|
:updated [[Talk:Lewis Carroll]]
We've changed the maximum allowed pages. Outta here.
== 2010-02- 26 19:42 ==
:updated [[Talk:Enid Blyton]]
::old: {{WPBiography
|living=no
|class=Start
|priority=
|a&e-work-group=yes
|needs-photo=yes
|listas=Blyton, Enid
}}
{{Children'sLiteratureWikiProject|class = start|importance = high}}
{{Talk header}}
==Enid Blyton the writer?==
The article could say something about what made Blyton start to write, how she created her famous characters, how she kept up the volume of writing, etc. <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:59.92.175.174|59.92.175.174]] ([[User talk:59.92.175.174|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/59.92.175.174|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}.</small>
==Yanks==
You Americans smell to relax with your PC. A book can be good and yet have a girl playing with a doll. Why do you have to spoil everything with pathetics polemics?
: Fully agree - Tom
----
We need some mention of educationalists disapproving of her books because they are so simple to read (though they have ''stories'' and are devoured by children).
And then there's the matter of recent reissues of Noddy, with an ethnically cleansed Toytown...
----
I used to love these books as a kid, particularly the Mystery ones. Although upon re-reading them as an adult they are terribly sexist and racist. [[user:Mark Jeays|Mark Jeays]]
:And yet are still bought in thier millions all over the world, maybe a good story well told rises above such trivialities [[Special:Contributions/86.159.19.171|86.159.19.171]] ([[User talk:86.159.19.171|talk]]) 18:55, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
----
For good or bad such were the times Mark though they remain great children's books - the ones i didn't wear to pieces reading so much are safely stored away for my own future kids to read one day.
Paul Melville Austin
----
Should the attitude of Enid Blyton Ltd toward fan sites ("Shut down or we'll sue you, claiming copyright infringement and libel" even if the information is reasonably accurate, and works are [[:fair use|used fairly]]) be documented?
--[[User:Damian Yerrick|Damian Yerrick]]
----
Didn't EB play tennis in the nude? -- [[User:Tarquin|Tarquin]]
----
EB's real name is Darryl Waters. I think someone should put that on the page. Also, I remember reading somewhere that she used to mistreat her own children.
:Waters was her second married name: see [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/eblyton.htm] for more biography. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 09:10, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)
==EB's writing quality==
The main reason for the withdrawal of Blyton books from school libraries was actually very little to do with racism or sexism, it was far more connected with the fact that Blyton simply didn't write very well, and her use of English is rather poor. The tabloids seized upon this as another example of "Loony Lefty Political Correctness", but the racism and sexism aspect was certainly more of an afterthought than anything else.
laugh on both issues. IMO her critics, on both grounds, have mainly shown that they didn't '''understand''' what she wrote. [[User:Andrewa|Andrewa]] 16:24, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
::It was certainly the librarians. Her books grew out of her teaching background and 'reading schemes', so she was very self-conscious about vocabulary levels in different age groups. The article should add material on her early life, to expand on that. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 12:53, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
:::That sounds good. I'm not able to write much, my information comes mainly from the books I was given as a child, some of which I still have, see [[user:andrewa/Enid Blyton]]. Most of them were [[The Famous Five (characters)|Famous Five]] and similar which I did '''not''' like at all but people kept giving them to me, possibly in the hope of educating me in what children ''ought'' to enjoy! I was reading chemistry books, [[Arthur Ransome]] and [[Carl Barks]] comics mainly at that age. I have also used my mother's memories of using Blyton's teaching material in a primary school in England in the late 1940s, but I have to be a bit wary of wandering into original research there.
:::My suspicion is that the reason that Blyton's books sold so well (and still do) is that she was 'way ahead of her time in her approach. The [[Teletubbies]] was based on a scholarly analysis of the way very young children speak. That's great, but in other ways, big deal. Blyton (and many billions of grandmothers) did it instinctively. [[User:Andrewa|Andrewa]] 00:58, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
== birthyear? ==
on top it says it's 1897, the category is 1896 births though - can someone clarify?
== NZ library ban ==
'This gave rise to the first rumour of a New Zealand 'library ban' on Blyton’s books, a recurrent press canard'
I grew up in NZ and as a child I do remember there being no Enid Blyton books in the school or public library. When I asked about this, I was told they were banned. This was back in about 1990. They were finally unbanned towards the end of the 90's. Any other Kiwi's back me up on this one? I would change the artical myself, but it could be the fact that the public libraries I went to just happened to have a ban on the books and it might not have been NZ wide.
