Literary activity and fiction of E. Blyton

BLYTON AS ONE OF CHILDREN WRITER AND HER CREATING NEW GENRES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's best-sellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular, and have been translated into 90 languages. She wrote on a wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five , Malory Towers and Secret Seven series.

Her first book, Child Whispers, a 24-page collection of poems, was published in 1922. Following the commercial success of her early novels such as Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) and The Enchanted Wood (1939), Blyton went on to build a literary empire, sometimes producing fifty books a year in addition to her prolific magazine and newspaper contributions. Her writing was unplanned and sprang largely from her unconscious mind: she typed her stories as events unfolded before her. The sheer volume of her work and the speed with which it was produced led to rumours that Blyton employed an army of ghost writers, a charge she vigorously denied.

Blyton's work became increasingly controversial among literary critics, teachers and parents from the 1950s onwards, because of the alleged unchallenging nature of her writing and the themes of her books, particularly the Noddy series. Some libraries and schools banned her works, which the BBC had refused to broadcast from the 1930s until the 1950s because they were perceived to lack literary merit. Her books have been criticised as being elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic and at odds with the more progressive environment emerging in post-Second World War Britain, but they have continued to be best-sellers since her death in 1968. She felt she had a responsibility to provide her readers with a strong moral framework, so she encouraged them to support worthy causes. In particular, through the clubs she set up or supported, she encouraged and organised them to raise funds for animal and paediatric charities. The story of Blyton's life was dramatised in a BBC film entitled Enid, featuring Helena Bonham Carter in the title role and first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Four in 2009. There have also been several adaptations of her books for stage, screen and television. Enid Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 in East Dulwich, South London, the oldest of the three children, to Thomas Carey Blyton (1870–1920), a cutlery salesman, (the 1911 census records his occupation as Mantle Manufacturer dealer, womens suits, skirts, etc) and his wife Theresa Mary (née Harrison; 1874–1950). Enid's younger brothers, Hanly (1899–1983) and Carey (1902–1976), were born after the family had moved to a semi-detached villa in Beckenham, then a village in Kent.[1] A few months after her birth Enid almost died from whooping cough, but was nursed back to health by her father, whom she adored.[2] Thomas Blyton ignited Enid's interest in nature; in her autobiography she wrote that he "loved flowers and birds and wild animals, and knew more about them than anyone I had ever met".[3] He also passed on his interest in gardening, art, music, literature and the theatre, and the pair often went on nature walks, much to the disapproval of Enid's mother, who showed little interest in her daughter's pursuits.[4] Enid was devastated when he left the family shortly after her thirteenth birthday to live with another woman. Enid and her mother did not have a good relationship, and she did not attend either of her parents' funerals. From 1907 to 1915 Blyton attended St Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she enjoyed physical activities and became school tennis champion and captain of lacrosse. She was not so keen on all the academic subjects but excelled in writing, and in 1911 she entered Arthur Mee's children's poetry competition. Mee offered to print her verses, encouraging her to produce more. Blyton's mother considered her efforts at writing to be a "waste of time and money", but she was encouraged to persevere by Mabel Attenborough, the aunt of school friend Mary Potter. Seckford Hall in Woodbridge, Suffolk, was an inspiration to Blyton with its haunted room, secret passageway and sprawling gardens. Blyton's father taught her to play the piano, which she mastered well enough for him to believe that she might follow in his sister's footsteps and become a professional musician.[6] Blyton considered enrolling at the Guildhall School of Music, but decided she was better suited to becoming a writer. After finishing school in 1915 as head girl, she moved out of the family home to live with her friend Mary Attenborough, before going to stay with George and Emily Hunt at Seckford Hall near Woodbridge in Suffolk. Seckford Hall, with its allegedly haunted room and secret passageway provided inspiration for her later writing. At Woodbridge Congregational Church Blyton met Ida Hunt, who taught at Ipswich High School, and suggested that she train there as a teacher. Blyton was introduced to the children at the nursery school, and recognising her natural affinity with them she enrolled in a National Froebel Union teacher training course at the school in September 1916. By this time she had almost ceased contact with her family. Blyton's manuscripts had been rejected by publishers on many occasions, which only made her more determined to succeed: "it is partly the struggle that helps you so much, that gives you determination, character, self-reliance – all things that help in any profession or trade, and most certainly in writing". In March 1916 her first poems were published in Nash's Magazine.[11] She completed her teacher training course in December 1918, and the following month obtained a teaching appointment at Bickley Park School, a small independent establishment for boys in Bickley, Kent. Two months later Blyton received a teaching certificate with distinctions in zoology and principles of education, 1st class in botany, geography, practice and history of education, child hygiene and class teaching and 2nd class in literature and elementary mathematics.[1] In 1920 she moved to Southernhay in Hook Road Surbiton as nursery governess to the four sons of architect Horace Thompson and his wife Gertrude, with whom Blyton spent four happy years. Owing to a shortage of schools in the area her charges were soon joined by the children of neighbours, and a small school developed at the house. In 1920 Blyton relocated to Chessington, and began writing in her spare time. The following year she won the Saturday Westminster Review writing competition with her essay "On the Popular Fallacy that to the Pure All Things are Pure". Publications such as The Londoner, Home Weekly and The Bystander began to show an interest in her short stories and poems.

