The Enid Blyton Society

Well I am with Paul on this one .. I always wondered how Miss Theobald managed to wake up, hear voices and then suddenly appear at the door in time to hear the end of Bobby's speech!

Note that it was the thudding of books AFTER Bobby's speech that woke Miss T up. Unless she has a time machine there is no way she could have been there to hear what was said.

Just realised I answered something from two years ago, sorry

In 'Mr Galliano's Circus', Lotta's parents have to leave to go to Austria where her uncle owns a circus - in Budapest!

That certainly seems odd! I did wonder whether the journey to Budapest would have involved travelling through Austria in those days, and Enid was being economical with her description? After all, I'm sure Enid wouldn't make a mistake like that! Or perhaps Lotta's parents were buying the horses in Austria, then going to join her uncle's circus in Budapest...

Hmmm, well, Austria and Hungary were ruled as one country (the Austro-Hungarian Empire) from 1867 till 1918, so maybe Enid's geography was just a bit rusty...

Yes, I was thinking that, but I couldn't bear thinking Enid#s geography might be a bit rusty!!

Is it possible at all that in fact "Mr. Galliano's Circus" in fact takes place before 1918, i.e. back when Budapest was still in Austria?

Or else we come up with a theory similar to my theory that the Famous Five books take place in an alternate universe where World War II never happened. Maybe the Circus Series are set in an alternate universe where World War ONE never happened, so the Austro-Hungarian Empire still exists . . .

I genuinely think that most of Enid's books (except the Adventurous Four and Children of Kidillin) do indeed take place in a parallel universe - a perfect childhood time with no wars or rationing - the childhood that Enid would have liked for herself but never had.

The best universe in which to be. Who needs reality?

Hear, hear.

Escaping to Blyton land is a good recipe for staying sane!

There's a (presumably) printing error in the 1967 edition of 'The Rilloby Fair Mystery' where an extra set of quotation marks appears in a sentence.

"They're champs - absolutely champion," said Snubby, making one of his frightful jokes."

There are two further errors in another line on the same page.

"Didn't have to teach them." said Vosta, "They saw me riding mine..."

should be

"Didn't have to teach them," said Vosta. "They saw me riding mine..."

Interesting! None of the above errors are in the 1953 hardback I have - so obviously these were paperback(?) typesetting errors.