= 'artical'?
:You would have to give a reliable reference. Some librarians simply objected to buying Blyton books, it seems, because they wanted children to read something more literary. Budget decisions are not 'bans', as such. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 21:55, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
:I remember growing up in New Zealand and hiring the books from public libraries, this would have been around '95 onwards. This could have been selection by the Library staff rather than an entire ban, at least from this point onwards. [[User:Nik Rolls|Nik Rolls]] ([[User talk:Nik Rolls|talk]]) 07:44, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
I grew up with Enid Blyton books, through the 70's, as my parents brought them out to New Zealand when they immigrated here. I recall that they were not available in Wellington public libraries, and was lead to believe they had been banned. <small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Medicnz|Medicnz]] ([[User talk:Medicnz|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Medicnz|contribs]]) 02:49, 2 May 2009 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
== Gollywogs ==
The article claims that only one Gollywog appears as a villain in one Noddy book. However I remember as a child reading a Noddy story in which there was a gang of Golllywogs patrolling the woods and harrassing people. <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:83.71.19.187|83.71.19.187]] ([[User talk:83.71.19.187|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/83.71.19.187|contribs]]) 15:30, 11 September 2006.</small>
:I had a nearly complete Noddy book set when I was a child - so we're talking over 35 years ago. As I recall the golliwog was frquently a villain of the piece. I also recall that some time during my teens the books were PC'd up and republished, largely without the golliwogs, and with other characters substituted. [[User:Cain Mosni|Cain Mosni]] 15:03, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
== Controversies ==
The "controversies" section needs a major rewrite - it reads like an editorial opinion piece. [[User:217.155.20.163|217.155.20.163]] 21:00, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
Completely agree (SW)
== step-parents ==
isn't it odd that EB re-named her children to their step-father's name, but in almost all the Famous Five books, she slags off step parents and step parenting. (nankai, a step-dad) <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[Special:Contributions/125.239.42.209|125.239.42.209]] ([[User talk:125.239.42.209|talk]]) 20:33, 13 March 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->
== "critically acclaimed"? ==
I was a little surprised to see this in the opening, and I say that as someone who still owns and reads some of Blyton's books. Since this is likely to be a controversial claim, perhaps we could [[Wikipedia:Cite sources|name some of the critics who have done the acclaiming]]? [[User:Vashti|Vashti]] 18:47, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
:After rereading the entire article, I think a POV flag is in order...the language in several places is anything but neutral.[[User:N5iln|Alan]] 03:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
== Merge bibliography subpages ==
I propose to merge the various pages listed in the navbox {{tl|Blyton bibliography}}, in the next few days, unless there are any specific objections. Thanks. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 01:38, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
:Please don't. Huge pages aren't helpful. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 10:43, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
:I agree that the bibliography is better if kept on a separate page. [[User:OrenBochman|OrenBochman]] 15:00, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
:I agree that pages that get too long should be split into separate pages. However I would extend this thought to suggest, that for consistency, all similar pages, i.e. biographies be split in a similar way regardless of length, which would include bibliographies for authors, discographies for those in the music industry, filmographies for those involves with the film industry, etc. [[User:ForteTwo|ForteTwo]] 03:33, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Please see [[List of books by Enid Blyton]], and add anything useful to the merge discussion. Thanks. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 18:44, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
===Update===
I completed the merge, and made the source pages incoming redirects.
Hopefully the data will eventually all be tabulated, for easy [[Help:Sorting|sorting]] by title/year/series/illustrator/etc. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 16:35, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
== Why is Trivia considered Trivial? ==
I don't get it, but when something is tagged as trivia to be either absorbed into the article or else, I feel I'm gonna lose some interesting cultural references. Unlike some who know all the injokes and in references when they come up, I appreciate it being spelled out so I can add to my own associations. Can someone tell me why this censure exists?
By the way, I used to read all the Blyton books not realising she wrote the others such as the boarding school and magical ones. She would have given me a taste for sci fi for life. I read so much as a child that I didn't notice the author's name, just the yummy feeling of devouring more and more enjoyable stuff and didn't notice they were aimed at age groups so I just read my way through whatever I could get hold of. At least the kids were co-ed and managed their adventures together.[[User:Julia Rossi|Julia Rossi]] 02:27, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
:You should check out the links which explain why we should avoid trivia sections and how it can be done. The key thing to remember is this is an encyclopaedia, not a fan site or a place for general information about her and her books [[User:Nil Einne|Nil Einne]] 19:49, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
== School experience ==
I read on German W.P. that E.B. herself attended a school named "St Clare's", like her characters in some of her novels, and that her real-life experiences inspired those books (or at least that that was what she herself told) - but here I do not find a reference to that aspect of her life and work, so I wonder whether that piece of information is reliable, or, if it is, why you left it out ?!
