Errors in the books

[Boodi 2]

While it never occurred to me before, it is a good point as it would make sense for Bets to bring Buster for walks during term-time when Fatty and the others are away at boarding school, especially as she seems very fond of him.

[Katharine]

I thought we already had a thread about this, but can't find it.

Apologies if I've missed one. No worries - now merged.

I'm reading a 1997 print of Five Fall Into Adventure.

The children are on the beach with Jo who is trying to get Timmy's attention by making little whining noises.

According to this version, Timmy is confused by where the noises are coming from, and wonders if Jo is some kind of "god-girl". I'm assuming this is a modern typo, and that Enid originally wrote "dog".?

[Anita Bensoussane]

An amusing error! Yes, I've just checked and it's meant to be "dog-girl"! I expect the mistake crept in in 1997 when the text was updated. My own edition is a 1972 Knight paperback.

[Katharine]

Thanks for merging the threads Anita - I was looking for the word 'mistakes'. Obviously I made an error.

Yes, I thought it should be "dog-girl", although I wondered if perhaps Timmy thought Jo was some kind of divine being with wonderous powers.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It may prompt someone to write a thesis on "Ragamuffin Jo as a divine being" (assuming she's still referred to as "Ragamuffin Jo" in that edition)!

I was looking for the word 'mistakes'. Obviously I made an error.

Pesky synonyms!

[Barnard]

I don’t know whether this has already been mentioned.
In one of the Find-Outers books Fatty says to Larry, “I’m older than you, and wiser.”
He may be wiser but is certainly not older.

[Barnard]

Fatty and his family come to stay at the hotel in Peterswood in the Mystery Of The Burnt Cottage but, later in the series, Mrs Trotteville says she has lived in Peterswood all her life.

[Bertie]

Some of the mistakes must be just printing typos - like 'god girl', while others seem to be Enid getting it wrong in the original writing - like Barnard's examples.
I'm never sure into which group the mistake in Pantomime Cat falls, when Fatty originally goes to The Turret with Pip but it then becomes Larry. I never know if that was Enid getting it wrong half way through, or just a printing error - but as it says 'Larry' rather than 'Pip' an awful lot in that scene, then I guess it's more likely that Enid just got confused which of the boys went with Fatty as she was writing it.

[Katharine]

I was looking for the word 'mistakes'. Obviously I made an error.

Pesky synonyms!

Ha ha - yes indeed. Life would be so much easier if there were only one way to communicate a meaning. Although it would make reading a lot less pleasurable.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm very fond of synonyms on the whole, as they allow for nuances and enrich the language. It's just that they sometimes make it necessary to do multiple searches for a thread, using similar key words!

Some of the mistakes must be just printing typos - like 'god girl', while others seem to be Enid getting it wrong in the original writing - like Barnard's examples.

Yes, Enid's own errors are always fascinating to discuss but printing typos are worthy of note too, partly because some of them are amusing (like "god-girl") but also because it's interesting to see when certain typos were introduced, and how long they remained in place. I don't know whether anyone has a modern edition of Five Fall Into Adventure but it would be good to know whether the mistake has since been picked up and changed back to "dog-girl".

I don’t know whether this has already been mentioned.
In one of the Find-Outers books Fatty says to Larry, “I’m older than you, and wiser.”
He may be wiser but is certainly not older.

There's quite a discussion of that on page 1 of the thread. Not that it matters if errors are mentioned more than once, of course. I like to be reminded of these things so they stay in my mind better!

Fatty and his family come to stay at the hotel in Peterswood in the Mystery Of The Burnt Cottage but, later in the series, Mrs Trotteville says she has lived in Peterswood all her life.

Does Mrs. Trotteville claim she's lived there all her life, or for nineteen years? I remember her saying, "I've lived in Peterswood for nineteen years..." in The Mystery of the Strange Messages but it's possible she says something different elsewhere. When I was a child her statement puzzled me as I'd read The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage shortly before, but I just shrugged and carried on!

[Nair Snehalatha]

In.Disappearing cat-- it is mentioned that Fatty's parents like Peterswood so much that the bought.a small house there.-- White house -- if I remember.right. I guess Blyton.made some mistake by saying that Fatty's mother had lived in peterswood nineteen years-- Fatty himself was just in his teens-- thirteen.years

--

[Boodi 2]

I think that the only possible explanation would be that Fatty's mother had lived in Peterswood for the first 19 years of her life, after which she moved away and only returned for a visit with her husband and son many years later. As they all liked the village they decided to move there and buy a house. However, it is more likely that Enid Blyton made a mistake when she had Mrs.Trotteville state that she lived in Peterswood all her life (or for nineteen years). Such inconsistencies never reduced my enjoyment of the books and I tend to ignore them!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I went into WHSmith today to try to find out whether the "god-girl" mistake is still there in Five Fall Into Adventure. Unfortunately, only about twelve Famous Five titles were in stock - and the ninth book wasn't one of them.

[dsr]

Thanks for merging the threads Anita - I was looking for the word 'mistakes'. Obviously I made an error.

Yes, I thought it should be "dog-girl", although I wondered if perhaps Timmy thought Jo was some kind of divine being with wonderous powers.

I believe it's fairly common for dogs to think that people are divine beings with wondrous powers!

(Dog thinks - these people feed me, they give me shelter, they take me for walks, they give me everything a dog could need - they must be gods.

Cat thinks - these people feed me, they give me shelter, they let me in and out on request, they give me everything a cat could need - I must be a god.)

[GloomyGraham]

As they say 'Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves.'