The Enid Blyton Society
Bimbo and Topsy
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Book Details...

First edition: 1943
Publisher: George Newnes
Illustrator: Lucy Gee
Category: One-off Novels
Genre: Family/Animal
Type: Novels/Novelettes

On This Page...

Reprint Covers
Artwork
Review by Julie Heginbotham
Further Illustrations

Reprints


Title page from the 1st edition



Letter from Bimbo at the front of the book



Letter from Topsy at the back of the book
This interesting little book for younger readers, features Enid's own daughters, Gillian and Imogen and two of Enid's pets, Bimbo and Topsy.

The story begins with the arrival of a new Siamese kitten at Green Hedges and Gillian names him Bimbo, after discarding such names as Paddy-Paws and Whiskers.

Bimbo gets lonely and wants a playmate, as Gillian and Imogen are at school during the day and so a new puppy arrives in a basket from the station and is taken by car to Green Hedges. This new puppy is a white fox-terrier, with a black head and tail and his name is Topsy.

These two playmates have loads of fun at Green Hedges, getting into all kinds of mischief which will amuse many young children. Bimbo is a very intelligent Siamese kitten and leads Bimbo into most of their mischievous adventures.

They get locked into a larder full of food and begin to eat their way through some of it. They find a bag of knitting and proceed to pull out and unwind the red jersey which their mistress is knitting for Imogen. In the garden they get swept along by the gardener, as they've buried themselves, along with Bobs and Cosy, amongst a pile of fallen leaves.

These little stories are a pleasant read for younger children. I did in fact wonder, whether Enid had actually based any of these antics on real life incidents.

In the book, The Story of My Life, Enid describes Topsy as she does in this story, but also adds that she is a funny little dog and has just about the smallest brain any dog ever had. But unfortunately, Topsy got into the garden next door and killed nineteen hens and chicks and so had to be sent away to live in the town, leaving the family very upset. Bimbo she says was very intelligent and used to follow her around like a little dog.

These amusing little stories all have happy endings thankfully, but I can't help feeling saddened by the fact that this loveable little dog called Topsy, (in real life) had to be sent away from his home, Green Hedges, because inadequate fencing failed to keep him safe in his own surroundings. These illustrations are hidden by default to ensure faster browsing. Loading the illustrations is recommended for high-speed internet users only.