Children's detective Enid Blyton. Literary worlds for children and young people

August 11 would have been the 120th birthday of Enid Mary Blyton, a famous British writer who worked in the genre of children's and youth literature.

The English-speaking world has been reading her books since the late 1930s, and in the ranking of the most translated authors for 2008, she takes an honorable sixth place, behind books based on Disney cartoons, Agatha Christie, Jules Verne, Vladimir Lenin and William Shakespeare.

Enid Mary Blyton was born on August 11, 1897, in London, in the family of a small clerk, passionate about drawing, photography and music, and was the eldest of three children of Thomas Carey Blyton, a cutlery merchant, and Teresa Mary Harrison Blyton. A few months after her birth, Enid almost died of whooping cough, but her father, whom she simply adored, nursed her home. It was Thomas who sparked her interest in nature. In her autobiography, Blyton wrote that he "loved flowers, birds and wild animals and knew more about them than anyone."

In addition, Enid’s father instilled his interest in gardening, music, literature and theater, and with him the future writer loved to walk in nature. Teresa was practically not interested in her daughter’s hobbies. Thomas Carey Blyton later turned out to be a successful businessman and managed to pay for all his three children to attend private schools. From 1907 to 1915, Blyton studied at St. Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she enjoyed playing sports. Other disciplines were not so easy, but success in writing was obvious; she was destined for a career as a pianist, but she became a teacher. Blyton experienced a real shock shortly after her thirteenth birthday when her father left the family for another woman.

Having practically lost contact with her family, Blyton threw herself headlong into writing and prepared to become a teacher. Moreover, in the mid-1920s she opened her own elementary school. However, Blyton did not remain its director for long: she had already gotten married, tried her hand at writing (starting, however, with a collection of poems in 1922) and founded her own children's magazine, Sunny Stories. He won a small but loyal audience, which ensured Blyton's real popularity a few years later.

Blyton covered a variety of topics, including education and science, interpreted biblical narratives, and wrote in a variety of genres, including fantasy and detective fiction.

Blyton's most memorable character is Noddy, a wooden boy with a blue cap on his head with bells, much like Pinocchio as a baby. This character appears in stories for children who are still learning to read.

Her series of children's detective books, The Fab Five, also remains popular. So, in 1942, one of Blyton’s most famous books was published: “Five on Treasure Island.” The heroes of the story are two brothers and a sister from a wealthy family, their cousin Georgina, who wants to be a boy, and a dog. All conceivable children's problems fit into this simple structure: relationships between relatives from different walks of life, between boys and girls, parents and children, teachers and students, and so on. It is not surprising that there were 21 books in the Fab Five series. Korney Chukovsky wrote about one of Enid Blyton’s books (article “Thrillers and Chillers”):

“... Enid Blyton surpassed everyone. In the role of an experienced detective, she brought out an unusually smart eight-year-old girl, whose intelligence surpassed famous detectives and regularly leaves the professional policeman Goon in the cold. This book appeared in the English publishing house “Dragon” (“Dragon”), which publishes detective stories for small children from 6 to 8 years old (“Blue Dragon”) and from 8 to 12 years old (“Red Dragon”).”

The Secret Seven, another children's company with a dog among the characters, took over 15 detective stories from Blyton.

Although secrets and treasures work flawlessly in children's books, Enid Blyton did not limit herself to detective stories: she also wrote magical stories, for example, about a miracle tree that threw heroes into fairy-tale lands, scary and wonderful. She had two popular non-fairy tale series about boarding schools: Malory Towers and Saint Clair. In the first there is one main character, in the second there are two, but they are twin sisters. She also wrote pedagogical stories, like “Mistletoe Farm,” in which city and village children learned to live together. By the way, this collision was not at all invented by Blyton: hundreds and thousands of small English townspeople were evacuated at the beginning of the war to villages inland, and more than one British children's writer noted this.

Writer Nicholas Tucker notes that Blyton created "an isolated world for young readers, and this world simply dissolved with age, leaving only memories of emotional excitement and strong identification with the characters." Imogen, Enid's daughter, said that her mother "loved to enter into relationships with children through her books," but real children were always troublemakers, which is why such "intruders" had a place only in the world depicted by the writer's imagination.

Enid felt she had a responsibility to help her readers determine where moral boundaries began and ended, and because of this she encouraged her audience to become involved in socially significant causes. In particular, she created or supported community clubs and organized or helped create animal and children's fundraising campaigns for charities.

Blyton's life story is depicted in the 2009 BBC film Enid, in which she is played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Exactly how many books Blyton wrote during her life (she died at the age of 71 in 1968) is unknown: estimates range from 700 to 800 titles. The total circulation of her stories amounts to tens of millions of copies; The Magnificent Five alone is reprinted in millions of copies annually.

Now Blyton's heirs, who own the rights to republish her texts, are going to release twenty new sequels to her most popular series. It is unknown who will write the stories, but is it really that important? After all, Enid Blyton did not come up with a genre, but an idea: her adventure stories are a replacement for grandmothers’ and parents’ evening fairy tales. They may be monotonous and sketchy, but children don’t get bored with them until they stop being children. By the way, English adults still call Blyton their favorite writer.

The writer's books were and still remain extremely popular in Great Britain and in many other countries of the world, including Russia.

The Fab Five series:

The Mystery of Treasure Island (1942)

Mystery of the Gems (1943)

The Mystery of the Old Dungeon (1944)

The Mystery of Smuggler's Top (1945)

The Mystery of the Traveling Circus (1946)

Mystery of the Secret Laboratory (1947)

Mystery of the Phantom Train (1948)

The Mystery of Owl Hill (1949)

The Mystery of the Red-Headed Snatcher (1950)

The Mystery of the Dismal Lake (1951)

The Mystery of the Ruined Castle (1952)

The Mystery of the Coastal Cliffs (1953)

The Mystery of the Gypsy Camp (1954)

The Mystery of the Silver Limousine (1955)

The Mystery of the Tangled Trail (1956)

The Mystery of Billicock Hill (1957)

The Mystery of the Glowing Mountain (1958)

The Mystery of the Underground Corridor (1960)

The Mystery of the Underwater Cave (1961)

The Mystery of the Golden Statues (1962)

The Mystery of the Golden Watch (1963)

Series “Five Young Detectives and a Faithful Dog”:

Mystery of the Burnt Cottage (1943)

The Mystery of the Missing Cat (1944)

Mystery of the Secret Room (1945)

The Mystery of the Planted Letters (1946)

The Mystery of the Missing Necklace (1947)

The Mystery of the Forest House (1948)

The Mystery of the Mime Cat (1949)

The Mystery of the Invisible Thief (1950)

The Mystery of the Vanishing Prince (1951)

The Mystery of the Strange Package (1952)

The Mistletoe Cottage Mystery (1953)

The Mystery of Tully-Ho Cottage (1954)

The Mystery of the Man with the Scar (1956)

The Mystery of the Cryptic Messages (1957)

The Mystery of the Ancient Tower (1961)

Series "Secret Seven":

Secret Seven (1949)

The Adventures of the Secret Seven (1950)

The success of The Secret Seven (1951)

The Secret Seven are on the trail (1952)

Keep it up, Secret Seven! (1953)

Good luck, Secret Seven! (1954)

Complete victory of the "Secret Seven" (1955)

Three cheers for the Secret Seven! (1956)

Secrets of the Secret Seven (1957)

Riddle for The Secret Seven (1958)

The Secret Seven Set Off Fireworks (1959)

Good old "Secret Seven" (1960)

Series “Four Friends and Kiki the Parrot”:

The Mystery of the Dead Island (1944)

The Secret of the Eagle's Nest (1946)

Treasure Valley Mystery (1947)

Enid Mary Blyton was born on August 11, 1897, in London, the eldest of three children of Thomas Carey Blyton, a cutlery merchant, and Theresa Mary Harrison Blyton. A few months after her birth, Enid almost died of whooping cough, but her father, whom she simply adored, nursed her home. It was Thomas who sparked her interest in nature. In her autobiography, Blyton wrote that he "loved flowers, birds and wild animals and knew more about them than anyone."

In addition, Enid’s father instilled his interest in gardening, music, literature and theater, and with him the future writer loved to walk in nature. Teresa was practically not interested in her daughter’s hobbies. Blyton experienced a real shock shortly after her thirteenth birthday when her father left the family for another woman.