Also I tried to include a link to "[[St. Christopher's School]]", which she attended (afterwards) (acc. to both articles), or rather I checked by this way whether it had an entry or article of itself on W.P., but apparently so far there exists only one for a school of the same name in Virginia (USA). So I wonder, does "her" school in [[Beckenham]] still exist or is there just no refenrence in this electr. encyclopaedia ?
I thaught it might be interesting especially for an author who became a teacher herself AND choose schools as setting for a number of her books: so her own school experience very obviously MUST have left quite an "impact", don't you think so ?!
- I also noticed that the article does not say a thing about her teacher training, where and how long and why chosen (German W.P. says the career was chosen against the will of her parents who rather wanted her to become a musician).
Regards,[[User:147.142.186.54|147.142.186.54]] 15:51, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
:Actually, the first part is not true: the German wikipedia only states that Blyton had gone to a boarding school herself and that this boarding school later became a model for St.Clare's.--[[Special:Contributions/87.162.176.196|87.162.176.196]] ([[User talk:87.162.176.196|talk]]) 06:40, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
== racist quote ==
On reading an article in the Scotsman [http://living.scotsman.com/books/Enid-goes-adventuring-again.4428599.jp] that in parts appeared to be derivative of this one, I encountered a quote that could require a shift in the “controversies” section – George was said (by the narration, not just some character) to be “as black as a nigger with soot” (it is Wikipedia policy not to use astericks). A search for it finds some apparently reliable sources. Does anyone have an old book that could be checked to confirm and/or see by what time it had been excised? This would clearly require a prominent place in discussion of whether her books were racist, and would also change the question of whether her books are “staunchly defended” by many people.[[User:Billwilson5060|Billwilson5060]] ([[User talk:Billwilson5060|talk]]) 10:18, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
== Unsourced material ==
{{User:Tbsdy lives/trivia|
* In a survey of adults between the ages of 25 and 54, conducted by [[Cartoon Network (UK)|Cartoon Network]] in England in 2004, ''The Famous Five'' was named as the top children's book. ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', by [[C. S. Lewis]], came second, ahead of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Treasure Island]]''. Tolkien's ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' tied with a second Blyton title – ''The Secret Seven'' in fourth place.
* Her nephew was the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' composer [[Carey Blyton]].
* The name of an important female character in her Malory Towers series (Darrell Rivers) was inspired by the name of her second husband, Kenneth Darrel Waters.
* ''Letters from Bobs'', one of Blyton's early works, sold more than 10,000 copies in just one week.}} - [[User:Tbsdy lives|Tbsdy lives]] ([[User talk:Tbsdy lives|talk]]) 20:12, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
== Pen name ==
The infobox states:
*Pen name Enid Blyton (1937 - 1968), Mary Pollock (1940 - 1943)
and also
*Writing period 1922 - 1968
what name did she use between 1922 and 1937? --[[User:Redrose64|Redrose64]] ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]) 17:47, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
== Enid on BBC4 ==
Perhaps inevitably, this page has attracted much attention since the BBC drama which was broadcast last week. We should be wary of citing it. The opening credits stated : "The following drama is based on the lives of real peope. Some scenes have been invented and events conflated for the purposes of narrative". While it portrays her life, it seems dangerous to quote from it as though it were a completely reliable sourcec.[[User:Informed Owl|Informed Owl]] ([[User talk:Informed Owl|talk]]) 11:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)Informed Owl
Informed Owl: you are clearly a Blyton fan, and want to whitewash her memory, which is your right. However, the reference was not specifically to the drama, but to quotations directly from Imogen, whom one might rightly describe as a reliable source.
I am not a Blyton fan and I have no interest in whitewashing her memory. My sole interest is accuracy on Wikipedia. The sentence I reverted although purporting to quote Imogen, used the TV programme as a reference which as I said above came with a clear warning that it was a drama with invented scenes. If anyone can give a more accurate and reliable reference for the comments attributed to Imogen, then there can be no problem with the quotation going back in.[[User:Informed Owl|Informed Owl]] ([[User talk:Informed Owl|talk]]) 23:24, 25 November 2009 (UTC)Informed Owl
:I suggest you leave it out until there is a reliable source. [[User:Xxanthippe|Xxanthippe]] ([[User talk:Xxanthippe|talk]]) 23:33, 25 November 2009 (UTC).
