The Enid Blyton Society

Dick Kirrin wrote: Timmy K. was feeling lazy and didn't want to type it all, so up he went to Julie with that look in his big brown eyes, and , well... . There you go.
Dick Kirrin

Quite. How can I resist any dog looking at me with big brown eyes, especially Timmy, who is a Most Remarkable Dog.

To curl up with Journal 43 has been a joy these cold winter nights! Not only is it packed with goodies, but the printing quality is better than ever (though it was already very good) and it's lovely to see the finer detail in the illustrations and photos.

Being a huge fan of E. Nesbit (when I was a child, her books and Enid's were my absolute favourites), I turned to John Henstock's excellent article first. Nesbit and Blyton do appear to relate to children in a special way and I too felt convinced while reading their books that, during adulthood, both had retained a keen awareness of what it felt like to be a child. Perhaps it's partly the naturalness of the child characters they portray that makes their books seem so fresh. I'll have to look out for the short story called 'Running Away'. About Enid not criticising other authors through her fictional characters - on the whole she doesn't, but Micky and Podge's comments in Chapter 3 of The Put-em-Rights imply criticism of a book mentioned by John Henstock, Ministering Children, while Bets talks disparagingly of a goody-goody book called The Little Saint (though I'm not sure whether or not it's a real book) in The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters. Back in 2002 I wrote an article for Green Hedges Magazine comparing Enid and Edith, but as my article centred around The Enchanted Castle it was quite different from John's although basically in agreement with his points.

How exciting that Cliff Watkins came across thirty unknown Enid Blyton poems at the auction in Ilkley! I wonder who bought that particular lot!

Enid Blyton's 1962 article from Nurse was very interesting, with its mention of popular authors of the day and the discussion of how the sight of familiar "book-friends" can help children settle into a hospital ward.

Also fascinating were the letters between Enid Blyton and Noel Evans (I nearly typed "Noel Edmonds"!), head of Evans Brothers. I hadn't realised that Enid had such a degree of input when it came to dustwrapper designs.

'The Eligible Bachelor' was amusing and so evocative of the era, though I found the idiosyncratic capitalisation of words off-putting. I guffawed at Sallie's comment: "I'm not Taking On a Headache for a Husband, so put that in your Jade Cigarette-Holder and smoke it if you can!"

The "Roaring 20s" story reminded me, like Lucky Star, of several other stories and novels in which children find long-lost treasure or items of value and save a family home (either their own or someone else's) from having to be sold. These include 'The Secret Cave', 'The Hidey-Hole', 'The Secret of Opaltide', The Wonderful Adventure and The Treasure Hunters. As 'A Wonderful Recovery' dates from 1922 it may well have been the earliest such story. Certainly it's very short and lacking in detail compared to later reworkings of the same idea.

The wartime letters from Enid and Bobs are a slice of history and it's a pity that the date isn't given (if it appears under the Teachers World title, I'm afraid it's too small for me to make out!) It's interesting that Enid sold three of her kittens to raise money for War Weapons Week. I hadn't even heard of War Weapons Week before.

Robert Houghton's analysis of Mischief at St. Rollo's contained plenty of food for thought about why Enid Blyton might have used the pseudonym "Mary Pollock". Yes, the book would have been written while Enid was going through a divorce and as I read your article it occurred to me too, Robert, that the unpopular, sullen-looking boy has the same name as her first husband!

I was entertained by Julie Heginbotham writing in the role of Timmy - Julie has a knack of getting right to the heart and soul of a character - though I wondered whether the horse referred to ought to have been "Flicka" rather than "Flicker"?

In 'Red Carpet at the Rex' Tony gave an enjoyable account of his trip to Wareham in September to see the 1957 Children's Film Foundation Five on a Treasure Island at the Rex Cinema. Pity that none of the dogs entered for the Timmy look alike competition were called Rex!

All in all, another super Journal which I know I shall dip into again and again, as I do previous issues.

Anita Bensoussane wrote: I was entertained by Julie Heginbotham writing in the role of Timmy - Julie has a knack of getting right to the heart and soul of a character - though I wondered whether the horse referred to ought to have been "Flicka" rather than "Flicker"?

I did mention this to Timmy at the time, Anita. But he was adament he wanted it his way, so who am I to argue with such a loveable character of the Famous Five.

Julie2owlsdene wrote:

Anita Bensoussane wrote: I was entertained by Julie Heginbotham writing in the role of Timmy - Julie has a knack of getting right to the heart and soul of a character - though I wondered whether the horse referred to ought to have been "Flicka" rather than "Flicker"?

I did mention this to Timmy at the time, Anita. But he was adament he wanted it his way, so who am I to argue with such a loveable character of the Famous Five.

Good to know that Timmy is still doing all of your proof-reading, Julie!

Journal 43 arrived in my letter box today!!! Thank you Tony!! - I thoroughly enjoyed this issue!!

Anita's book review of Stephen's book had me in stitches!!! (I particularly loved the inclusions of the examples of wrong wording and the discussion about the Michael Jackson prophecy )

The article about Enid and Edith was particularly enjoyable, as to was Enid's own article about children's happiness in hospital wards. I also enjoyed Tony's article about the Famous Five DVD'S, especially the sentences about the red carpet.

My copy arrived last week, thank you Tony, and I have been reading some each evening. I still have the Timmy article to look forward to. (I bet Barney read that one first!).

I enjoy the Enid Blyton adult stories. The latest one was quite clever with a nice twist at the end.
The review of "The Famous Five - a personal anecdotage" was also interesting, and I enjoyed the remark about John Terry!

It was a great read and a nice mix of archive material, reviews, opinion and news.

It really is very difficult to add to what everyone else has said about Journal 43 without being repetative. I have this same problem every time that a new edition is published, such is the consistency!

Once again we have items written by Enid before she became a mainstream childrens author. This is right up my street, as I absolutely devour items from the early careers of people who later became household names. Enid Blyton Stories from the Roaring 20's No 3, A Wonderful Discovery is a prime example. Enid Blyton Adult Stories No 5 The Eligible Bachelor certainly made me laugh, Enid really did have a talent for comedy.

It is difficult as always to single out any one article for praise but I did thoroughly enjoy Timmy- A most Remarkable Dog by Julie Heginbotham as well as Anita Bensoussane's continued review of the Naughtiest Girl series. This was the only Blyton school series that I ever read, many many years ago.

The article Happiness in the Childrens Wards was of particular interest as my mother was a Staff Nurse at around the time when it was published in Nurse magazine in 1962. Perhaps she even read the article, who knows? Childrens wards back in the 1950's and 60's were rather austere places as Enid mentions in the first paragraph. It is testament to Enid's kindness that she employed the services of one of her illustrators to produce murals and later on large framed pictures of various Blyton characters.

Enid was perhaps fortunate in that the hospital authorities were supportive of her idea. My mother once related to me the tale of a Hospital Matron who refused to let the children play with the toys in the ward on the grounds that they were a visual amenity only! How times have changed since!

My Journal 43 arrived this morning - thank you Tony. This is the icing on the cake since my return to the Enid Blyton Society and the forums. I now look forward to a weekend of wonderful reading and entertainment.

Deborah

I'm so pleased you were delighted with the 'Timmy' article in this journal, Deborah and so pleased that I didn't disappoint such a fan of Timmy's.

You certainly didn't disappoint, Julie

You produced a wonderful evocation of my favourite canine character.

Must also mention Anita's hilarious book review. Nearly upset my mug of hot choc and plate of macaroons and I'm still laughing

Thanks Timmylover, Petermax, Jen-Jen and others. Glad you managed to save your Journal from getting drenched with hot chocolate, Timmylover!

I'm suddenly wondering if I'm supposed to have renewed my membership..... as no journal has made its way to my house. I can't remember if there was a note in my last journal asking me to. Oh dear.

Just received Journals 41-43. Finished reading Journal 43 first - what a gem! Loved all the articles, especially Anita's review of Stephen's Anecdotage. A very balanced account but I'm still not convinced to read it!!

The Eligible Bachelor was an interesting tale, I think it's been a while since an 'adult' Blyton was included - I could be wrong here, though.

I'm not a very big fan of Famous Five articles but Julie's article from Timmy's POV was certainly an exception!

A fantastic 2 hours' read.

Well done Tony and others.

I have added journal 43 to the index.
Available at this link

Thanks, Lenoir. Much appreciated.