Spotlight On Uncle Quentin In The Books

[Daisy]

There is also "sweet-tempered" which Uncle Quentin also isn't!

[pete9012S]

Book three: Enid really spells out how the children feel about Uncle Quentin - he hasn't mellowed!

The three children did not very much like George's father, because he could get into very fierce tempers, and although he welcomed the three cousins to his house, he did not really care for children. So they always felt a little awkward with him, and were glad when he was not there.

[pete9012S]

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Some of the very last mentions of Uncle Quentin in 1963's final Five book - as you may have guessed, his personality remains the same!

‘Look - there’s Kirrin Cottage - I can just see the chimneys in the distance,’ said Dick. ‘Smoke is coming from one of them.’
‘Funny - why only one?’ said Julian. ‘They usually have the kitchen fire going, and a fire in Uncle Quentin’s study. He’s such a cold mortal when he’s working out all his wonderful figures for his inventions.’
‘Perhaps he’s away,’ said Anne, hopefully. She was rather afraid of George’s hasty-tempered father. ‘I should think Uncle Quentin could do with a holiday at times - he’s always buried in rows and rows of figures.’
‘Well, let’s hope we don’t disturb him too much,’ said Julian. ‘It’s hard on Aunt Fanny if he keeps yelling at everyone. We’ll try and be out of doors most of the time.’

‘I shall like camping out,’ Anne told her. ‘I’d be scared of staying here in the house. Professor Hayling is a bit like my Uncle Quentin, you know - forgetful, and quick-tempered and a bit shouty.’

[Jomo]

Will the real Quentin Kirrin come forward.

I’m interested in really filling out Quentin’s background and his character. What I’m doing is looking at all the clues that Enid Blyton provided and relating them to the historical events and social environment of the day.

For instance:
Was Quentin Kirrin a rocket scientist, an electronics whiz, a theoretical physicist, working on computational science, radar, wifi, the amazing properties and potentials of Silicon or Germanium - was he into chemistry?

Or was Quentin an all-rounder in general science? I can’t imagine that he has ever been a schoolteacher even for the senior years! Tryin to teach adolescents would have driven him mad. He would have had a nervous breakdown within the first month.

Isn’t he referred to as ‘Professor’ somewhere? Professor of What? Which university might he have taught at? Exeter (the former Exeter School of Science)? For that matter where did he study? Cambridge?

Why has Quentin taken his wife’s surname? I have a complicated theory here, please don’t disabuse me of it by telling me he had the same surname!

Was he working on secret government projects? Who are all these other science colleagues that crop up in the books - are they working together on something big?

All this is wild surmise and pure fantasy based on supposition, founded on interpretation of the occasionally conflicting evidence from the texts, just as if Enid Blyton had created the puzzle for us to solve.

[Debbie]

My answers:

I would reckon he was a physicist. Lots of formulas, some secret work, and the only project with any details I remember hearing him working on (Kirrin Island Again) is to find a way of replacing coal and oil, presumably with renewable energy, which would be physics.

Can't imagine him teaching secondary schools age. Maybe tutoring very bright post A level students for Oxbridge exams?

He is referred to as Professor. This could be a nickname-after all he would be a typical mad professor type. I could imagine him getting that nickname at school. (I think sometimes the Swallows and Amazons call Dick "Professor").
Or a professor is more about research than actually teaching, so that could easily be assumed. He would be quite young for the title in those days, but we'll allow that on account of his brilliance

Has he taken his wife's surname? If Professor is a nickname, then they might refer to him as "That mad professor type down at Kirrin" which would very quickly be shortened to "Professor Kirrin". When the Five refer to themselves as Kirrin it's often introducing themselves-often to Aunt Fanny's friends like in Finniston Farm, where they might use the term as one that would be recognised. I've introduced myself by Mum's maiden name on a couple of occasions where the person would be more likely to recognise that than either her married name or my married name.
Or alternatively, he's doing secret work. Maybe he wanted the ability not to be easily found at some point. Maybe he took Kirrin as a name to hide from people who wanted to find him and steal his work (or debt collectors )

He clearly is working on big projects at various points. Whether they were government projects or simply advances that they hoped to sell to the government, I don't think matters. They're clearly projects that are eminently stealable, whether that's from the Secrets' Act or industrial espionage. It's normal to work with other scientists on projects, both so they can check each others' work (peer review) and also so the easier bits can be shipped out to the DPhil students.
What does seem noticeable is that, other than Professor Hayling is that he seems to work with a different group each time, whereas I would expect at his level to be working with the same ones-his research group. He would be a specialist in some area and presumably there would only be limited people around at that level-scratch your niche small enough and they'll be very few people in it!