The Adventure Series by Enid Blyton, a prolific English children's author, is a series of eight children's novels. These books feature the same child characters: Philip, Jack, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann, along with several adult characters. Jack's pet parrot, Kiki, is also a standard feature in each novel. One thing that strikes me about this series is that, unusually, Enid seems to have carefully chosen to aim one book each in this series at a particular and separate adventure 'genre' instead of proceeding with a pattern of broadly similar adventure or detective books. I presume this was intended from the start, in 1943/4 when she was writing 'Island of Adventure'; the uusal pattern for her 1940 series of books was to create a series of six, as with St Clares, Malory Towers and the original six Five books (that is, intending to end with 'On Kirrin Island Again'). Possibly also the 'Barney' series. I am sure I remember an author's note in 'Circus of Adventure' to the effect that she intended to end the 'Adventure' series with 'Ship of A', then was persuaded by her readers' demands to write a seventh book; Bill and Mrs Mannering's marriage is a natural end to the series, though I think that 'Circus' was among her most satisfying and unusual books. Thus, 'Island' fits the 'Cornish holiday mystery' genre; 'Castle' the 'remote wild non-English countryside' setting, though we are not specifically told it is Scottish until later; 'Valley' the 'overseas adventure' with references to the War and its devastation plus a look at the Resistance and at left-over Nazis; 'Sea' is a nautical and Hebridean adventure; 'Mountain' combines Wales with science fiction and mad scientists; and 'Ship' goes abroad again on a Greek treasure-hunt. When they were added, 'Circus' mixes up the circus genre with Ruritanian royalty and kidnaps, presumably in the style of Anthony Hope's 'Prisoner of Zenda' and its more recent imitators; and 'River' is a Middle Eastern archaeological mystery. Atmospherically, I find 'Valley' the most powerful with its descriptions of the war-shattered landscape , and only in 'River' does it seem that Enid's powers (or interest) were waning a little. Incidentally, does anyone still read or have nostalgic memories of Violet Needham's late 1930s Ruritanian romances, set in an imaginary Central European kingdom a bit like Tauri-Hessia with sinister nobles and disguised princes? Given the dates of her books (eg 'The Emerald Crown') around 1938-40, I think that these may have given Enid or her publisher a nudge in the direction of trying out a Ruritanian adventure.

The Adventure series is definitely one that has no real weak books (though I know many people cite River as being weaker, I still think it is much stronger than the last books of other major series). With Island and Castle we have very traditionally-based adventure stories, as you suggest - nothing much different from The Famous Five - but I feel that the Adventure series really comes into it's own once it leaves Britain and travels around. None of the books after 'Castle' are really set in Britain (except maybe 'Sea' - but only remotely, and Mountain, which I consider to be the weakest) and I think this gives them a bigger, more sweeping 'epic' feel matched in other series' only by 'The Secret Mountain'. Valley, Sea, Ship, Circus and River all have that same epic feeling, in my opinion - almost like watching a movie, and very visual too - just read the closing page of 'Sea' with it's aerial view of the setting, and the closing words of the characters as they say goodbye to it - could almost be a film, with music swelling as 'The End' flashes onto the screen then fades into theme music! I feel that they all have this 'filmic' quality, which is pretty much unique to the Adventure series. There are other instances in other books from other series when I feel she was inspired by films she had seen, but it's never quite as obvious as in the Adventure books. Although I agree Enid would be influenced by other writers, regards the Ruritanian settings, she may also have been influenced by films and operettas, or plays, which were often set in such countries at this time.

