(As is becoming a regular thing, OH (or Mr. Kaggsy, if you prefer) has offered up a guest post for the #1944club, and this time he’s writing about a book from a series beloved of us both – The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton! Both OH and I read Enid Blyton rabidly in our youth (albeit at different times and in slightly different eras owing to the fact he’s a bit older than me….) and the ‘Adventure’ series is the one I’m most often drawn back to. ‘Island’ came out in 1944 so here from OH are his thoughts and memories about one of Blyton’s finest!)
“The Island of Adventure” was published in 1944, roughly in the middle of a four decade output from Enid Blyton. The tale of intrepid youngsters introduced the “Adventure” octad, never going out of print. The “Island” hardback from Macmillan – renamed “Mystery Island” in the United States – retained the original dust wrapper and front board design until 1966. The book featured some forty, animated pen and ink illustrations by Stuart Tresilian, making it a captivating mixture of story and comic. This was a major part of why I enjoyed having the book read to me as a child, interrupting the bedtime reader’s flow with demands to show me each accompanying picture.
In the “Island” story, friends and siblings Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack (and his talking parrot Kiki – with other pets and small wild animals along the way) are spending their summer holiday at Craggy-Tops, an old clifftop mansion on the coast. Waves crash below the part-ruined house, while mist obscures the view out to sea. Situated at a desolate spot, the abode has no power, relies on a well for water and oil lamps during darkness. Mysterious lights are seen across the water on the nearby Isle of Gloom and when later the children are taught to sail, they are able to reach the outcrop in a small boat. Soon an abandoned copper mine and connected undersea tunnels are being investigated by the foursome.
Various distinctive adult characters and villains help forge a spirited tale of riddles, risky encounters, being trapped underground, plus the required daring rescues. Old maps, tight spots, narrow escapes and explosions precede the foiling of some criminals and the receiving of a reward by the children for helping with a police operation.
“Island” was among more than 750 other Blyton publications, the author having been born in 1897 and departing in 1968. As one of the most successful children’s storytellers of the last century, her books have continued posthumously in print, amounting to well over half a billion copies. Following the first outing of the kids in the “Adventure” series, I acquired more of the titles, all boasting colourful dust jackets, luring young readers to savour exploring alongside the juvenile protagonists. I would at high points in the story plead for one more chapter to be read by my mother, or hers, only to be cruelly reminded that I had school the next day and needed to go to sleep.
At the time of the opening “Adventure” series novel, World War II was drawing to a close and the population of the planet was half what it is today. The next five were “Castle” (1946), “Valley (1947), “Sea (1948), “Mountain” (1949) and “Ship” (1950). However, the popularity of the books led to the addition of two more, in the form of “Circus (1952) and finally “River” (1955), written by Blyton in just few days. The first editions have become sought after and expensive, while her works have reportedly been banned from more public libraries than those of any other author.
I enjoyed Blyton’s other “Secret Seven” and “Famous Five” stories, along with the “Faraway Tree” fantasies, which were read to us in junior school. The author’s works were also highly popular with all ages of young readers, especially her “Noddy” tales and “Sunny Stories” periodicals. The Enid Blyton Society maintains a detailed online treasury of the author’s novels, poems and collections, reflecting the growth of the writer’s literary empire, involving producing many new books in each year, along with numerous magazine and newspaper contributions.
There has been criticism of the author’s writing, deeming it not challenging enough, or presenting unsuitable themes. Indeed, the language has in recent years been updated, names changed and characters made more politically correct, less ‘racist’ even. That said, my own offspring enjoyed the hilarity of having Fanny and Dick in the “Faraway” stories, accompanied by other unwitting double entendres.
My look at the opening “Adventure” story is meant more as a remembrance than a review. This reader, or listener, at a time when his age was still in single figures, experienced the fun and excitement which Blyton had intended, immersing her readers in the escapades of her fictional but relatable players, from almost 75 years ago.
I look at my cherished hardback from the past, unable to recapture the thrill it once gave me, although knowing that long ago it did. As the character Philip concludes at the end of the book: “That’s the best part of an adventure – when it’s all happening. I think it’s a great pity that it’s all over.” Amen to that.
(Thanks to OH for pitching in with his thoughts on a #1944club book! Thinking back on the ‘Adventure’ series, I reckon my favourite was ‘Valley’ which had a weird post-War plot. Maybe I’ll have to dig it out at some point soon….)
Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel
Oct 17, 2018 @ 08:13:12
I love Enid Blyton books. I have not read all of them in the series but I am positive I have read one or two. Enid Blyton books were a favourite part of my childhood. I’ve spent many afternoon savouring them. Also how lovely that Mr. Kaggsy is enthusiastic about guest posts.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 10:01:57
They were a huge part of my childhood too. All my hard-won pocket money went on them, and I read them over and over. And yes, Mr. Kaggsy does seem keen on providing these guest posts each reading week (which is fine by me….!)