From 1907 to 1915, Blyton studied at St. Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she enjoyed playing sports. Other disciplines were not so easy, but success in writing was obvious. In 1911, she participated in a children's poetry competition. Her mother considered the development of Enid's writing abilities to be "a waste of time and money", but Mabel Attenborough, the aunt of one of Enid's friends, came to the aid of the talented girl.

Having practically lost contact with her family, Blyton threw herself headlong into writing and prepared to become a teacher. Repeatedly, her first works were rejected by publishers, which only gave her confidence to continue what she started. She wrote: “It is partly the struggle that helps you so much, which gives you determination, self-confidence and builds character. All this helps in any profession or craft and, of course, in writing.” In March 1916, her first poems were published in Nash's Magazine.

Her first published book, Child Whispers, was a 24-page collection of poetry. This significant event took place in 1922. Blyton covered a variety of topics, including education and science, interpreted biblical narratives, and wrote in a variety of genres, including fantasy and detective fiction. Blyton's most memorable character is Noddy, a wooden boy with a blue cap on his head with bells. This character appears in stories for children who are still learning to read. Her series of children's detective books, The Fab Five, also remains popular. At first, Enid prepared no more than eight stories for release, but commercial success helped extend the adventures of the Fab Five to 21 books. Among Blyton's other works, the Secret Seven series also occupies a prominent place.

Having made good money from her early novels, such as 1937's The Adventures of the Magic Chair, Blyton continued to build her literary empire, sometimes publishing 50 books a year, not counting her published works in newspapers and magazines. She wrote without any plans or ideas, largely drawing the plot from her subconscious. Blyton simply transferred to paper the stories that unfolded in her rich imagination. Because of such speed and volume of work, rumors spread that Edith was using a whole army of literary blacks, but she persistently denied rumors that others were working for her.

In a letter to psychologist Peter McKellar, she describes her technique as follows: "I close my eyes for a few minutes, holding my portable typewriter on my knee. I leave my mind blank and wait. And then I begin to see as clearly as if the real ones were in front of me." children are my characters from my imagination... The first sentence comes straight from my head, and I don’t have to think about it, I don’t have to think about anything.”

Over time, Blyton's work caused more and more controversy in the circles of literary critics, teachers and parents. Some libraries and schools have refused her works. From 1930 to 1950, the BBC, citing the “lack of literary merit” in Blyton’s works, did not broadcast projects based on the writer’s books. Her books have been called elitist, sexist, racist and xenophobic. Blyton did not belong to “the more liberal environment” emerging in post-war Britain, but after her death in 1968 her books continued to be bestsellers.

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Writer Nicholas Tucker notes that Blyton created "an isolated world for young readers that simply dissolved with age, leaving only memories of emotional excitement and strong identification with the characters." Fred Inglis believes that Blyton's books are formally easy to read, as well as easy to understand and digest. He notes that psychologist Michael Woods believed that Blyton "was a child, thought like a child and wrote like a child... Enid Blyton had no moral dilemmas." Imogen, Enid's daughter, stated that her mother "loved to enter into relationships with children through her books," but real children were always troublemakers, which is why such "intruders" had a place only in the world depicted by the writer's imagination.

Enid felt she had a responsibility to help her readers determine where moral boundaries began and ended, and because of this she encouraged her audience to become involved in socially significant causes. In particular, she created or supported community clubs and organized or helped create animal and children's fundraising campaigns for charities.

Blyton's life story is depicted in the 2009 BBC film Enid, where she is played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Blyton Enid Blyton Career: Writer
Birth: 11.8.1897
Famous English writer who worked in the genre of children's and youth literature. She became one of the most successful teenage writers of the twentieth century.

She was noted for several series of books intended for different age groups, with recurring main characters. These books were a great success in many parts of the world, selling more than 400 million copies. By one estimate, Blyton is the fifth most popular author in the world: according to Index Translationum; By 2007, UNESCO had made more than 3,400 translations of her books; in this respect she is inferior to Lenin, but superior to Shakespeare.

