Enid Blyton

Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English author of children's books and one of the most commercially successful writers in that genre. Her books have been selling well globally since the 1930s, with over 600 million copies sold and translations into ninety languages. By June 2019, she ranked as the fourth most translated author in the world. Her subjects ranged widely, covering education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and Bible stories. She is most famous for series such as Noddy, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, and Malory Towers, but also wrote many others, including St. Clare's, The Naughtiest Girl, and The Faraway Tree.

Her first publication, *Child Whispers*, was a 24-page poetry collection released in 1922. After early novels like *Adventures of the Wishing-Chair* (1937) and *The Enchanted Wood* (1939) became commercial hits, she built a literary empire, sometimes producing fifty books a year alongside her many magazine and newspaper pieces. She wrote without planning, letting stories unfold from her subconscious as she typed. The enormous volume and speed of her output led to rumours that she used ghostwriters, which she strongly denied.

From the 1950s onward, her work drew increasing criticism from literary critics, teachers, and parents, who argued her writing was too simple and her themes—especially in the Noddy books—lacked depth. Some libraries and schools banned her works, and from the 1930s to the 1950s, the BBC refused to air her stories, citing poor literary quality. Her books have been labelled elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic, and out of step with the more progressive attitudes of post-World War II Britain. Even so, updated versions of her books have remained popular since her death in 1968.

Blyton believed she owed her readers a strong moral framework and encouraged them to support good causes. Through clubs she founded or backed, she organised children to raise money for animal and children's charities. Her life was dramatised in the 2009 BBC television film *Enid*, starring Helena Bonham Carter.

**Early life and education**

Enid Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 in East Dulwich, south London, the only daughter and eldest of three children. Her father, Thomas Carey Blyton, worked as a cutlery salesman (the 1911 census lists him as a "Mantle Manufacturer dealer [in] women's suits, skirts, etc."), and her mother was Theresa Mary (née Harrison). Her younger brothers, Hanly and Carey, were born after the family moved to a semi-detached house in Beckenham, then a Kent village. Months after her birth, Enid nearly died from whooping cough but was nursed back to health by her father, whom she adored. Thomas sparked her love of nature; in her autobiography she wrote that he "loved flowers and birds and wild animals, and knew more about them than anyone I had ever met." He also shared his interests in gardening, painting, music, literature, and theatre, and they often went on nature walks, which displeased Enid's mother, who showed little interest in her daughter's activities.

Enid was devastated when her father left the family shortly after her 13th birthday to live with another woman, with whom he had more children. Her relationship with her mother was poor; she despised her so much that after leaving home she never saw her again and led people to believe her mother was dead. She did not attend either parent's funeral.

From 1907 to 1915, Blyton attended St Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she excelled in physical activities, becoming school tennis champion and lacrosse captain. She was not keen on all academic subjects but shone in writing. In 1911, she entered Arthur Mee's children's poetry competition; Mee offered to print her verses and encouraged her to write more. Her mother considered her writing a "waste of time and money," but Mabel Attenborough, the aunt of school friend Mary Potter, urged her to continue.

Her father taught her piano, and she became skilled enough that he thought she might become a professional musician like his sister May. Blyton considered enrolling at the Guildhall School of Music but decided writing suited her better. After finishing school in 1915 as head girl, she moved out of the family home to live with friend Mary Attenborough, then stayed with George and Emily Hunt at Seckford Hall near Woodbridge, Suffolk. The house, with its reportedly haunted room and secret passageway, later inspired her writing. At Woodbridge Congregational Church, she met Ida Hunt, a teacher at Ipswich High School, who suggested she train there as a teacher. Blyton visited the nursery school, recognised her natural rapport with children, and enrolled in a National Froebel Union teacher training course at the school in September 1916. By then, she had nearly cut off all contact with her family.

Her manuscripts were rejected by publishers many times, but this only strengthened her resolve. She said, "It is partly the struggle that helps you so much, that gives you determination, character, self-reliance – all things that help in any profession or trade, and most certainly in writing." In March 1916, her first poems appeared in *Nash's Magazine*. She completed her teacher training in December 1918 and the following...