Claude Voilier facts for kids

Claude Voilier (born Andrée Labedan; 9 November 1917 – 22 May 2009) was a talented French writer. She was also a teacher, journalist, and translator. Claude Voilier wrote over 600 short stories and about 400 books for kids.

She is most famous for continuing Enid Blyton's popular adventure series, The Famous Five. Voilier translated many English children's books into French. These included series like The Three Investigators and The Dana Girls. She passed away in May 2009 in Arcachon, France.

Claude Voilier's Famous Five Books

Starting in the early 1970s, Claude Voilier began writing new adventures for the Famous Five. She continued this series until the mid-1980s. There are 24 books in her French series.

Eighteen of these books were translated into English by Anthea Bell. Voilier had already translated some of Enid Blyton's original Famous Five books. This experience made her a great choice to write new stories for the series.

Original French Famous Five Series

The French Famous Five books by Claude Voilier were published by Bibliothèque Rose. This is a part of the big French publisher Hachette. Different artists illustrated the books. Jean Sidobre drew pictures for the first 12 books and one later one. Claude Pascal illustrated seven more.

The first French hardback books did not have chapters. They had comic strip-style drawings on every second page. These drawings showed the main action from the story. Most were black and white, but some full-page color pictures appeared too.

Later paperback versions, from the 1990s, were different. They had chapters and black-and-white illustrations by Anne Bozellec. These pictures did not appear as often as in the older editions.

Here is a list of the original French books:

• Les Cinq sont les plus forts (1971; English title: The Famous Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds)
• Les Cinq au bal des espions (1971; English title: The Famous Five in Fancy Dress)
• Le Marquis appelle les Cinq (1972; English title: The Famous Five and the Stately Homes Gang)
• Les Cinq au Cap des tempêtes (1972; English title: The Famous Five and the Missing Cheetah)
• Les Cinq à la Télévision (1973; English title: The Famous Five Go on Television)
• Les Cinq et les pirates du ciel (1973; English title: The Famous Five and the Hijackers)
• Les Cinq contre le masque noir (1974; English title: The Famous Five Versus the Black Mask)
• Les Cinq et le galion d'or (1974; English title: The Famous Five and the Golden Galleon)
• Les Cinq font de la brocante (1975; English title: The Famous Five and the Inca God)
• Les Cinq se mettent en quatre (1975; English title: The Famous Five and the Pink Pearls)
• Les Cinq dans la cité secrète (1976; English title: The Famous Five and the Secret of the Caves)
• La fortune sourit aux Cinq (1976; English title: The Famous Five and the Cavalier's Treasure)
• Les Cinq et le rayon Z (1977; English title: The Famous Five and the Z-Rays)
• Les Cinq vendent la peau de l'ours (1977; English title: The Famous Five and the Blue Bear Mystery)
• Les Cinq aux rendez-vous du diable (1978; English title: The Famous Five in Deadly Danger)
• Du neuf pour les Cinq (1978; English title: The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy)
• Les Cinq et le trésor de Roquépine (1979; English title: The Famous Five and the Knights' Treasure)
• Les Cinq et le diamant bleu (1979; later called Les Cinq et le rubis d'Akbar; not translated into English)
• Les Cinq jouent serré (1980; English title: The Famous Five and the Strange Scientist)
• Les Cinq en croisière (1980; not translated into English)
• Les Cinq contre les fantômes (1981; not translated into English)
• Les Cinq en Amazonie (1983; not translated into English)
• Les Cinq et le trésor du pirate (1984; not translated into English)
• Les Cinq contre le loup-garou (1985; not translated into English)

The Famous Five Series in English

Anthea Bell translated 18 of Claude Voilier's books into English. They were first published as paperbacks by Knight Books. Later, in the early 1990s, Hodder and Stoughton republished them.

The Hodder editions had slightly different titles. For example, "The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy" became "The Five and the Strange Legacy". This was closer to the original French titles.

The English versions were formatted differently from the French hardback books. They included chapters. The Knight editions also had black-and-white illustrations. These were full-page and sometimes had one or two panels. However, they were not as common as in the French books. The Hodder editions did not include any illustrations.

Here is a complete list of the English titles:

• The Famous Five and the Stately Homes Gang (1981; later The Five and the Stately Homes Gang in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds (1981; later The Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Missing Cheetah (1981; later The Five and the Missing Cheetah in 1993)
• The Famous Five Go on Television (1981; later The Five Go on Television in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Golden Galleon (1982; later The Five and the Golden Galleon in 1993)
• The Famous Five Versus the Black Mask (1982; later The Five Versus the Black Mask in 1993)
• The Famous Five in Fancy Dress (1983; later The Five in Fancy Dress in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Blue Bear Mystery (1983; later The Five and the Blue Bear Mystery in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Inca God (1984; later The Five and the Inca God in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Cavalier's Treasure (1984; later The Five and the Cavalier's Treasure in 1993)
• The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy (1984; later The Five and the Strange Legacy in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Secret of the Caves (1984; later The Five and the Secret of the Caves in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Hijackers (1985; later The Five and the Hijackers in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Strange Scientist (1985; later The Five and the Strange Scientist in 1994)
• The Famous Five in Deadly Danger (1985; later The Five in Deadly Danger in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Knight's Treasure (1986; later The Five and the Knight's Treasure in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Z-Rays (1986; later The Five and the Z-Rays in 1994)
• The Famous Five and the Pink Pearls (1987; later The Five and the Pink Pearls in 1994)

A Possible 25th Book

In 1996, a book called Les Cinq et le secret du vieux puits (The Five and the Secret of the Old Well) was published. Claude Voilier wrote it, and Anne Bozellec illustrated it. This might be the 25th book in the series.

However, it seems this book might be a rewritten version of an original Enid Blyton story. It is likely a new translation of Five Have a Mystery to Solve. This was the 20th book in Blyton's own Famous Five series. So, it's probably not a brand new adventure written by Voilier.

The Three Investigators Connection

Claude Voilier also translated some books from The Three Investigators series into French. One of these stories, The Mystery of the Silver Spider, takes place in a made-up country called Varania.

Interestingly, in Voilier's Famous Five and the Strange Scientist, a character named Professor Kolkov comes from Varania. This creates a fun, small connection between her Famous Five books and The Three Investigators series!