Unlike many other readers I feel that 'River' is a very well written and interesting book, which easily matches the others in it's sweep and grandeur, if not in the strength of it's adventure. The adventure part is maybe slightly tired, but the setting, characters, and river journey all make up for this. The only fault with it is, in my opinion, that Enid never tells us where the river eventually ends up. It would be nice if we found out - but instead it just disappears into the earth - a bit disappointing - but it does, I suppose, help the river to maintain it's mystery! Enid Blyton had already written a Ruritanian novel back in 1939 - The Secret of Spiggy Holes, which began serialisation in Sunny Stories in 1939 before being published as a book in 1940. She went on to write another one, The Secret of Killimooin, in 1943. Other early Ruritanian novels written for children include The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1915), The Raiders' Road by Elizabeth Leitch (1937), The House in Cornwall by Noel Streatfeild (also serialised in 1939, in the Girl's Own Paper, before coming out as a book in 1940) and The Grenville Garrison by Gwendoline Courtney (1940). Several of these predate Violet Needham or came out at around the same time. Atmospherically, I find 'Valley' the most powerful with its descriptions of the war-shattered landscape , and only in 'River' does it seem that Enid's powers (or interest) were waning a little. I agree that the Adventure series is one of Enid Blyton's most mature and carefully crafted series, and the dramatic events and haunting atmosphere of The Valley of Adventure have stayed with me vividly ever since my first reading. However, I don't think there's any evidence in The River of Adventure of Enid's powers or interest waning. The story is let down by a rather weak villain but it still has many strong elements such as the exotic setting, descriptions, tension, spine-tingling moments and a wistful note. The only book which doesn't quite work for me is The Mountain of Adventure, as it's slow to start and a touch bizarre once it does get going. Even so, there are several stirring and memorable episodes which hold my interest.

She wrote an incredible variety of books for children aged about two to fourteen—adventure and mystery stories, school stories, circus and farm books, fantasy tales, fairy-tales, family stories, nursery stories, nature books, religious books, animal stories, poetry, plays and songs, as well as re-telling myths, legends and other traditional tales. She earned a fortune from her writing and in 1950 she set up her own limited company, Darrell Waters Ltd., to manage the financial side of things. In 1952 Enid relinquished Sunny Stories after twenty-six years, launching her fortnightly Enid Blyton's Magazine in March 1953. She wrote all the contents herself except for the advertisements, using the magazine to mould her readership through her stories, editorials and news-pages, encouraging her child readers to be kind, helpful and responsible and impressing upon them that, if they used their initiative, they could do their bit and make a difference to society, whatever their age. Through the pages of her magazine she promoted four clubs which children could join—the Busy Bees (which helped animals), the Famous Five Club (which raised money for a children's home), the Sunbeam Society (which helped blind children) and the Magazine Club (which raised money for children who had spastic cerebral palsy.) Thousands of readers joined and Enid Blyton spoke proudly of the "army of children" who were helping her carry out the work she wanted to do.Enid Blyton's Magazine folded in September 1959 as Enid wished to spend more time with Kenneth, who had retired from his work as a surgeon in 1957. By that time the four clubs had approximately 500,000 members between them and had raised about £35,000 in six years—an enormous amount of money in those days. It was in the late 1950s that Enid Blyton's health began to deteriorate. She experienced bouts of breathlessness and had a suspected heart attack. By the early 1960s it was apparent that she was suffering from dementia. Her mind was no longer sharp and she became confused, afflicted by worrying memory lapses and seized by a desire to return to her childhood home in Beckenham with both her parents. Her last two books (excluding reprints of earlier material) were re-tellings of Bible stories, The Man Who Stopped to Help and The Boy Who Came Back, both published in August 1965. Kenneth was ill too, with severe arthritis. The medicine he took for his arthritis damaged his kidneys and he died on 15th September 1967, leaving Enid a lonely and vulnerable woman. Gillian and Imogen were in their thirties by then, living away from home. They visited regularly and did what they could for their mother but she declined physically and mentally over the next few months, cared for by her staff at Green Hedges. In the late summer of 1968 Enid was admitted to a Hampstead nursing home and, three months later, she died peacefully in her sleep on 28th November 1968, at the age of 71. She was cremated at Golders Green in North London and a memorial service was held for her at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, on 3rd January 1969. Several decades after her death, Enid Blyton is not forgotten. The best of her lives on in her books, many of which are still in print, and she continues to entertain, educate and inspire children around the globe through the words she wrote. She encourages her readers to look afresh at the world around them—to observe, explore, investigate, discover and learn. Long may that continue! To quote a few apt lines from Enid Blyton's "The Poet," published in The Poetry Review in 1919: