The Ring O’Bells Mystery by Enid Blyton; ill. Gilbert Dunlop (William Collins, 1951) This third ‘Barney’ mystery might easily have been written during a languorous English summer. The rustic idyll shines warmly from its pages and the adventure unfolds slowly, picking up pace only in the concluding chapters. A pleasant read enlivened by chaotic animals.
Tag Archive for Enid Blyton
The Rilloby Fair Mystery
The Rilloby Fair Mystery by Enid Blyton (William Collins, 1950) The second ‘Barney’ mystery doesn’t really make good on its potential (in truth rather solving itself in the end) but Blyton lays down clues throughout and the children’s day-to-day adventuring makes for pleasant escapism. Blyton’s integration of animals makes the book memorable.
The Rockingdown Mystery
The Rockingdown Mystery by Enid Blyton (William Collins, 1949) A solid introduction to the ‘Barney’ (or ‘R’) mystery series. Standard Blyton characters Roger and Diana are superseded by their mischievous cousin Snubby, vagabond circus boy Barney and his monkey Miranda, and of course Snubby’s (actually Blyton’s daughters’) memorably madcap dog Loony.
Well Done, Secret Seven
Well Done, Secret Seven by Enid Blyton (Brockhampton Press, 1951); audiobook read by Sarah Greene (BBC, 1998) A simple little one-sitting mystery, which actually takes up less of the book than the children’s building of a treehouse. The Secret Seven think rather highly of themselves but here lack much by way of character – except for Scamper the Cocker Spaniel.…
The Magic Faraway Tree
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (George Newnes, 1943); audiobook read by Kate Winslet (ABC Audio, 2014) Younger children will still thrill to the imagination of the Faraway Tree and the many lands that cycle into place above it. Adults may be less impressed, but at least must credit Kate Winslet for her composure in reading about toffee shocks.…
The Mystery of the Secret Room
The Mystery of the Secret Room by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1945); audiobook read by Ann Beach (Chivers, 2010) The third book in the series but perhaps the best place to start if new to children’s detective fiction and/or the Five Found-Outers (and dog). Fatty and the others come into their own, outwitting Goon the policeman while solving another mystery. …