Enid Blyton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Enid Blyton
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| Born | 11 August 1897 East Dulwich, London, England |
| Died | 28 November 1968 (aged 71) Hampstead, London, England |
| Resting place | Golders Green Crematorium |
| Pen name | Mary Pollock |
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| Period | 1922–1968 |
| Genre | Children's literature:
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| Spouse |
Hugh Pollock
(m. 1924; div. 1942)Kenneth Waters
(m. 1943; |
| Children | 2, including Gillian Baverstock |
| Relatives | Carey Blyton (nephew) |
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Enid Mary Blyton (born August 11, 1897 – died November 28, 1968) was a famous English writer for children. Her books have been incredibly popular around the world since the 1930s, selling over 600 million copies! Her stories are still loved today and have been translated into 90 languages. As of 2019, she was the 4th most translated author ever.
Enid Blyton wrote about many different things, including nature, fantasy, and mystery. She is most famous for her series like Noddy, Famous Five, Secret Seven, the Five Find-Outers, and Malory Towers. She also wrote many other popular books, such as the St Clare's, The Naughtiest Girl, and The Faraway Tree series.
Her very first book, Child Whispers, was a small collection of poems published in 1922. After her early novels became very successful, like Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) and The Enchanted Wood (1939), Blyton became a writing superstar. She sometimes wrote 50 books in a single year, plus many stories for magazines and newspapers! She wrote her stories very quickly, often without planning them much beforehand. Because she wrote so many books so fast, some people thought she had other writers helping her, but she always said no.
Some critics, teachers, and parents started to have concerns about Blyton's books in the 1950s. They felt her writing was too simple, especially the Noddy series. Some libraries and schools even stopped stocking her books. The BBC also refused to broadcast her stories for a while because they thought the writing wasn't good enough.
Enid Blyton believed it was important to teach her readers good values. She encouraged children to help others and support good causes. Through clubs she created or supported, she helped children raise money for animal and children's charities.
The story of Enid Blyton's life was made into a TV film called Enid in 2009. The famous actress Helena Bonham Carter played Enid Blyton in the movie.
Contents
Growing Up and School Days
Enid Blyton was born on August 11, 1897, in East Dulwich, South London. She was the oldest of three children. Her father, Thomas Carey Blyton, was a salesman who loved nature. Enid adored her father and wrote that he "loved flowers and birds and wild animals." He also shared his love for gardening, art, music, and books with her. They often went on nature walks together.
Enid was very sad when her father left the family when she was 13. She didn't have a close relationship with her mother.
From 1907 to 1915, Enid went to St Christopher's School in Beckenham. She loved sports and became the school's tennis champion and lacrosse captain. While she wasn't keen on all school subjects, she was excellent at writing. In 1911, she entered a poetry competition and was encouraged to write more. Even though her mother didn't think writing was a good use of time, Enid kept going, thanks to encouragement from a friend's aunt.
Enid's father taught her to play the piano, and she became quite good. She thought about becoming a professional musician but decided she wanted to be a writer instead. After school, in 1915, she lived with friends and then with a family at Seckford Hall in Suffolk. This old hall, with its secret passageway, gave her ideas for her future stories!
At Woodbridge Congregational Church, Enid met Ida Hunt, a teacher who suggested she train to be a teacher herself. Enid loved being with children and started a teacher training course in September 1916. By this time, she had almost no contact with her own family.
Publishers often rejected Enid's early writings, but this only made her more determined. She said that struggling helps you become stronger and more self-reliant. In March 1916, her first poems were published in Nash's Magazine. She finished her teacher training in December 1918 and started teaching at Bickley Park School for boys. In 1920, she became a governess for four boys in Surbiton. Other children soon joined, and her small school grew!
Starting Her Writing Journey
In 1920, Enid Blyton moved to Chessington and began writing in her free time. The next year, she won a writing competition. Soon, magazines like The Londoner and Home Weekly became interested in her short stories and poems.
Her first book, Child Whispers, a collection of poems, came out in 1922. The illustrator was her school friend Phyllis Chase, who worked on several of Enid's early books. That same year, Enid started writing for children's annuals and had her first story, "Peronel and his Pot of Glue," published in Teachers' World. In 1923, her poems even appeared alongside famous writers like Rudyard Kipling in Teachers' World.
Enid Blyton also wrote many educational books in the 1920s and 1930s, such as The Teacher's Treasury and Modern Teaching. In July 1923, she published Real Fairies, a book of poems. She continued to publish books about fairies and brownies, and several playbooks in 1927.