==Censorship==
Does anyone know where I can find out which books were censored and which weren't by title and edition and printing?
Basically I'd like to buy some of the old books in their original form to give to my young nephew as he's at that kind of age.
[[Special:Contributions/81.156.176.22|81.156.176.22]] ([[User talk:81.156.176.22|talk]]) 21:49, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
::new: {{WPBiography
|living=no
|class=Start
|priority=
|a&e-work-group=yes
|needs-photo=yes
|listas=Blyton, Enid
}}
{{WikiProject Children's literature|class = start|importance = high}}
{{Talk header}}
==Enid Blyton the writer?==
The article could say something about what made Blyton start to write, how she created her famous characters, how she kept up the volume of writing, etc. <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:59.92.175.174|59.92.175.174]] ([[User talk:59.92.175.174|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/59.92.175.174|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}.</small>
==Yanks==
You Americans smell to relax with your PC. A book can be good and yet have a girl playing with a doll. Why do you have to spoil everything with pathetics polemics?
: Fully agree - Tom
----
We need some mention of educationalists disapproving of her books because they are so simple to read (though they have ''stories'' and are devoured by children).
And then there's the matter of recent reissues of Noddy, with an ethnically cleansed Toytown...
----
I used to love these books as a kid, particularly the Mystery ones. Although upon re-reading them as an adult they are terribly sexist and racist. [[user:Mark Jeays|Mark Jeays]]
:And yet are still bought in thier millions all over the world, maybe a good story well told rises above such trivialities [[Special:Contributions/86.159.19.171|86.159.19.171]] ([[User talk:86.159.19.171|talk]]) 18:55, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
----
For good or bad such were the times Mark though they remain great children's books - the ones i didn't wear to pieces reading so much are safely stored away for my own future kids to read one day.
Paul Melville Austin
----
Should the attitude of Enid Blyton Ltd toward fan sites ("Shut down or we'll sue you, claiming copyright infringement and libel" even if the information is reasonably accurate, and works are [[:fair use|used fairly]]) be documented?
--[[User:Damian Yerrick|Damian Yerrick]]
----
Didn't EB play tennis in the nude? -- [[User:Tarquin|Tarquin]]
----
EB's real name is Darryl Waters. I think someone should put that on the page. Also, I remember reading somewhere that she used to mistreat her own children.
:Waters was her second married name: see [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/eblyton.htm] for more biography. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 09:10, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)
==EB's writing quality==
The main reason for the withdrawal of Blyton books from school libraries was actually very little to do with racism or sexism, it was far more connected with the fact that Blyton simply didn't write very well, and her use of English is rather poor. The tabloids seized upon this as another example of "Loony Lefty Political Correctness", but the racism and sexism aspect was certainly more of an afterthought than anything else.
laugh on both issues. IMO her critics, on both grounds, have mainly shown that they didn't '''understand''' what she wrote. [[User:Andrewa|Andrewa]] 16:24, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
::It was certainly the librarians. Her books grew out of her teaching background and 'reading schemes', so she was very self-conscious about vocabulary levels in different age groups. The article should add material on her early life, to expand on that. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 12:53, 17 December 2005 (UTC)
:::That sounds good. I'm not able to write much, my information comes mainly from the books I was given as a child, some of which I still have, see [[user:andrewa/Enid Blyton]]. Most of them were [[The Famous Five (characters)|Famous Five]] and similar which I did '''not''' like at all but people kept giving them to me, possibly in the hope of educating me in what children ''ought'' to enjoy! I was reading chemistry books, [[Arthur Ransome]] and [[Carl Barks]] comics mainly at that age. I have also used my mother's memories of using Blyton's teaching material in a primary school in England in the late 1940s, but I have to be a bit wary of wandering into original research there.
:::My suspicion is that the reason that Blyton's books sold so well (and still do) is that she was 'way ahead of her time in her approach. The [[Teletubbies]] was based on a scholarly analysis of the way very young children speak. That's great, but in other ways, big deal. Blyton (and many billions of grandmothers) did it instinctively. [[User:Andrewa|Andrewa]] 00:58, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
== birthyear? ==
on top it says it's 1897, the category is 1896 births though - can someone clarify?
