Enid Blyton's most beloved characters are still famous for a reason
Kate Green argues that, despite later edits to the children's books, Enid Blyton's Famous Five are still childhood heroes and heroines.
Enid Blyton's prodigious output of hearty stories for young people may have been mocked and satirised over the years — some are no longer in print due to ‘outdated’ themes and attitudes — but her lively stories about naughty schoolgirls, buried treasure and midnight feasts continue to absorb generations of children, as well as adult collectors.
Enid Blyton at home in Beaconsfield in 1968, the year she died.
Blyton (1897–1968) was also an avid reader in childhood and knew how to captivate, saying of Louisa M. Alcott’s Little Women: ‘Those were real children… That’s the kind of book I like best.’ The wholesome activities of the Famous Five have arguably survived best in popular imagination and, in 2008, inspired a Disney animation; GWR currently uses their adventures to advertise outings by train to the West Country.
Michelle Gallagher as Georgina, Gary Russell as Dick, Marcus Harris as Julian, Jenny Thanisch as Anne and Toddy as Timmy the dog in the 'Famous Five' TV adaptation of 1978.
The quintet was introduced in Five On A Treasure Island, in which Julian (nearly grown-up and the natural team leader), Dick (boyish, brave) and Anne (domesticated, feminine, cautious) spend the summer holidays at Kirrin Bay with their Uncle Quentin, an irascible scientist, prodigious baker Aunt Fanny and cousin George (uncompromising tomboy), who owns a mongrel dog, Timmy. Blyton wrote 21 in all between 1942 and 1963 and there were numerous spin-offs and annuals.
Blyton by numbers
- Blyton’s books have been translated into 40 languages
- More than 500 million copies of Enid Blyton’s books have been sold — that’s about one book sale every minute
- In 1933, Letters from Bobs (her fox terrier) sold 10,000 copies in the first week
- In the 1940s and 1950s, she was publishing at a rate of 20-plus books a year, including the ‘Secret Seven’ and ‘Malory Towers’ series
- In 1955, Blyton took legal action to counteract rumours that she couldn’t possibly have written everything herself
At school in Kent, where Blyton was head girl, she started a magazine, Dab, and wrote poems and short stories. She gave up her place at the Guildhall School of Music to train as a teacher — her early writings included educational books and contributions to Teachers World magazine.
Her first husband, Maj Hugh Pollock, an editor at George Newnes, encouraged her to buy a typewriter, which revolutionised her output. As for many prominent figures, however, there was no escape from the unflattering posthumous biopic. In Enid (2009), Blyton, played by Helena Bonham Carter, was portrayed as ruthless and unlikeable. There was little mention of her charitable fundraising in which young readers were encouraged to raise money for sick animals and disabled children through clubs, such as the Busy Bees and Sunbeam.
Her publisher, Hachette UK, explains that the process of editing out ‘offensive terms’ began in Blyton’s own lifetime and still continues, but that the intention is to keep her stories ‘at the heart of every childhood’. Indeed, her fan club thrives and the annual Enid Blyton Day (on August 23 this year) attracts more than 100 attendees.
Helena Bonham Carter as Blyton in 'Enid' (2009).
This feature originally appeared in the July 22, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