In the 1930s, Enid became interested in writing stories about myths, including those from ancient Greece and Rome. Books like The Knights of the Round Table and Tales of Ancient Greece were published in 1930. She retold 16 Greek myths in Tales of Ancient Greece, adding her own conversations between the characters. More books like The Adventures of Odysseus followed in 1934.
Amazing Success with New Books
New Adventures: 1934–1948
The first book in Enid Blyton's Old Thatch series, The Talking Teapot and Other Tales, was published in 1934. Her first full-length book, Adventures of the Wishing-Chair, came out in 1937.
The Enchanted Wood, the first book in the Faraway Tree series, was published in 1939. This series is about a magical tree inspired by Norse mythology. Enid's daughter, Gillian, said her mother imagined walking in an enchanted wood and finding the tree, where she met characters like Moon-Face and the Saucepan Man. These fantasy books often involve children going to magical worlds and meeting fairies, goblins, elves, and pixies.
Blyton's first long adventure novel, The Secret Island, came out in 1938. It featured characters named Jack, Mike, Peggy, and Nora. This book was a favorite of Gillian's and led to the Secret series. The next year, Blyton released her first books in the Circus series and the Amelia Jane series, Naughty Amelia Jane!. The main character, Amelia Jane, was based on a large handmade doll Enid gave to Gillian for her third birthday.
During the 1940s, Blyton became an incredibly busy author. Her success grew because she was very good at promoting her books. In 1940, she published two books under the name Mary Pollock (her middle name and first married name), in addition to the eleven books under her own name. Readers soon figured out it was her, and all six books published as Mary Pollock were later reissued under Enid Blyton's name.
Also in 1940, Blyton published the first book in her boarding school story series, The Naughtiest Girl in the School. This book followed the adventures of Elizabeth Allen at the fictional Whyteleafe School. The first of her six novels in the St. Clare's series, The Twins at St. Clare's, appeared the following year, featuring twin sisters Patricia and Isabel O'Sullivan.
In 1942, Blyton released Mary Mouse and the Dolls' House, about a mouse who becomes a maid in a doll's house. This series had 23 books and sold 10,000 copies in 1942 alone. The same year, she published the first novel in the famous Famous Five series, Five on a Treasure Island. This series became hugely popular, with 21 books published until 1963. The characters Julian, Dick, Anne, George (Georgina), and Timmy the dog became household names in Britain. The five friends often solved mysteries and caught villains. Blyton based the character of Georgina, a tomboy who was "bold and daring, hot-tempered and loyal," on herself.
Blyton was also interested in Bible stories. She retold stories from the Old and New Testament. The Land of Far-Beyond (1942) was a Christian story similar to The Pilgrim's Progress. In 1943, she published The Children's Life of Christ, a collection of stories about the life of Jesus. Tales from the Bible followed in 1944.
The first book in Blyton's Five Find-Outers series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, was published in 1943. Many of Blyton's books from this time had seaside themes, like John Jolly by the Sea (1943) and The Island of Adventure (1944), the first in the Adventure series.
Building on her success, Blyton released new books in her popular series every year, along with many other novels and short stories. In 1946, she launched the Malory Towers series with First Term at Malory Towers. These six books about the schoolgirl Darrell Rivers became very popular, especially with girls.
Super Busy Writing Years: 1949–1959
The first book in Blyton's Barney Mysteries series, The Rockingdown Mystery, was published in 1949. That same year, the first of her 15 Secret Seven novels came out. The Secret Seven Society includes Peter, his sister Janet, and their friends Colin, George, Jack, Pam, and Barbara. They meet in a shed to discuss strange events in their neighborhood.
Blyton's character Noddy, a little wooden boy from Toyland, first appeared in a newspaper in 1949. In November that year, Noddy Goes to Toyland, the first of many Noddy books, was published. The idea came from one of Blyton's publishers, who set up a meeting between Blyton and a Dutch illustrator. Four days after their meeting, Blyton sent the text for the first two Noddy books! The Noddy books became one of her most successful and well-known series, hugely popular in the 1950s. Many spin-off books and comic strips were created.
In 1950, Blyton started a company to manage her work. By the early 1950s, she was writing more than 50 books a year! By 1955, she had written her 14th Famous Five novel and her 15th Mary Mouse book. She finished the sixth and final Malory Towers book, Last Term at Malory Towers, in 1951.
Blyton also wrote more books about Scamp the terrier, like Scamp Goes on Holiday (1952). She introduced Bom, a stylish toy drummer, alongside Noddy in a comic in 1956. A book series about Bom also began that year.
