The Secret Mountain
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1941); ill. Dylan Roberts (Armada, 1965)
Writing during the Second World War, Blyton sends her young protagonists on an escapist and rather improbable African adventure. A book notable for its more-or-less non-condescending attitude towards the native boy Mafumu and a rare positive depiction of foreigners (Ranni and Pilescu).
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]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blyton_Secret-Spiggy-Holes.jpg)
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.
The Secret Island
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1938)
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!