Just my thoughts

[Lenoir]

He was also working on a scheme to drain the marshes around Castaway, so he worked in different areas of science.
He went to America to give some lectures (Five fall into adventure) so he wasn't only famous in his homeland.
The underworld - master criminals such as Mr. Roland and Red Tower - also knew of his work and wanted to get their hands on his books because they knew foreign powers would pay well for them.

[Jomo]

I would reckon he was a physicist…

Thanks Debbie and Lenoir!

I reckon he was a physicist primarily, but the draining of the marshes proposal indicate he had an engineering background as well - and both of these disciplines dovetail into rocket science! Which, during the war years might have been very much a priority for Britain, as they surely had intelligence that Germany was developing the V2 rocket. This plays well into a plausible theory about Quentin’s surname

So this is my inventive theory. Let’s put this cat amongst the pigeons:
Did Quentin have a German surname?
Quentin X might well have been born in the first decade of the 20th century.

At this time when there were strong ties between Britain and Germany. The royal family was almost exclusively of Germanic origin, and there were many cultural, intellectual and technological sympathies within some sectors of each population, so despite the continuing political rivalry over naval power and the growth of their unstable respective empires, Germans were well liked by the British and welcomed by many. The vibrant German intellectual traditions, philosophies literature and music were very appealing to the educated elite of Britain. It would not have been unusual for a German citizen in the late 19th Century to have married a British husband or wife.

To cut this wild surmise down to the basics, Quentin’s father is German (let’s call him Otto). He married a British wife in the 1890’s. They went on to produce several children over the ensuing 15 years, Quentin being the fifth (as his name indicates) His father is a scholar (what kind? Another gap to fill in), and within a few years of the marriage the political tensions that led to WWI persuade Otto to relocate his family to England once more. Quentin and his brothers are educated at private schools, where they are often taunted about their parentage, despite having a very respectable English county mother. 2 of his older brothers fight in France during WWI (British Army of course - and able to translate intercepted messages in German) Quentin and his family are well established as loyal to Britain. After the war Quentin studies at Cambridge but on graduation gets restless and decides to tour Europe to see the country of his father that he’s never known.

There’s more brewing up a storm in my imagination - Quentin then studies at the Technical University of Berlin where he becomes friends with young Wernher von Braun whose graduate thesis on rocket propulsion is graded by him (True fact: this paper was not declassified by Germany until 1960). By the early 1930’s he is back in Britain as brilliant young graduate with degrees in theoretical physics from Cambridge and advanced aeronautical engineering from Berlin. The stage is set for Quentin’s future career.

[What do you think? Shhhh now, (‘Loose lips Sink Ships’! As the Americans say)]

[Barnard]

Jomo asks if Quentin had a German surname. In the 1970s Famous Five series, Quentin was played by German actor, Michael Hinz who had a noticeable German accent.

[Jomo]

Aha!! A nice synchronicity Barnard! The plot is thickening nicely…

Now onto the next phase - The parents of Julian, Dick and Anne. A surname change for them as well. And where was that couple always flitting off to - for holidays or business conferences? It seems like a neat cover story for other, more clandestine activities…

Why did the ‘Barnard’ children change their name to Kirrin in the later books? For safety’s sake?

[Daisy]

The surname Barnard was only mentioned in one book and I have a feeling I read somewhere that when Enid was asked about it, she said it was a mistake. Some years ago "Dick Kirrin", a fellow Blyton member, and I, wrote a story explaining the relationship between Fanny and Quentin. It's in the Cave, called "Five Delve into the Past". It may be of interest to those who enjoy such puzzles. We certainly enjoyed working it out!
https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/sea ... Five+Delve

[Boodi 2]

Thanks for the link Daisy! I am looking forward to reading the story as I enjoyed the last one I read ever so much!!!

[Jomo]

I’ve started reading Five Delve into the Past - I need to see that family tree!

[Nair Snehalatha]

Uncle Quentin was also working on a scheme get coal , cooking fuel etc at no cost.It's in five have plenty of fun.

[Nair Snehalatha]

Sorry--to be specific Uncle Quentin was working on a scheme to get heat,.power and light for almost nothing-- 'a gift to mankind' as Uncle Quentin said

[pete9012S]

The last appearance of Uncle Quentin in book nineteen - and yes, he's still a short tempered @#$!!!

She ran downstairs to the hall, and into the study. Mr Kirrin was standing there, holding the telephone receiver. ‘What shall I do?’ he almost shouted. ‘Professor Hayling has left and is already on his way here. I can’t stop him coming. And he’s bringing his son with him, so there are two of them.’
‘His son! Well, really!’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘There isn’t room for them here, with the four cousins as well, Quentin. You know that.’
‘Well, ring up George and tell her not to come back for a week, but to stay with her cousins,’ said Mr Kirrin, crossly. ‘There’s no reason why they should ALL come here.’

The last ever images of Uncle Quentin in the main series.




Betty Maxey's last ever Quentin pic - she drew him about three or four different ways!