Later Works
Many of Blyton's series, including Noddy and The Famous Five, continued to be popular in the 1960s. By 1962, 26 million Noddy books had been sold! Blyton finished several of her long-running series in 1963, including The Famous Five (Five Are Together Again) and The Secret Seven (Fun for the Secret Seven). In 1962, many of her books were published in paperback by Armada Books, making them more affordable for children.
After 1963, Blyton mostly wrote short stories and books for very young readers, like Learn to Count with Noddy (1965). This change happened because her health was declining and older children were reading her less. She published her last Noddy book, Noddy and the Aeroplane, in February 1964. In August 1965, she released her last full-length books, The Man Who Stopped to Help and The Boy Who Came Back.
Magazine and Newspaper Stories
Enid Blyton became even more famous when she started editing Sunny Stories magazine in 1926. This magazine featured retold legends, myths, and stories for children. That same year, she got her own column in Teachers' World. Three years later, she started writing a weekly page in the magazine, where she published letters from her fox terrier dog, Bobs. These letters were so popular that they were published as a book, Letters from Bobs, which sold 10,000 copies in its first week!
Sunny Stories was renamed Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories in 1937 and was used to publish her books in parts. Blyton stopped writing for it in 1952, and the magazine closed. Soon after, the new Enid Blyton Magazine appeared, written entirely by her. It ran from 1953 to 1959.
Noddy first appeared in the Sunday Graphic newspaper in 1949, and also in a daily comic strip for the London Evening Standard.
How She Wrote Her Stories
Enid Blyton wrote in many different styles, from fairy tales to animal stories, mysteries, and circus tales. She often mixed these styles in her books. She once wrote that her favorite stories were those about families.
Blyton explained that she wrote very quickly, sometimes 60,000 words in just five days for a book like The River of Adventure. She said her ideas came from her "under-mind," which was like a deep part of her imagination. She didn't like to do research or plan her books much. She believed her stories came from everything she had ever experienced, seen, or heard, even things she had forgotten. She said, "If I tried to think out or invent the whole book, I could not do it. For one thing, it would bore me."
Enid Blyton's daily routine was usually the same. She started writing after breakfast with her portable typewriter on her lap. She liked to have her red Moroccan shawl nearby, believing the color red helped her think. She would write until five o'clock, usually producing 6,000–10,000 words a day.
Many readers feel that Blyton's books offer an escape to a world where children are in charge and can solve mysteries. Her daughter Gillian said that her adventure and school stories had strong storylines with lots of exciting moments, a skill Blyton learned from writing for magazines. Her books always had a clear moral message, where bravery and loyalty were rewarded. Blyton herself said, "my love of children is the whole foundation of all my work."
Some people found it hard to believe that one person could write so many books. Rumors started in the mid-1950s that she had "ghost writers" helping her. Blyton was very upset by this and even took legal action against a librarian who repeated the rumor. The librarian had to apologize publicly.
Helping Others: Charitable Work
Enid Blyton felt it was her duty to give her readers a strong moral compass. She encouraged them to support good causes. She believed children should help animals and other children, rather than just adults.
Blyton and the members of her children's clubs raised a lot of money for different charities. She said that being part of her clubs meant "working for others, for no reward." The biggest club she was involved with was the Busy Bees, the junior section of the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. Blyton had supported this animal charity since 1933. After she promoted it in her magazine, it gained 100,000 members in three years! When Blyton became "Queen Bee" in 1952, over 20,000 new members joined in just one year.
The Enid Blyton Magazine Club was formed in 1953. Its main goal was to raise money for children with cerebral palsy at a center in London.
The Famous Five series was so popular that readers asked Blyton if they could start a fan club. She agreed, but only if it had a useful purpose. She suggested they raise money for the Shaftesbury Society Babies' Home in Beaconsfield. The club started in 1952 and helped fund a "Famous Five Ward" at the home, a paddling pool, and even birthday and Christmas celebrations. By the late 1950s, Blyton's clubs had 500,000 members and raised £35,000 in six years!
By 1974, the Famous Five Club had 220,000 members. Even after the Beaconsfield home closed, the club continued to raise money for other children's charities, including a special bed at Great Ormond Street Hospital and a mini-bus for disabled children.