One of the writer's most famous characters is Noddy, who appears in stories for young children just learning to understand the text. However, its main strength was novels in which children got into exciting adventures and unraveled intriguing mysteries in practice without the help of adults. Particularly popular in this genre are the series The Magnificent Five (consists of 21 novels, 1942-1963; the main characters are four teenagers and a dog), Five Mysteries and a Dog (or Five Young Detectives and a Faithful Dog, according to other translations; consists of 15 novels, 1943-1961, in which five children always bypass the local police in investigating complicated incidents), and also The Secret Seven (15 novels, 1949-1963, seven children solve various mysteries).

Enid Blyton's books contain children's adventure stories, as well as elements of fantasy, sometimes involving magic. Her books were and still remain terribly popular in Great Britain and in many other countries of the world, including Russia. The writer's works have been translated into more than 90 languages, including Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Spanish and Turkish.

Personal being

Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 in London, Lordship Lane (West Dulwich), abode 354. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Carey Blyton (1870-1920), a cutlery merchant, and his wife Teresa Mary, née Harrison (1874-1950). There were two more younger sons, Hanley (born 1899) and Carey (born 1902), who were born after the family moved to the nearby suburb of Beckenham. From 1907 to 1915, Blyton attended St. Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she excelled academically. She enjoyed both academic service and physical activity equally, although she did not like mathematics.

Most famous works

* The Barney Mystery

* The Famous Five

*The Magic Faraway Tree

* The Malory Towers

* The Mary Mouse

* The Mystery series (Five Find-Outers)

*The Naughtiest Girl

* The Amelia Jane

*The Secret Seven

*The Wishing-Chair

* The Willow Farm.

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Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was one of the most popular English writers of the 20th century. Her books for children and teenagers have been translated into 90 languages ​​and have sold more than 450 million copies in total.

Enid Blyton was born in 1897 in the suburbs of London into the family of a knife dealer. She had a poor family, her father Thomas was constantly looking for work in order to feed the family. In 1899, Enid and her parents moved to Beckenham, where her 2 younger brothers were born.

The girl spends most of her time with her father - they walk through the countryside and talk about literature. Thomas Blyton was a very well-read man; he had a large home library. It is he who instills in his daughter a passion for books, while the mother does not approve of her daughter’s passion for music and literature.

In 1907, Enid entered St Christopher's School in Beckenham. She likes studying there, she does well academically, and only has difficulties with mathematics. Among extracurricular activities, the future writer prefers participating in plays, tennis and athletics.

Young Enid Blyton writes her first stories while still at school. Together with their friends, they publish a handwritten magazine. At the age of 13, the girl learns that her parents are going to divorce, and her father is leaving to live with another woman. For Enid, this comes as a big blow, since now she will not see her father often, and this relationship plays a huge role for her. She pours out her thoughts on paper, writes many stories, poems and poems.

She sends her works to magazines, but they don’t want to publish them. Since her passion is children's stories, she decides to become a teacher to get to know teenagers better. After working in an elementary school for a year, she gets a job as a nanny for a family with four small children. Enid reads her stories to them, and they become her first and most important listeners.

First successes

In the 1920s, Enid began to publish in magazines; her stories were published in separate thin books. At the age of 27, she marries editor George Nevnes, who supports her hobbies and helps her in everything. It was he who taught Enid to use a typewriter, which made it easier for her to write stories.

The young family settled in an old mansion in Buckinghamshire, where they had many pets. Enid's most beloved pet was the fox terrier Bob, on whose behalf she even wrote short notes in the magazine under the heading “Letters from Bob.”

In the 1930s, 2 daughters were born to the family, Enid writes stories with a vengeance, over time gaining admirers of her work. Gradually, their marriage with George is cracking, they are increasingly moving away from each other. In 1938, Enid and her daughters moved to a separate house.

Career blossoming

In 1941, Enid Blyton married for the second time. Her chosen one is surgeon Kenneth Fraser. Living with her husband in Dorset, Enid writes her best stories. It was at this time that the series of works “The Secret Five”, “Five Young Detectives and Their Faithful Dog”, “Four Friends and Kiki the Parrot” that brought her popularity were published.

In 1950, Enid created Darrell Watters to manage her growing profits. The characters in her stories become very popular among children, they have their own fan clubs, educational games and souvenirs are produced with them.

last years of life

In the last year of her life, Enid Blyton complained of memory loss and deterioration in spatial orientation. She could no longer write stories or read books because she immediately forgot everything. In 1968, Enid died peacefully in a sanatorium at the age of 71.