was interested to see that the names John and Peter still feature in the stories though, I wouldn't have thought they were that common these days either, although I do know a 2 year old called Peter.

I, too, thought I would never ever, ever, ever, ever buy a modern Enid Blyton book (apart from very rarely like a Famous Five annual etc) - but these are really exceptionally well produced. I agree its a shame about illustrations - but then I'm sure they wouldn't come up to my own specification anyway!

I don't eat chocolate - so for Easter I've asked for Springtime Stories from my dad, lol! It will last much longer than an Easter egg!

Christmas with Scamp (dog) and Bimbo (cat), from Enid Blyton's Gift Books, published in 1954 is a lovely Christmas book. The cover shows Scamp and Bimbo decorating a Christmas tree.

pete9012S wrote:I too plan to collect them all for exactly the same reasons as you.
Until this brilliant series of books was published I thought I would never ever ever ever ever ever ever buy a modern Blyton.
Just a shame they're not illustrated. But that's my only minor teensy weensy gripe!

The stories might be nice, BUT I think the cover illustrations are VERY ugly.
I just don't get used to the fact that we have to put up with these ugly book covers for children these days when we had such beautiful book covers by real artists like Soper and Tresilian in the past.
Guess I'm getting old to complain about this.

I agree, Chrissie. As many will know, I dislike these modern-style covers a lot - particularly when they're on Famous Five or Secret Seven books, or other books that are about real children. I don't mind it quite so much on the short story collections, as I think they at least suit the often quirky nature of Enid's magical stories about pixies and wizards etc, but I don't like them on more 'serious' books.

I think the biggest reason I'm against this style of cover is that there seems to be no other choice! At least when I was younger we had the choice between the more quirky illustrations by Quentin Blake etc and the more realistic ones by (in my day) the likes of Betty Maxey and George Lucas etc. Now there's no choice, and all Enid's books are illustrated in the same way.

Of these new collections, I do especially love the 'Wizards and Witches' cover -



I bought and read the 'Springtime stories' in spring and then the new 'summertime' stories in summer, and hopefully as autumn approaches I'll treat myself to the new Magic and Mischief collection.

I hope to also get the new 'Wintertime Stories' and Summer Adventure Stories - which is coming out in 2019.

Rob Houghton wrote:Of these new collections, I do especially love the 'Wizards and Witches' cover -
I bought and read the 'Springtime stories' in spring and then the new 'summertime' stories in summer, and hopefully as autumn approaches I'll treat myself to the new Magic and Mischief collection. :-D

Yes, the witches cover is nicer than the other covers that sixret posted.
The others look like cartoon figures. Anybody could draw them, there's no art in it anymore. Illustrations used to be very fancy and beautiful, kind of artful (if there's such a term in the English language?).

As I don't like the hot and humid US summers, I tend to read winter stories in the summer to have at least a "mental cool down".
Then during the long winter months I cheer myself up with reading FF books which taking place in the summer (or Adventure sequels).