The characters in later life - professions etc.

[Carlotta King]

I can see Anne as an artist. She loves painting, as we find out in Adventuring Again, so I can imagine her growing up to live in a country/coastal cottage and paint and sculpt things.

I can perhaps see Dick as some sort of boy-scout leader! He is fun and a bit mischievous and I think he would remain so when he grew up. If he was a scout leader he would still be able to be adventurous and explore places and go camping etc (he wanted to be an explorer at one point!), so doing all those kinds of outdoor activities would be ideal for him, and the boys would love his sense of humour and love of food!

[Danger Bird]

That's an interesting point. I can't imagine any of the FF would enjoy being couped up doing an office job. I think Dick would make a great scout leader, "today we're going to learn how to climb down a well and rescue your siblings who have been locked in the dungeon!"

[Nair Snehalatha]

Let me continue the thread that has lapsed for a couple of months or so. This is what I feel--
Julian-- he would be a professor, having done his Doctorate-- he'd probably be in Cambridge Univ or
Oxford.DICK-- he may be an artist having had the talent , and learning it from MARTIN-- the boy who was used by Mr. Curton-- in Five on Kirrin Island Again''. GEORGE-- will be a ferryman and ferry people to Kirrin Island and back.ANNE--will be a teacher-- she's cut out for that, and she'll do her job well.She wont bother to marry and have children -- she has lots in school.
DINAH--(Barney stories) will marry the handsome Barney and be a home-maker.
ROGER-- he could be a police officer-- and he has the personality.He would probably work under Mr. King.
SNUBBY-- Now what exactly would suit this happy-go-lucky tom boy?-- He will be a musician-- a banjo player.
FATTY-will be a Sherlock Holmes.-- He'll marry Bets-- he had always been fond of her, and she had given the key to several mysteries.BETS will be happy with Fatty,-- sh'll be a good teacher.DAISY-- will be a flower girl-- a florist. LARRY and PIP will both assist Fatty like Dr.Watson.There will be two of them here.










\\\\

[vfvd]

Just a curious question, I've been reading this thread and there are several mentions to Julian possibly becoming an artist. I always imagined this is what he would do, as it is indeed mentioned in several of the books. But was that an acceptable career path for men in the 40s/50s? I know there were famous male artists, but for a man in the post war years, I don't know if it would have been realistic. From what I remember from history class, a man's place then was providing for his family. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though

[pete9012S]

Good point. I think personally that after the Kirrins found the ingots in their first adventure they would all be very secure financially for their rest of their lives.
This would thus leave Julian open to 'follow his heart' rather than the pecuniary benefits or lack of in his chosen career.

Had they not found they gold,I think yes,Julian would possibly have had no choice other than to follow his father and work in the city or choose some other such profession.

After the Kirrin hoard of gold was found I cannot recall a single occurrence of any one from either side of the Kirrin household complaining about money or the lack of it ever again.

Rather,we hear of Aunt Fanny sending the children to establishments to boost the income of friends or acquaintances who are a bit short or strapped with cash and who could do with the surely sizeable and profitable income generated by the hungry Kirrins and dog staying with them.

The establishments that entertained the Kirrins and who perhaps didn't need the money quite as urgently would still no doubt charge the children's parents a sizeable amount to accommodate and feed them for weeks on end during their lengthy school holidays.

I've always felt that after their first adventure,the Kirrins must surely have become instant multi millionaires and the lifestyles,holidays and spending money available to the whole family (including foreign travel for Fanny and Quentin) surely reflects this new found affluence.

[vfvd]

Valid point, and most probably true; I hadn't thought of that! Now I can happily imagine Julian as an artist, just as he should be.

[Daisy]

Good points Pete. My thought was one can always follow one's interests as a hobby - which I imagine Julian to have done. Jack Trent may not make a living selling bird pictures but it won't prevent him from taking them and enjoying the experience.

[deepeabee]

Merged with an older topic.

I’ve recently been reading Bill’s diary and enjoyed the descriptions of the children growing up and it got me thinking about other Blyton children too and wondering what they would become and who they would marry. For example, Fatty has the ambition of being Jenks’ right hand man but I don’t think he’d be happy doing that for a long time. I would expect him to rise up the ranks and maybe even be a secret agent. Would he marry Betts? I know she would like that.
Moving on to Barney, what job would he have? Would he and Diana get married?
What do you think? What would other characters become and who would they marry?

[Rob Houghton]

I think the answer for me is that none of them ever did grow up - they remained children for always.

[John Pickup]

I don't think that Barney would have married Diana, Mr Lynton would never have allowed that! I tend to agree with Rob, for me the children will always be children and that's how they'll always be to me.

[Rob Houghton]

Let's face it - the Famous Five went through 21 adventures together and didn't get any older than 16!

I always find these speculating 'games' to be a bit pointless, as not even Enid ever supposed what would happen to her characters when they grew up. Its fine talking about 'who married who' - but given the law of averages, some would never have married, some would have been gay, some would have been divorced several times, some wouldn't have lived to adulthood. I'd rather just enjoy their sunny childhoods!

[Julie2owlsdene]

I agree that the children in Enid's books will always be children.

But it's because one is so fond of Enid's characters that a person may want to take that further and speculate what happened to them in years to come. It all comes out of love for Enid's characters, I think.

I loved writing about Fatty & Co in retirement. To me it was a pleasure, and one I thought I'd share with other Find Outer fans, I certainly didn't see it as 'pointless'.

http://www.enidblyton.net/fanfic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess one could then go on to say, isn't it 'pointless' to write continuation stories of Enid's characters, as Enid never wrote them. It all stems for love for Enid's books I feel.

[Moonraker]

No, I would definitely say that a fill-in book or series where the characters have aged, such as in Julie's Find-Outers in Retirement series, is far from pointless. However, I do agree that a load of posts where people are purely speculating on what might or might not have happened to these characters in later life - as if they are real people - could be seen to be pretty pointless, but I can understand how some might gain some amusement from their ponderings. I guess it's a case of what floats your boat.

[Rob Houghton]

Yeah...when I said 'pointless' I wasn't referring to continuation novels such as Julie's Find Outer books set when the characters were older - as I've said in other threads, I've enjoyed those very much - but that's because they are serious and thoughtfully written.

I was referring to threads where people add suggestions as to what became of characters. personally I find it a bit pointless, because one persons answer wouldn't necessarily be another persons answer.

[Owl's Dene]

I can't see Julian as an artist. He is too conventional and given the time he grew up he will have been channelled by school to follow a conventional path. University maybe, certainly the armed forces, or perhaps law.
Dick wanted to be a doctor in one of the books, if he was clever enough I would imagine this would be his career path.
As to the girls, who were from my mother's generation, then it was accepted that the majority of women would marry and be home makers. As George was the daughter of a successful scientist and unconventional herself, I would expect that she would have attended university and most likely worked in a science based job, probably research. Anne would marry, she may have had a "traditional girl's career" first, like a teacher or nurse, but most definitely a home maker and mother.