Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Francis wrote:You have finally reached the stage of becoming Enid herself, Tony!
The letters and emails that I get are actually addressed to Enid Blyton, not to me.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Enid Blyton wrote:
Francis wrote:You have finally reached the stage of becoming Enid herself, Tony!
The letters and emails that I get are actually addressed to Tony Summerfield, not to me.

:shock:

:wink: :lol:
'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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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Series extensions!

http://jobs.thebookseller.com/Hodder-senior-editor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Daisy
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Daisy »

I wonder how this will be interpreted: the need for "....creative flair to reimagine the Blyton books for today’s young readers." Reimagine? does this equate to "rewrite"? Oh dear.
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KEVP
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by KEVP »

(and of course folks have said that the diet of the Famous Five was really quite healthy. Despite the gluten . . .)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Sorry, but the description "you will be responsible for defining and developing our brand message as we creatively build upon the series and plan for series extensions in the UK and beyond. With an eye for new and cost-effective formats, you’ll be creative, flexible and with the fantastic project management skills needed for such a diverse list." takes all of the creativity and magic out of what Enid stood for, in my opinion! :-( I can imagine writing series extensions...only to be told they weren't 'cost effective'!! :evil:
'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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Francis
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Francis »

They certainly wouldn't be able to sell books including that load of management jargon. How much saner was Enid Blyton's world. Probably explains why so many British firms have been 'managed' out of existence. When they talk about 'branding' I switch off mentally.
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Katharine
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Katharine »

The more I hear about these books, the worse they seem to get. There's so much I feel I want to say, but everyone seems to have already said it, so maybe I'll take a leaf out of Imogen Smallwood's book:-

Asked for her thoughts she replied: ‘I am not going to think.’

Maybe if we all totally ignore the books they will go away? :D
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I thought that was a brilliant response from Imogen! :-D

I personally don't think these books will last five minutes. They don't have an audience. Famous Five lovers will be appalled by them, and cynical adults wouldn't buy them because they are Famous Five - a lose/lose situation!
'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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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Katharine wrote:I'll be very interested in reading this book and hope that will be a tongue in cheek look at the Famous Five's meals...
I think the Five do quite often have tongue in their cheeks, when they're munching their sandwiches! :lol:
pete9012S wrote:although I do like a laugh and a joke...

I'd never have guessed that! :wink:

Regarding "series extensions", are the publishers using that term to encompass items like the adult Famous Five books? I tend to think of genuine series extensions as being additions to a series which are written in a similar style to the originals, and for the same age-group - e.g. the Malory Towers and St. Clare's books by Pamela Cox, the Naughtiest Girl titles by Anne Digby and the continuation books we have in our Secret Passage. I enjoy many of those as they attempt to capture the spirit of Enid Blyton's originals, but even then I don't view them as canon.

Things like the TV cartoon series and associated books about the children of the Famous Five (Famous 5: on the Case), and the game books of the 1980s, are merely spin-offs and not at all in the same league as continuation novels. Parodies like these adult Famous Five books are also just spin-offs and (as Rob said) such things are generally ephemeral, unlike Blyton's original stories which have lasted decades.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Darrell71
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Darrell71 »

Just like Imogen, I don't want to think! :shock: :shock:
They sound pretty bad.
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Courtenay
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

Rob Houghton wrote: I personally don't think these books will last five minutes. They don't have an audience. Famous Five lovers will be appalled by them, and cynical adults wouldn't buy them because they are Famous Five - a lose/lose situation!
Good point, Rob. I hope that will be the case.
Rob Houghton wrote:
Enid Blyton wrote:
Francis wrote:You have finally reached the stage of becoming Enid herself, Tony!
The letters and emails that I get are actually addressed to Tony Summerfield, not to me.

:shock:

:wink: :lol:
Who's Tony Summerfield?? :P :wink:
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I was wondering why Francis was calling Enid Blyton 'Tony'... :lol:
'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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John Pickup
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by John Pickup »

With Enid's trademark signature on the cover, maybe unsuspecting adults will buy these books for their children believing them to be genuine Blyton novels. I certainly won't be buying them.
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Kate Mary
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Kate Mary »

Alongside this re-imagined Blyton and series extensions is it too much to hope for we might get facsimile editions with original text in print or even in e-book format? I think I know the answer to that one.
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith

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