Tag: Enid Blyton

The Island of Adventure

The Island of Adventure

by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1944); audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)

Book cover: “The Island of Adventure” by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1944); audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)

Blyton spends far too long on the pre-adventure, holiday-atmosphere buildup. While the children are slow to cotton on, the danger does at last manifest (and with a harder edge). Memorable mostly for Kiki the parrot and Philip and Dinah’s bickering sibling relationship.

The Secret of Spiggy Holes

The Secret of Spiggy Holes

by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1940) [reprinted Armada, 1965]

Book cover: “The Secret of Spiggy Holes” by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1940) [reprinted Armada, 1965]

Predating the Barney Mysteries but very much in keeping, distinguished only by the absence of any animal companion and a return to the Secret Island (from the children’s previous adventure). The cover blurb anticipates reader fretfulness by giving away the entire plot.

Five Go to Mystery Moor

Five Go to Mystery Moor

by Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton, 1953); audiobook read by Jan Francis (Bolinda, 2021)

Book cover: “Five Go to Mystery Moor” by Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton, 1953); audiobook read by Jan Francis (Bolinda, 2021)

The children’s classist (pitched as precocious) assumption of superiority remains off-putting, but the supporting characters are memorably drawn and the set-up pays off in a sudden breathless rush, transforming the meander into a boys’ own (and girls-as-boys’ own!) adventure with real stakes.

The Secret Island

The Secret Island

by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1938)

Book cover: “The Secret Island” by Enid Blyton

Blyton’s first full-length adventure novel is low on peril but pleasantly diverting, and more substantial than later efforts. Pitched at younger readers, it sees four children run away to fend for themselves on a bountiful island—memorably taking a cow with them!

The Famous Five: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

The Famous Five: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

by Normal Wright; ill. Eileen Soper (Hodder, 2000)

The Famous Five: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know, by Norman Wright (book cover)

An odd, rather pointless reference book, bolstered by colour illustrations and snippets of information about Enid Blyton’s life and inspirations, yet mainly just a plodding recapitulation of Famous Five characters, plot lines and themes—which readers would already know from the novels.