Her Life at Home
On August 28, 1924, Enid Blyton married Hugh Alexander Pollock. He was an editor at George Newnes, which became her regular publisher. He asked her to write a book about animals, which became The Zoo Book. They first lived in a flat in Chelsea, then moved to Elfin Cottage in Beckenham, and later to Old Thatch in Bourne End in 1929. Blyton's first daughter, Gillian, was born on July 15, 1931. Her second daughter, Imogen, was born on October 27, 1935.
In 1938, the family moved to a house in Beaconsfield, which Blyton's readers named Green Hedges in a competition. Blyton and Pollock separated in 1941 and later divorced.
Enid Blyton married Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters, a surgeon, on October 20, 1943. She changed her daughters' last names to Darrell Waters and embraced her new life as a doctor's wife.
Blyton's health began to decline in 1957. By 1960, she was showing signs of dementia, which is now known as Alzheimer's disease. Her husband's health also worsened in the 1960s until his death in 1967.
The story of Blyton's life was made into a BBC film called Enid in 2009, starring Helena Bonham Carter.
Her Last Years and Lasting Impact
In the months after her husband's death, Enid Blyton became more and more ill. She moved into a nursing home three months before she passed away. She died peacefully in her sleep from Alzheimer's disease on November 28, 1968, at the age of 71. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.
Blyton's home, Green Hedges, was sold and taken down in 1973. Now, houses and a street called Blyton Close are there. A special English Heritage blue plaque marks her childhood home in East Dulwich. In 2014, another plaque was put up in Beaconsfield to remember her time living there.
After her death, and especially after her daughter Imogen's autobiography in 1989, some people saw Blyton as a complex person. However, her eldest daughter Gillian remembered her as "a fair and loving mother, and a fascinating companion."
The Enid Blyton Trust for Children was set up in 1982 to help children. In 1995, The Enid Blyton Society was formed for fans and collectors. In 1997, to celebrate 100 years since her birth, exhibitions were held, and the Royal Mail even issued special stamps.
Companies have continued to manage Blyton's works. In 2013, Hachette UK bought the rights to many of her books, including The Famous Five. The rights to Noddy were sold to DreamWorks Classics in 2012.
Blyton's granddaughter, Sophie Smallwood, wrote a new Noddy book in 2009 to celebrate the character's 60th birthday. In 2011, a previously unknown novel by Blyton, Mr Tumpy's Caravan, was found.
Enid Blyton remains incredibly popular. In a 1982 survey, she was voted the most popular writer by 10,000 eleven-year-old children. She is the world's fourth most-translated author, with her books translated into 90 languages. From 2000 to 2010, she sold almost 8 million copies in the UK alone. In 2003, The Magic Faraway Tree was voted 66th in the BBC's Big Read poll for the UK's favorite book. In 2008, she was voted Britain's best-loved author. Her books are still very popular in countries like India, Australia, and China.
Blyton's books have influenced many other writers. For example, the crime writer Denise Danks based her detective Georgina Powers on George from the Famous Five.
What Critics Said
Some critics thought Blyton's stories were too simple and repetitive. Many teachers and librarians felt her books were not good enough for children and removed them from school lists and public libraries. The BBC even avoided making her books into radio shows for a long time, calling her a "second-rater" without much literary skill.
Blyton didn't care much about what adults thought. She said she was only interested in the views of children under 12. She believed that half the criticism came from jealousy and the rest from people who hadn't even read her books.
Despite the criticism, Blyton's books were seen by many as a good, "English" alternative to the growing influence of American culture like rock music and comics in the 1950s.
Books on Stage and Screen
In 1954, Blyton adapted Noddy for the stage, creating the Noddy in Toyland pantomime. This show was very popular and ran during Christmas for several years. Blyton loved seeing how children reacted to it. TV shows about Noddy have been made since 1954.
In 1955, a stage play based on the Famous Five was produced. In 1997, The Famous Five Musical toured the UK. The Secret Seven Save the World was first performed in Cardiff in 1998.
There have been several film and TV shows based on the Famous Five:
- By the Children's Film Foundation in 1957 and 1964.
- By Southern Television in 1978–79.
- By Zenith Productions in 1995–97.
- A German film, Fünf Freunde, was released in 2011.
The British comedy group The Comic Strip also made funny parodies of the Famous Five for TV, like Five Go Mad in Dorset (1982).
Blyton's The Faraway Tree series has also been adapted for TV and film. In 1997, the BBC started an animated series called The Enchanted Lands. In 2014, it was announced that the series would be made into a live-action film.
Malory Towers was adapted into a musical in 2020. In 2019, Malory Towers was also made into a 13-part TV series for the BBC, which aired in 2020.
Images for kids
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Enid Blyton's signature
