Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by pete9012S »

I'm looking forward to db105's review of Finniston Farm in a few book's time as I'm currently reading it.

Written in 1960,it touches on the repercussions of myxomatosis on the UK rabbit population in 1953.

The book describes a depleted/decimated rabbit population,which contrasts sharply with 1942's Five On A Treasure Island in which the island was teeming with them- much to Tim's delight!

I'm wondering if the audio cassettes will leave this salient piece of British history un-edited???
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by John Pickup »

I can remember myxomatosis decimating the rabbit population in the early sixties. We often used to see rabbits afflicted with it whilst we played in the woods near our house, their eyes bulging. A terrible sight.
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by db105 »

pete9012S wrote:I'm looking forward to db105's review of Finniston Farm in a few book's time as I'm currently reading it.
Let's see how it holds for me when I listen to it now, but I remember it fondly. I know that most fans are not too positive on this one, but as a child I enjoyed the conflict with the spoiled Junior and I remember vividly the expression "as old as the hills" and the references to myxomatosis too.
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Rob Houghton »

I love Finniston Farm - and I must admit its partly due to the audio tape version I have - which is the dramatised Hodder Children's Audio version - narrated by Nick McArdle, with Jo Thurley as George and Scarlett Strallen as Anne. All these dramatised versions are very well done in my opinion, plus the background music for this one is particularly effective and poignant.

Image

I'm quite happy to have dramatised versions, because after all, I already have all the books, so these are something different. I've had them on during long car journeys many a time! :-D
'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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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Fiona1986 »

I was really confused by that cover for a minute there. It looks like there's a pole with a warning sign on top, down in the castle dungeons?? (I then realised what it really was.)
"It's the ash! It's falling!" yelled Julian, almost startling Dick out of his wits...
"Listen to its terrible groans and creaks!" yelled Julian, almost beside himself with impatience.


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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by db105 »

Five Get into a Fix

** spoiler alert **

Brief Summary by Poppy Hutchinson (from http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;): Recovering from coughs and colds, the children are prescribed a holiday in the Welsh mountains. Days of tobogganing, skating and snowmen lie ahead, but the children soon become distracted by a mysterious local building called Old Towers. Having seen 'shimmerings', and vans visiting the place in the dead of the night: surely there is something strange going on? When the Five go to stay in a Chalet near Old Towers they discover some breath-taking secrets involving the atmospheric building.


Random thoughts:

I liked the beginning, with the children crankily recovering from colds and coughing a lot. It was a beginning that did not seem a repetition of earlier ones, which is good considering that we are in book 17 and that the formula requires that the children go on holidays in all the books, preferably on their own.

However, isn't it weird that parents would send their children, just recovering from bad colds and still coughing, to spend their holidays in the snow? I know fresh air was prescribed for a number of illnesses, particularly those that required long, debilitating home internment. Still, maybe this air was a bit too fresh for coughing children.

By the way, this time the children are at Julian, Dick and Anne's house, not at Kirrin cottage. We do not really see much of their parents, though.

Anyway, they go to the mountains in Wales. Which is a nice change of pace from the usual moors or coastal areas, and still provides a lovely natural landscape.

Morgan was certainly a memorable character, with that booming voice and his laconic manners. I love it that Enid Blyton does a "Mr Penruthlan" on us with him. He seems guilty but he is not. The pattern of obvious criminals at the very beginning of the series is over. At this point we do not know the guilty party as soon as we meet it. Suspicious characters may turn out to be innocent, and that's for the better. If mysteries are obvious they are not very mysterious.

On the other hand, that mysterious magnetic metal is cringe-worthy. It causes such a strong magnetic field that cars and bikes become difficult or impossible to use (what?). To say nothing of its other weird properties, like the glows it creates all over the mountain. Enid Blyton's stories have never been famous for their realistic portrayal and understanding of science, but here we get into ridiculousness.

For once, Timmy did not seem a force of nature. To be fair, it would be too much to expect a single dog to hold its own against several of Morgan's dogs, but George was a bit over-the-top in her protectiveness. In other books, dogs were introduced to each other by their owners to show they were not enemies, but here they fight and it's an unsolvable problem (although later, when the dogs meet again at the end of the book, their fighting seems forgotten).

All is well, though, because it leads to a very nice trip though the snowy mountain, and the children staying on their own at a lovely mountain chalet that was usually only used in the summer. Have I mentioned that I love the scenery here? We had lots of snow in Go Adventuring Again, but the children didn't get to enjoy it much.

Aily is another of those wild, ragamuffin child characters Enid Blyton likes. I liked her too! This one got herself attached to Julian, and played a central role in the adventure, even though she did not speak much English.

There's one point, when Aily is all terrified of being"scolded" by her mother for running around without ever going home, and the Five are all sorry she is going to be "told off"... surely that's an edit, right? I bet that in the original her mother was going to beat her, because otherwise everyone's reaction makes little sense.

The pre-adventure part is really enjoyable, and the adventure is very nice too, intriguing, mysterious and atmospheric as the best of the series. It did have a problem, though: in the end, the children were not the heroes of the story. They did not defeat the bad guys. That role was reserved for Morgan. Still, in such a long series, we can afford an adventure where our heroes do not save the day. Their heroic status is not diminished. Besides, that did not result in our being cheated of the adventure. The Five lived an intense adventure even if in the final fight they didn't get the main role.

I really enjoyed this one. For all that it has some serious problems (the laughable secret metal, the children not being the ones to defeat the bad guys...), those flaws are such that they do not seriously impair the enjoyment of the story. The ingredients that makes these stories enjoyable are here.


Next up: Five On Finniston Farm
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by pete9012S »

Another great review db105 many thanks.

Random thoughts:

I remember shortly after reading ''Five Get Into A Fix' for the first time I suggested to my Mother that after my and my brother Mike's recent illness (heavy colds) it may be advisable for us to forsake school for a few weeks and take in some clean mountain air somewhere....

Sadly there are no real words to describe the pitying,withering look of disbelief and incredulity she gave me on that occasion... :cry:

I do love Five Get Into a Fix though.
The farmhouse and the cabin/hut both sounded so cosy in the depths of an old fashioned 1976/77 winter when my mum first bought it for me.
The Knight paperback was the version I was bought. Wonderful evocative cover in my humble opinion.Anyone else like it?
The original is good too..

Morgan,now there was a real man for you- see here, htv cymru!! :D

ImageImage

Image
This is the only book in the series to have anything other than the title and signature on the cover.
Wonder why?
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Five Get Into a Fix is one of my favourites of the later books. Wales is presented as quite a fantastical, other-worldly place. In some ways, it feels like stepping back in time. Aily's father the shepherd resembles an old-time prophet; the local gossip about the elderly woman at Old Towers being "off her head" gives the impression of a rather insular, judgemental community; Morgan's dogs can be menacing and seem to signify "Keep Out" almost as clearly as the sign on the gate of Old Towers; and the Five end up living, Heidi-like, in a wooden hut up in the mountains. As for young Aily, she's a sprite-like child who runs free and wild over the mountains in all weathers. She brings to mind another Celtic Blyton character, Scottish girl Tassie in The Castle of Adventure, who is also at one with the mountainous landscape in which she lives and has a similar affinity with animals.

Despite the old-fashioned air, there are also futuristic elements - the magnetic metal and strange shimmerings. I'm reminded of the portrayal of Wales in The Mountain of Adventure where we have a superstitious peasant guide (David) and a journey by donkey through brooding mountains coupled with sinister "scientific" goings-on involving peculiar rumblings and sightings of crimson smoke. All incredibly eerie, though the happenings in Five Get Into a Fix are not as extreme and are therefore more believable (I didn't question the strength of the magnetic field or the peculiar shimmerings as a child - they were just intriguing ingredients that made the story exciting and slightly spooky).

Reading the book as an adult, I'm taken aback by the idea of setting out on a long car journey to the Welsh mountains in the snow. Surely conditions on the roads would be terrible? Nothing is said about that, however, and no one seems to worry.
db105 wrote: There's one point, when Aily is all terrified of being"scolded" by her mother for running around without ever going home, and the Five are all sorry she is going to be "told off"... surely that's an edit, right? I bet that in the original her mother was going to beat her, because otherwise everyone's reaction makes little sense.
My copy of the book is hard to get at and I can't remember whether Aily was going to be beaten or slapped but it was certainly some kind of physical punishment.

It is funny that only Five Get Into a Fix had portraits of the Five on the boards, Pete. I don't know why that wasn't continued.

The Betty Maxey cover is nice and lively but the children's faces are partially obscured so I prefer the Eileen Soper one.