Harriet Devine
Oct 17, 2018 @ 09:03:56
I absolutely loved the Adventure series – far the best of Blyton in my opinion. My favourite was the Castle of Adventure – even the title now conjures up a feeling of excitement and fear – will they escape from the castle through the narrow tunnel? I re-read this bot long ago and still enjoyed it.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 09:50:51
I agree! (and I think OH probably does) – they really are Blyton’s best and can still be revisited even as a (very) grown up! 😉
Annabel (AnnaBookBel)
Oct 17, 2018 @ 10:13:20
I’m sure they were my favourite Blyton series too. But I can’t remember any details about them at all apart from the parrot!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 10:33:20
Yes, the parrot was fun, and I remember a real sense of excitement and sometimes menace – Blyton didn’t sugar coat her peril!
Simon T
Oct 17, 2018 @ 10:20:57
I read almost nothing but Blyton as a child, but I can’t remember if I read all of the Adventure series. Some time I want to take a week to indulge in all the Blytons I used to love…
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 10:32:42
I did too, and OH still has some of his very battered hardbacks. It would be so lovely to spend some time simply wallowing in them again!
Christine
Oct 17, 2018 @ 16:43:00
I didn’t read Blyton as a child – must be a British versus U.S. thing. My equivalents would probably be Nancy Drew, or even more so, Trixie Belden. I still return to Trixie Belden for a comfort reread from time to time!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:26:12
I guess that’s probably the case. Although Blyton was published in the USA, I don’t really know how well her books would translate. Conversely, I don’t think Nancy Drew was ever that well-known over here! 😀
bdralyuk
Oct 17, 2018 @ 16:44:43
What a touching post, Mrs. and Mr. Kaggsy! I had a similar relationship with the work of Mayne Reid, who was (and likely still is) a staple of Russian children’s reading from the time of Nabokov on!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:24:51
Awww, thanks Boris! It’s nice that Mr. Kaggsy and I do share some happy memories of childhood books (especially as he is nowadays a film man!) I imagine every country has its equivalent of a Blyton beloved of children through the generations! I’ve not heard of Mayne Reid although I may well have been less attracted to adventure stories of his ilk as there was probably less place for girls! 😀
buriedinprint
Oct 17, 2018 @ 18:02:31
Lovely piece of remembrance! I read a lot of Blyton as a child and still have my hardcover copies of the Noddy books and some story collections. But when it came to the Adventure stories, I read paperbacks from the /50s and /60s and it was actually only a few weeks ago that, when browsing a second-hand bookshop with a lot of old children’s series, I saw one of the Adventures (River, I think, but there was no dust jacket) in hard cover for the first time. Until then, I’d assumed that none of her series books had been published out of paperback and now to see them again!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:21:09
Yes, back in the day (*very* much back in the day for OH!) the books were hardbacks, but my copies were 1960s paperbacks – still atmospheric and very much loved and just about affordable from pocket money or the occasional 10 shilling note as a birthday treat! 🙂
madamebibilophile
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:02:11
I read Blyton voraciously as a child but this has completely slipped from my memory. I used to love the Adventures her characters got up to – so different to my bookish existence (nothing changes!)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:19:45
Me too – my life was totally uneventful and I longed for boarding school and midnight feasts, or adventures whilst stranded somewhere interesting. Such is life….
Jane
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:37:34
I haven’t come across this series before and what amazing covers! My favourites were the ‘Mystery’ books.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 17, 2018 @ 20:46:52
Yes, I was very fond of the Five Find-Outers too! I wonder though if an author would get away with calling her main character Fatty nowadays?!?!?
Helen
Oct 17, 2018 @ 21:02:06
What a great post from Mr Kaggsy! I loved Blyton as a child and the Adventure books were probably my favourites. I re-read The Valley of Adventure a few years ago and keep thinking it would be fun to revisit the rest of the series too.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 18, 2018 @ 06:36:21
He says thank you! And yes – it’s a series that would definitely warrant a revisit!
heavenali
Oct 17, 2018 @ 22:29:16
Enid Blyton was a big part of my childhood I do admit. Though I don’t remember this, I think I mainly read Famous Five, Secret Seven and some school stories. This adventure story sounds great. I am sure I would have loved it back in the day.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 18, 2018 @ 06:35:49
I guess the thing is that Blyton wrote so many books that you’d have to have been a rich and voracious reader to get through them all! There are many, many titles by her I never got to, but I loved the ones I did!
#1944Club: round up – Stuck in a Book
Oct 21, 2018 @ 18:16:21