Journal 80

[Boodi 2]

Great news, mine arrived this morning and like Kate Mary, the first thing I did was to renew my subscription for the next three journals with PayPal.
It looks absolutely brilliant as always, so I am looking forward to sitting down and reading some of it this evening with a nice cup of tea or cocoa! My only problem is whether to start with the editorial or immediately dip into Return to Ring O' Bells or Every Child's Book of Prince Charles and Princess Anne! I will comment on the content in due course, but in the meantime, many, many thanks to Tony and all the contributors for what appears to be yet another excellent journal.

[timv]

Lots of thanks to Tony and my fellow-contributors for a really full and thought-provoking Journal; I hope Vanessa's book is a success and shall keep an eye open for reviews. Judith on the First Six Find Outers books and John on the Second Six Five Books are especially interesting as it's good to get an overall view of a whole group of books at a time.

The 'Second Six Fives' do seem to me to have a different tone to the first few and show the group as more confident and reacting to a wider variety of experiences in clearly drawn locations, building on the successful 'break-out' from the Kirrin setting in Smugglers Top - which goes on into the following few books too but then seems to peter out a bit. The backgrounds and the new characters of Get Into Trouble, Fall into Adventure, Hike, Wonderful Time and Down To The Sea are all very well drawn - Enid at the peak of her powers in the late 1940s and early 1950s?

The Mary Gernat internal drawings for the 1960s revision of the Find Outers series were a great bonus and are some of my favourites, and you can see how she adapted the original Treyer Evans et al illustrations. The latter did have a feel of the 1940s about them and so are good social history, but (as a child of the 1960s) I find the Gernat drawings more 'active' and less stiff and I think they age better and can still be used today as clothes and hairstyles haven't changed that much, unlike the contrast with the early FO pictures - when I first read the first edition of Burnt Cottage the children seemed like miniature adults - except for Bets who was drawn as more babyish than expected for a girl of eight and rather like 1930s children's magazine styles. Both sets of illustrations are more 'real' and good at catching the atmosphere of the time to my mind than the modern craze for cartoon-like pictures, which I suppose reflect the target audience's presumed love of TV cartoons and the sort of sketching popular with the staff in modern art schools. MG's Blyton 'internals' are very like her Monica Edwards and Pullein-Thompson illustrations.

The Famous Five musical sounds a bit 'generic' and geared towards fans of the FF spoofs on TV as much as fans of the actual books, and I think it's a pity they didn't adapt one of the actual stories which would have been truer to the original . I suppose the musical's writers wanted to show what they could do themselves, not feel constrained by an adaptation - though one set in Kirrin and without the island, eg Adventuring Again, could have bene done quite easily. This is one of my constant disappointments with modern TV adaptations - I often feel like shouting at the screen 'Keep to the script in the book!' I know Kim's bookshop in Chichester well, and have acquired a lot of second hand children's books there over the years - and have been to the Festival Theatre and round C since I was at school and we had school trips there (and to the Fishbourne Roman villa nearby).

I hope John P goes on to do articles on all the Barney series, and see what his opinion is on the weakest , last two books - I personally think the plot and setting of Ragamuffin Mystery have their good points, though the crooks are a bit simplistic. (Did Enid ever visit this remote bit of Wales, possibly around Criccieth and Portmeirion, as it features in Mountain of Adventure too? The local accents of the innkeeper/ hotelier's family in Ragamuffin seem to have been caught quite well, though David the guide in MA is a bit stereotyped.)

[Anita Bensoussane]

I'm also loving John Pickup's analyses of the Barney books. The Ring o' Bells Mystery is my favourite title of the series and I like John's comment that it was "written when she [Enid Blyton] was enjoying a purple patch at the height of her powers." He makes a great point when he says that "The transformation from fantasy fairy tale to a dark and perilous, intriguing mystery is expertly done. The inclusion of the nursery rhyme characters enhances the story whereas in the hands of anyone else but Enid, they would distract from it." Too true! Enid Blyton blurs the line between fantasy and reality so skilfully in The Ring o' Bells Mystery that everything seems gloriously otherworldly yet perfectly believable.

The front cover of the Journal showcases "Wonderful Wheeler", while the back cover brings us an attractive carpet of Mary Pollock books in red, white, blue and brown. They're lovely, and Scamp looks as though he's begging us to take him on a good long walk! I recently re-read Three Boys and a Circus and The Adventures of Scamp in my 2-in-1 Collins edition, which had already lost its dustwrapper by the time I bought it at a bring-and-buy sale when I was at junior school. On the bright side, it only cost 5p!

Tony's editorial is always a joy, and his mention of "over 100 pics" highlights what a fabulous work of art the Journal is. Heh - the idea of Tony wearing a hoodie is quite something!

The Famous Five musical sounds a bit 'generic' and geared towards fans of the FF spoofs on TV as much as fans of the actual books, and I think it's a pity they didn't adapt one of the actual stories which would have been truer to the original . I suppose the musical's writers wanted to show what they could do themselves, not feel constrained by an adaptation - though one set in Kirrin and without the island, eg Adventuring Again, could have bene done quite easily.

The Smuggler's Gold musical of 1997 had already used much of the storyline of Five Go Adventuring Again, combining it with elements from Five on a Treasure Island and some new material, so the writers of the latest musical must have been keen to avoid covering any of the same ground.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole of this Journal, and will have more to say on it another day.

[Lucky Star]

Another wonderful Journal. Judith Crabb's FFO article made a really enjoyable intro to this issue. It was a great round up of the first seven books of this most well loved of series'. Judith got lots of the humour in there including one of my favourite moments where Fatty is having to endure a radio talk on "a little known part of China which he devoutly hoped he would never have to visit". That line made me laugh as a child and still raises a grin today. I also much enjoyed the early discourse on detective fiction and the way in which Judith progressively examined Enid's place in the canon. I look forward to part two in the next Journal.

Oh dear. It sounds like I didn't miss much by not attending the Famous Five musical. i remember looking at it ages ago and toying with the idea of booking a ticket but I turned aside from the idea and it vanished in to the mist. Probably a good job as Anita's description of it doesn't sound like it was too interesting. I enjoyed her mentions of Chichester landmarks though. I went there for a day trip a few years ago and thought it a lovely old town. And I remember Kim's Bookshop too.

John Pickup did his usual excellent job of examining The Ring o Bells Mystery. I too liked how he showed how the nursery rhyme elements blended with the actual plot to create this magical work. I do hope John finished the series. The next one, Rubadub, is in my opinion the strongest of the series and actually a good candidate for best Enid Blyton book ever. It would be great to get John's analysis of it and also the oft maligned final two books.

John Henstock's article on the second six FF books was another great read; as John's articles invariably are. It's true that we don't see so much character development in these books, probably as Enid considered the Five to be fully fleshed out by then and pretty set in their roles. Gypsy Jo is of course the great addition to the series here. And I too see nothing wrong with playing Red Indians.

Tim Venning as usual has done a ton of impeccably research and this raises his article on Five on a Hike Together to a new level. This was a great read and illustrated as always with photos of actual locations. I haven't read Hound of the Baskervilles in ages. I must dig it out now that Tim has reminded me of it with his comparison.

There was as usual plenty of content from the lady herself to enjoy. I loved The Disappearing Prizes and it was a treat (and a very timely one at that) to see in full the famous Prince Charles and Princess Anne book. Together with the wonderful full colour covers this was a worthy addition to the EBS Journal canon. I did smile at Tony's editorial when he said that never in his worst nightmares did he imagine there would be an 80th Journal. I do wonder what he will say when he is editing Journal 100!!! There, I've probably caused him heart failure.

On a serious note my gratitude and thanks go out as usual to all the writers and contributors and most especially to Tony. It must a lonesome and wearisome task to produce such a high quality publication three times a year and how he never lets the standards slip I'll never know. But Journal 80 is just as good as it's illustrious ancestors and so roll on number 81.

[Moonraker]

Mine did arrive the next day. My point originally was that as I am only a mile away from Tony, it took longer than may others in reaching its destination. I wasn't suggesting that Tony was at fault! It will be a while before I finish it, as I am away quite a bit at present.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Sorry if I sounded critical - I didn't mean to! I just wanted to let people know (if they didn't know already) that all the Journals get taken to the Post Office in one go.

Like others, I'm pleased that the whole of Every Child's Book of Prince Charles and Princess Anne has been included in the Journal, just weeks before the Coronation of King Charles. Perfect timing! Would Enid Blyton still describe him as "a sturdy fellow, intelligent and manly", I wonder?! The photos make the booklet extra special. I like the toy horse and carriage, and the little Tudor cottage (which reminds me of Gillian's playhouse at Old Thatch). The sailing-ship cake that Charles had for his fourth birthday is fabulous - I'd be thrilled to have a cake like that even at my age! It's fun to read about Charles and Anne singing and dancing with their parents, and to see the photo of the young Charles peering expectantly into his granny's handbag! What a privilege to see this rare booklet from 1953, which transports the reader to another world.

In her January 1927 'From My Window' article, Enid gives us a vivid account of early signs of spring "here in my snug little corner of Kent." Her prose takes on a poetic quality when she writes of the pond, "dyed golden" by the sun, reflecting the sky which is "strewn with rose-pink clouds." I also like her description of how the sun "sends a flood of sweet golden light into my garden. It peeps into the criss-cross windows of every southern room in Elfin Cottage, and lies in warm pools on the carpet." Particularly lovely is her notion of the daffodil tips drinking up the rays of the sun today so that "In a few weeks I will see that sunshine flowering in brave yellow daffodils, and shall warm my heart at it, even as now I warm my hands in the sunshine." Gorgeous writing, and very apt! In recent years, it hasn't been unusual to see a few daffodils in full bloom in January - or even at the end of December occasionally! Enid's 'From My Window' pieces are wonderful, showing her to be a poet, a naturalist, a philosopher and a keen observer of people.

[Chrissie777]

Yesterday afternoon EBS Journal # 80 arrived with the mail. It looks very promising. Thank you, Tony! ♥

[Chrissie777]

That is good news and I can't wait to get my hands on it. My only problem is deciding whether to start at the beginning and work my way through it in small portions (to make it last longer) or to immediately go to "Return to Ring o’ Bells" by John Pickup, as that is one of my favourite books!!!

That's the article I will devour first.

[pete9012S]

Well, after finally arriving at our extremely remote Welsh cottage last night I can now begin reading my Journal.

I don't know how I stopped myself reading it before we came, but now over a breakfast of tea, toast and Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, it's time to dive into the Journal!

[Chrissie777]

Enjoy your well-deserved vacation, Pete! ♥

[Anita Bensoussane]

Have a Blytonesque holiday, Pete!

I like the way Tim Venning puts Five on a Hike Together into its historical context in his examination of the book, e.g. talking about the fact that hiking was much-hyped at the time, and that horses and carts had come back into use in the Second World War. I'm not so keen to pin down the action to a particular location though, and wonder whether there was a real moor of the time with a large pool or lake, a prison, and a boys' school and a girls' school on either side. Many of these elements may have been inspired by things Enid Blyton had seen, heard or read about, but the exact combination was no doubt created by her imagination, for the requirements of the plot. I've been to many moors over the years, but if I were writing a story set on a moor I wouldn't choose any one of them - I'd just think "moor" and let my imagination run riot!

Judith Crabb's 'The Fatty Trotteville Canon' gives us a fascinating overview of detective fiction in general and of the Find-Outers in particular, and I look forward to Part 2! When we were children, my sister and I used to refer to this series as "the Fatty books", as did our friends. The Mary Gernat illustration of the heads of the children and Buster was my first ever glimpse of the Find-Outers. My 1977 Dragon copy of The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage (which is still the only edition I own) is illustrated by Mary Gernat, and it happened to be the first Find-Outers book I read (I didn't always start with the first title in a series).

'Enid Blyton Books That Never Were! - No. 1: Once Upon a Time' sheds light on uncollected material, looking at a book that never saw the light of day - Once Upon a Time. Intriguing stuff! How interesting that an editor had suggested changing 'The Golly and the Duck' to 'The Bear and the Duck' 79 years ago! Of course, we don't know the reason. Perhaps there were lots of gollies in the other stories, so the alteration was proposed for the sake of having a range of toys. 'The Little Sootie Boys' doesn't appear to have been a problem.

[Judith Crabb]

Happy day! I checked my letter box and there was a very plump Journal waiting for me. I immediately checked the illustrations Tony chose for my Fatty Trotteville article and was delighted that they were all completely new to me. I didn't remember, I must admit, that they even existed, although I recently re-read Angela Canning's article in Journal 72 'The Magic of Mary Gernat' (which I'd love to discuss with her).
THEN without any help from anyone I paid my subscription ONLINE. (I know this is a small step for other humans, but a giant step for me.)
Thanks all readers so far for the kind comments. What a civil lot you all are. I'm so pleased I've discovered you.
Now I'm looking forward to reading all the other articles, and will add my comments.

[Boodi 2]

As I mentioned in some of my other posts I have been so busy with work recently that I have not been on the forums very much, which also applies to the journal, as so far I have only read about half of it. I dutifully started with the editorial and when I had finished that I was so attracted by Judith Crabb's excellent article on "Detective Fiction by Enid Blyton - The Fatty Trotteville Canon" that I read it straight away instead of going "fast forward" to "Return to Ring o’ Bells" by John Pickup, as I had intended. I was amused to note that I am one of the many thousands of children who progressed effortlessly from The Five Find-Outers into the novels of Agatha Christie! I continued with "The Famous Five, A New Musical" and loved the description of the slap-up meal in "The Fat Fig". However, the musical itself does not really appeal to me for some reason. I skimmed over the "Blyton Books that Never Were" (I will read it in more detail later), before finally arriving at my much anticipated "Return to Ring O' Bells", which fully lived up to my expectations and I totally agree that it is one of Enid's best books, written at the height of her powers. Then work got in the way and I had to put the journal aside, but it is not all gloom and doom, as it means that I still have a lot of reading left, starting with Every Child's Book of Prince Charles and Princess Anne, which is so appropriate in view of the forthcoming coronation. Many, many thanks to Tony, Anita, Judith Crabb and John Pickup for the excellent articles so far, and I trust that the remainder will be just as good!!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the comments on my article.

I found Tony's piece on 'Syndicated Stories' very interesting, as it deals with an aspect of Enid Blyton's writing that I've never known much about. Tony discusses four longer stories taken up by the Kemsley Syndicate, and identifies three newspapers in which some or all of those tales were printed. Looking at the introduction to 'The Disappearing Prizes' from two papers, it seems that a given introduction was modified to fit the particular newspaper. It's great to see a selection of illustrations by a familiar artist - Eileen Soper!

'The Disappearing Prizes' is quite a meaty story in which we get to know a range of colourful village characters and learn about the village community - though I guessed the ending early on!

Moving on to Pat Swadling's article, my daughter and I once had a nice chat with him at an Enid Blyton Day. His reminiscences are enjoyable, though it should be pointed out that it was Tony who got most of the speakers for the Enid Blyton Days.

John Henstock is giving us a good overview of the Famous Five series, with some perceptive comments on character development. A few weeks ago I checked a modern edition of Five Go Off to Camp in a local bookshop and the game of Red Indians remains, complete with the mention of a tomahawk and of Jock wanting to scalp Cecil!

[Nick]

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only just remembered to pay my subscription! Looking forward to getting my hands on this edition when it arrives.