The "modernisation" of Blyton

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Pixxi
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The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Pixxi »

Hi all, I only just joined today so I'm not entirely sure whether it is okay to post topics straight away. If not, I'll happily remove this! :)

It's just that there is something that is making me rather angry as of late; the updating of Blyton's text. Now, I'm aware that changes that been happening since the 60's or 70's but more recent changes are really making a mockery of the beautiful worlds Enid created. This updating seems to be for, what I can tell, modernity for modernity's sake.

A few months ago, I woke up after a very peculiar dream in which I was climbing the Faraway Tree, and suddenly felt a dreadful longing for the adventures of Jo, Bessie and Fanny! With my beloved childhood books temporarily out of reach on the other side of the country, I decided to buy the audio books as I had a suspicion that Kate Winslet would read them beautifully.
Only a minute into The Enchanted Wood, I knew something was wrong. The children's names were changed, which ticked me off royally, I stopped listening and only recently picked it back up. I'm currently halfway through The Enchanted Wood and I must say, it's falling a little flat for me. I can understand certain changes that took place to minimise offense but to take out the beautiful phrases and words that Blyton used so regularly makes the whole thing sound a little boring. I haven't heard a single "rather" or "gay" or "jolly" and it makes me quite sad.
I nearly lost it when, in the three bears' house I heard "three bowls full of what some people call porridge and some people call oatmeal". "Oatmeal". Surely that can't have been in the earlier editions, though I don't have my copy on hand to check. It just seems very modern and Americanised.

I grew up reading a old battered second hand copy of the book (I'm not sure of the edition but it had a deep green cover with, I think, a boy and girl with animals and feyfolk on the front). The other two books in the series were perhaps a little newer than the first book but still had much of the same charm. These new versions make Blyton's writing, and in particular, her dialogue, seem flat and dreary. I always thought as a child how marvellous the characters in her books talked, and often requested ginger beer when my mother went to the shops. I still use the word "jolly" in everyday speech, though some find it quaint. The dialogue enthralled me, it was probably my favourite aspect of Enid's books.

I can't help but feel that publishers are selling children a little short, I first read Blyton in the nineties and I understood everything that was happening. I recognised that potted meat and shillings were references to an earlier time, surely children today can figure it out too? To remove every "jolly good", to update currency, to change what characters wear, these things strip Blyton's books of their brilliance and their ability to immerse children in a different world, a world where adventures are possible if only you look for them.

Well, I seem to have ranted for rather a long time, my apologies! Wondering if this is something that makes anyone else mad?
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Daisy
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Daisy »

Many of us are far from happy with the alterations which have taken place in many of the books since about 1970. There have been a number of discussions about this from time to time. I managed to find this one but there are many more I feel sure. Comments crop up under all sorts of headings. This is one thread which touches upon your concerns.
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/foru ... ?f=4&t=739" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

As Daisy has so rightly mentioned, Pixxi, it would be nice if the books were all the original text, and the way to get the original text is to only buy the second hand old books, of which there are many out there. I guess it's like everything, if we want to keep Blyton alive and make todays youngsters enjoy her mysteries and adventures, then we have to let them be updated. If it keeps Blyton on the shelfs, I don't think we have much choice.

All my collection is the original text that Blyton used, and as I said, you can still buy these lovely old books at reasonable prices too. :)

8)
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Aussie Sue »

Hi Pixxi,

You've come to the right place to air your feelings about 'the modernisation'. You'll quickly learn your most of us feel the same as you about this subject. There are several existing topics on this subject which you will enjoy reading.

I notice in your message under introduction you don't mention the 'Five find-outer' series as one you've read, if you haven't read them that's a great series to move on to, definitely one of my favourites.

So much wonderful information on this site for you to work your way through, it will take weeks & weeks but well worth the effort.

Have fun.

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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Deej »

Julie2owlsdene wrote: I guess it's like everything, if we want to keep Blyton alive and make todays youngsters enjoy her mysteries and adventures, then we have to let them be updated. If it keeps Blyton on the shelfs, I don't think we have much choice.
Agreed. It is sad for people on here who read her books as children but in the minds of publishers today's youngsters would find the language and dialogue strange and would not understand the context of it. Of course, a little explaining from a parent or teacher familiar with her books wouldn't be too much to ask. Children aren't stupid. After all, you can't make all English modern or are you taking away the beauty and history of the English language and its many famous and colourful authors. There would be no need to do English literature and look at Shakespeare for instance. It's all silly and far too protective of children in most cases.
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Post by Carlotta King »

Exactly. You don't see Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre re-written to make it more 'suitable' or 'accessible' - we learn to read and understand it and we learn and embrace the older and different style of writing and speaking.

