Enid Blyton is one of the most famous children’s authors, having sold more than 600 million copies worldwide. The British author, born in the late 1890s, is also one of the most translated authors in the world. Her work has been translated to more than 90 languages and is still popular to date even though she passed away in 1968.
In this article, Imeth de Silva tells us about some popular works of Enid Blyton’s.
Enid Blyton worked as a teacher for some time, but her main profession was writing. Her books were mainly based on themes such as fantasy, mystery and adventure. She had the unique ability to write her books in a way that not only attracted the hearts of young children, but even got the adults hooked in as well.
She wrote well over 700 books in her lifetime and some of her most famous and loved book series are as follows;
The Famous Five
A series which immediately pops to mind with Enid Blyton’s name is The Famous Five. One her most famous works, The Famous Five series, consists of 21 books that illustrates a series of adventures of five cousins and a dog. Julian, George, Anne, Dick and Timothy, George’s wonderful dog, are the main characters in this series.
The first book of the series, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942 and the story takes place near George’s home, Kirrin Bay. George or Georgina is a girl, who likes to think of herself as a boy. She owns an island on Kirrin Bay and the four cousins and the dog have numerous adventures there.
They go on hikes, they go camping, they go to a circus, they visit farms, lighthouses; you name it, adventure always follows them. This is definitely one of the most popular children’s series’ and it set the tone for Blyton’s future works.
The Secret Seven
Originally published in 1949, The Secret Seven series, is among the most loved books of Enid Blyton.
The series consists of 15 books and it is a short story series, written about a group of seven children and a dog, who solves all kinds of mysteries and puzzles. Peter is the head of The Secret Seven.
With his sister, Janet’s help, they cleaned up their old shed, down in the garden and invited five other members to join the club. Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara are the remaining members.
Peter’s dog, Scamper was never left out and was in all their adventures.
They met up in the shed in secret and discussed plans to be carried out when solving mysteries. Just like in the Famous Five series, adventures and mysteries kept banging on their doors.
Overall, the Secret Seven is a fun and exciting series to read and not to be missed!
The Five Find-Outers
The Five Find-Outers is a series, quite similar to The Famous Five, but with a better plot and a turnaround of events. The first book of the series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, was published around 1943 and the series tells us about a group of children, who only meet up on their school vacations and has adventures and mysteries.
The difference here from the Secret Seven and Famous Five, I daresay, is the unpredictability of events. Fatty, or Frederick Trotteville is the leader and Pip, Bets, Larry and Daisy are the others. Together, with Buster, the dog, they are the Find-Outers. Fatty is a boy with extraordinary skills and talents and likes to play around with disguises.
They are sometimes joined by Ern Goon the village policeman’s nephew, who prides himself in being a good poet. Goon, tries his best to stop them from solving mysteries before him but they do much to Goon’s anger and disgust. Needless to say, he dislikes the Five Find Outers intensely.This is a very interesting and fun-to-read series amidmany other brilliant creations of Enid Blyton.
The Adventure Series
Following The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and The Five Find-Outers is the Adventure series. The plot is quite similar to the series mentioned above. Philip, Jack, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Kiki the parrot is featured in these eight-book series.
They have adventures on an island, castle, valleys, sea and river and several other exciting locations.
Their adventures occasionally include Aunt Allie and Bill, who is a secret agent. The first book of the series, The Island of Adventure, was published around in 1944 and some reports even mention that Enid Blyton finished each novel of the series within a week! The Adventure Series was later adapted into films.
St. Clare’s
St. Clare’s, a series which illustrates a boarding school and the exciting events that seem to happen there, consists of nine books, three of which have been written by Pamela Cox as a continuation of the series.
The first book, The Twins at St. Clare’s, was first published in 1941 and it tells us a story about how the twins, Pat and Isabel O’Sullivan, were forced to go into a boarding school they did not like at the beginning, and how St. Clare’s changed their attitude and approach.
The series has exciting plots and characters, like the fiery circus-girl, Carlotta Brown and Don’t-care Bobby, who liked to play pranks all the time and characters like Hilary Wentworth, Mirabel Unwin and Gladys Hillman. From midnight feasts to fires in the middle of the night and even kidnapping; this series keeps you on the edge as nothing seems predictable.
In addition to these books Enid Blyton has also written The Barney Mystery books,
The Fabulous Four books, the Malory Towers series and the Magic Faraway Tree books to name a few. She is also the creator of the famous fictional character, ‘Noddy’. Enid Blyton created a new culture in children’s books which inspired many generations of young readers to explore creativity and imagination.