All in all, I agree that this is a very atmospheric and enjoyable story.
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Courtenay »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I'm reminded of the portrayal of Wales in The Mountain of Adventure where we have a superstitious peasant guide (David) and a journey by donkey through brooding mountains coupled with sinister "scientific" goings-on involving peculiar rumblings and sightings of crimson smoke. All incredibly eerie, though the happenings in Five Get Into a Fix are not as extreme and are therefore more believable (I didn't question the strength of the magnetic field or the peculiar shimmerings as a child - they were just intriguing ingredients that made the story exciting and slightly spooky)...
But is it also full of look you, whateffer, to gootness?? :wink:
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Rob Houghton »

It's strange because although I view the goings-on in 'Mountain' as being a bit weird and sci-fi, the similar scentific stuff in 'Five Get into A Fix' doesn't bother me at all. I really like the fact the car struggles up the hill because of the high magnetic force in the rock - it's siilar to 'The Secret of Moon Castle' - and I like that book also. :-)

The magnetic forces and the strange glowing over the hills etc are extremely atmospheric and creepy, and add to the feeling of scary isolation, as the Five are so far off up the mountain in that lonely chalet!
'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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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by db105 »

pete9012S wrote:I remember shortly after reading ''Five Get Into A Fix' for the first time I suggested to my Mother that after my and my brother Mike's recent illness (heavy colds) it may be advisable for us to forsake school for a few weeks and take in some clean mountain air somewhere....

Sadly there are no real words to describe the pitying,withering look of disbelief and incredulity she gave me on that occasion... :cry:
:lol: Nice try! Not even the Five got away with that, though. Yes, they were sent on a holiday trip for fresh air, but it was part of their summer holidays.


pete9012S wrote:The Knight paperback was the version I was bought. Wonderful evocative cover in my humble opinion.Anyone else like it?
The original is good too..
Yes, I like both versions. I'm also fond of the original Spanish covers for obvious sentimental reasons, since they are the ones I grew up with, but also because they look so wholesome. Sometimes (like this one) they are a homage to the original cover, and sometimes they are different. This is Five Get Into a Fix (the Spanish title would translate literally as "The Five in Danger"):

Image
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by pete9012S »

An bit of intrigue from The Doc on this book:
That Enid Blyton is not that popular amongst the Welsh is least surprising, after all, the mere fact that the key culprits in Five Get into A Fix and The Ragamuffin Mystery are coincidentally or incidentally “Llewellyn Jones,” both of whose mothers are Mrs. Jones, one just needs only to add the three names, “Llewellyn Thomas Jones,”to figure out that she was making an inference to Thomas Llewellyn Jones, who in Enid Blyton’s heyday was a rising Welsh writer.

By equating Llewellyn T. Jones, Wales’ most treasured children’s writer, with criminal activity in both books, may have rubbed the Welsh in the wrong way. Thus, it is no wonder why the Welsh have mixed feelings toward Enid Blyton as we have already seen!
:shock: :? :cry: :roll: :D :roll: :evil: :wink: :?: :?
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by db105 »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:(I didn't question the strength of the magnetic field or the peculiar shimmerings as a child - they were just intriguing ingredients that made the story exciting and slightly spooky).
Neither did I. It's only now when I noticed how impossibly strong that field was. I mean, if you were wearing an earring it would be ripped out of your ear.

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Reading the book as an adult, I'm taken aback by the idea of setting out on a long car journey to the Welsh mountains in the snow. Surely conditions on the roads would be terrible? Nothing is said about that, however, and no one seems to worry.
The car trip with a driver reminded me of Smuggler's Top. The road there also went through a dangerous area.
Rob Houghton wrote: The magnetic forces and the strange glowing over the hills etc are extremely atmospheric and creepy, and add to the feeling of scary isolation, as the Five are so far off up the mountain in that lonely chalet!
Yes, that's the point. These stories really capture a child's fancy. That's why, when the bad guys' plot turns out not to make too much sense, it's not that important, because the enjoyment of these books do not depend on that.
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

db105 wrote:Yes, they were sent on a holiday trip for fresh air, but it was part of their summer holidays.
Christmas holidays. :)
db105 wrote:I'm also fond of the original Spanish covers for obvious sentimental reasons, since they are the ones I grew up with, but also because they look so wholesome.
Yes, that's a lovely cover. The children look so glossy and glowing and full of zest. Some of the annuals I had as a child had similar cover pictures.
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Re: Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books

Post by db105 »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:
db105 wrote:Yes, they were sent on a holiday trip for fresh air, but it was part of their summer holidays.
Christmas holidays. :)
You are right, of course! All that snow...
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