Enid Mary Blyton was born in East Dulwich in 1897. She was a gifted child and learned to play the piano at a young age. She also enjoyed writing. After finishing her education Enid became a teacher, though she continued to write in her spare time. In 1922 her first book was published, Child Whispers, a compilation of poems she had written for children.
Over the next 46 years Enid Blyton wrote over 750 books. Her most famous creations being The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and Noddy. Her works have been greatly criticised. Some see them as racist, sexist and elitist. It must be remembered, however, that Enid Blyton was from a particular era and the values of the time were much different than they are today. Despite all of this Enid Blyton is without doubt the most successful children’s author of the 20th Century.
Test your knowledge of Enid Blyton in this fun quiz about her life and her works.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Timmy belongs to the tomboy George. The other three members of the Famous Five are the siblings Julian, Dick and Anne
|
Thomas was a cutlery salesman at first, then he sold Yorkshire cloth before setting up his own business selling clothes
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adventures of the Wishing-Chair, published in 1937, was her first full-length book
|
The bodywork and the hubcaps are yellow
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
There were five books in the series, published between 1938 and 1952
|
The Secret Seven also had a dog, Scamper
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
The article criticises Blyton's The Little Black Doll in which a black doll called Sambo is hated by his owner and the other toys. His face is washed clean by rain and then he is welcomed back with his new, pink face
|
Martha Monkey is a modern replacement for the books' original character, Gilbert Golly
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
There were a total of six books in the St Clare's series, published between 1941 and 1945
|
The satire exaggerated certain aspects of the original Famous Five, for example their taste for outdoor picnics
|