I don't understand why people find words 'offensive' that were used in a different context back when Enid's books were written. For example the word 'gay' (apologies if anyone takes offence) - no doubt edited in modern books (I am not sure as most of my books are old copies), but edited needlessly so in my opinion, because back then Enid was simply using it to describe perhaps a brightly-coloured jumper, or a happy tune, so I don't get why people would be offended by that.

I've just looked at the books I have on my Kindle and out of the classics I have, the word 'gay' is used in The Secret Garden, Jane Eyre, Lorna Doone, Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier), Moll Flanders, The Coral Island, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, The Arabian Nights, and The Complete Sherlock Holmes. None of these classic books have been edited (as I have only had them on my Kindle since Christmas so they are obviously modern versions from Amazon) so why should poor Enid be the victim of such heavy editing?
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

I think this is what annoys most people, Carlotta, that the 'classics' aren't altered, and yet Enid's work has to be altered, even down to the names of characters too, which is totally unnecessary I feel, but the publishers obviously think so.

As mentioned before, children these days are not stupid, I'm sure they're capable of working out that a certain book was written many years before they were born, and maybe a note from the publishers inside stating when the book was first published and that some wording may appear 'strange' in some way, or something along those lines anyway. :)
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Post by Carlotta King »

Yes, Julie, that is all it would take, a small note explaining that the text is different.

Children are indeed aware that books written many many years ago will have a different style and different words.

And as for the changes that seem to have no logic behind them, ie names and some descriptions (can't think of any off the top of my head but I know there are plenty), well I just don't understand that at all! :roll:
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Katharine »

This subject came up last night when I was talking to my parents and siblings. My sister has recently been reading the modern paperback versions of the FF to my niece. I'm not sure if she read my parents 1950s versions as a child or not, however she didn't feel that they had been altered in any obvious way, apart from a reference to jeans. I said that the chances were that the original version would have said either jerseys or sweaters instead of the modern jumpers, and this then led to the use of the word galoshes.

Even when I was reading the books in the 1970s I had no idea what they were, and my husband and brother said the same thing, but we'd all assumed they were a kind of wet weather item of footwear. My sister only knew what they were because she'd once noticed a pair under my grandmother's bed. It hadn't put any of us off reading the books just because there was the odd word we didn't understand.

I'm sure when I was growing up there were references in books to black leading grates and gas lamps being lit in the street, horse drawn delivery vans and various other terms which I was unfamiliar with. I also like Arthur Ransome books, but only understand a smattering of the sailing terms he uses, I've either tried to find out what he's talking about, or just skim the bits I don't understand.

To me it seems most of the changes in Enid Blyton's books are unnecessary. I can perhaps understand the removal of the word gay, but what on earth is wrong wit the word jolly? Maybe it's fallen out of fashion, but as far as I know it's not offensive in anyway! Surely it can only enhance a child's vocabulary?
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Francis »

I still think that the word 'gay' should still retain its' original meaning as well as the modern one - many
words have more than one meaning.
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Post by Carlotta King »

I agree, Francis.

I looked it up in the dictionary and its' primary meaning is sexuality.
It also says
The word gay cannot be readily used unselfconciously today in older senses without arousing a sense of double entendre, despite concerted attempts by some to keep them alive.
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Aurélien »

When the now respectable field of 'children's literature' was first being established, one of the more debatable methods used by enthusiasts to define what qualified as literature for children was to compare and contrast the good stuff with the junky trash being written for children. Under this impetus, everything Enid Blyton ever wrote for children was rubbished, and there were even long-lasting campaigns to weed her books out of public and school libraries.

Of course, Enid Blyton's real crimes were that she wrote so much, and that so much of her writing was popular with children!

When they made textual changes, those still publishing her books after 1960 were sometimes responding to criticism of these books, and sometimes 'updating' them. Had EB enjoyed the status of an Arthur Ransome or a Kenneth Grahame would the publishers have felt so free to meddle?

It can be especially frustrating on the game threads here when your edition of a book differs from the edition used by the forumite who set the question(s).

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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by joanne_chan »

Frequent modernization of the texts really is a pain where a short glossary would suffice for a younger reader on their own with older terms used in the story, clothing need not be changed and there is no need to change the majority of the characters names. I can recall reading much older books, learning all about different words and their meanings around the same time as I read the Secret Seven for instance.
Where it breaks down completely is where the text is talking about jeans for instance and the illustration clearly doesn't show them! As for currency it was all foreign to me so it really may as well stay in its pre-decimal British form.
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by pete9012S »

joanne_chan wrote:Frequent modernization a short glossary would suffice for a younger reader on their own with older terms used in the story, clothing need not be changed and there is no need to change the majority of the characters names.
What a sensible post.Yes,why can't we have a glossary? Would teach the kids a bit of social history too!
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Re: The "modernisation" of Blyton

Post by Moonraker »

Yes, as has been said, we all agree with you, Pixxie. Welcome to the forums, by the way! :D
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