== NZ library ban ==
'This gave rise to the first rumour of a New Zealand 'library ban' on Blyton’s books, a recurrent press canard'
I grew up in NZ and as a child I do remember there being no Enid Blyton books in the school or public library. When I asked about this, I was told they were banned. This was back in about 1990. They were finally unbanned towards the end of the 90's. Any other Kiwi's back me up on this one? I would change the artical myself, but it could be the fact that the public libraries I went to just happened to have a ban on the books and it might not have been NZ wide.
= 'artical'?
:You would have to give a reliable reference. Some librarians simply objected to buying Blyton books, it seems, because they wanted children to read something more literary. Budget decisions are not 'bans', as such. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 21:55, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
:I remember growing up in New Zealand and hiring the books from public libraries, this would have been around '95 onwards. This could have been selection by the Library staff rather than an entire ban, at least from this point onwards. [[User:Nik Rolls|Nik Rolls]] ([[User talk:Nik Rolls|talk]]) 07:44, 21 February 2010 (UTC)
I grew up with Enid Blyton books, through the 70's, as my parents brought them out to New Zealand when they immigrated here. I recall that they were not available in Wellington public libraries, and was lead to believe they had been banned. <small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Medicnz|Medicnz]] ([[User talk:Medicnz|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Medicnz|contribs]]) 02:49, 2 May 2009 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
== Gollywogs ==
The article claims that only one Gollywog appears as a villain in one Noddy book. However I remember as a child reading a Noddy story in which there was a gang of Golllywogs patrolling the woods and harrassing people. <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:83.71.19.187|83.71.19.187]] ([[User talk:83.71.19.187|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/83.71.19.187|contribs]]) 15:30, 11 September 2006.</small>
:I had a nearly complete Noddy book set when I was a child - so we're talking over 35 years ago. As I recall the golliwog was frquently a villain of the piece. I also recall that some time during my teens the books were PC'd up and republished, largely without the golliwogs, and with other characters substituted. [[User:Cain Mosni|Cain Mosni]] 15:03, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
== Controversies ==
The "controversies" section needs a major rewrite - it reads like an editorial opinion piece. [[User:217.155.20.163|217.155.20.163]] 21:00, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
Completely agree (SW)
== step-parents ==
isn't it odd that EB re-named her children to their step-father's name, but in almost all the Famous Five books, she slags off step parents and step parenting. (nankai, a step-dad) <small>—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[Special:Contributions/125.239.42.209|125.239.42.209]] ([[User talk:125.239.42.209|talk]]) 20:33, 13 March 2007 (UTC).</small><!-- HagermanBot Auto-Unsigned -->
== "critically acclaimed"? ==
I was a little surprised to see this in the opening, and I say that as someone who still owns and reads some of Blyton's books. Since this is likely to be a controversial claim, perhaps we could [[Wikipedia:Cite sources|name some of the critics who have done the acclaiming]]? [[User:Vashti|Vashti]] 18:47, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
:After rereading the entire article, I think a POV flag is in order...the language in several places is anything but neutral.[[User:N5iln|Alan]] 03:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
== Merge bibliography subpages ==
I propose to merge the various pages listed in the navbox {{tl|Blyton bibliography}}, in the next few days, unless there are any specific objections. Thanks. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 01:38, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
:Please don't. Huge pages aren't helpful. [[User:Charles Matthews|Charles Matthews]] 10:43, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
:I agree that the bibliography is better if kept on a separate page. [[User:OrenBochman|OrenBochman]] 15:00, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
:I agree that pages that get too long should be split into separate pages. However I would extend this thought to suggest, that for consistency, all similar pages, i.e. biographies be split in a similar way regardless of length, which would include bibliographies for authors, discographies for those in the music industry, filmographies for those involves with the film industry, etc. [[User:ForteTwo|ForteTwo]] 03:33, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Please see [[List of books by Enid Blyton]], and add anything useful to the merge discussion. Thanks. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 18:44, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
===Update===
I completed the merge, and made the source pages incoming redirects.
Hopefully the data will eventually all be tabulated, for easy [[Help:Sorting|sorting]] by title/year/series/illustrator/etc. --[[User:Quiddity|Quiddity]] 16:35, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
== Why is Trivia considered Trivial? ==
I don't get it, but when something is tagged as trivia to be either absorbed into the article or else, I feel I'm gonna lose some interesting cultural references. Unlike some who know all the injokes and in references when they come up, I appreciate it being spelled out so I can add to my own associations. Can someone tell me why this censure exists?
By the way, I used to read all the Blyton books not realising she wrote the others such as the boarding school and magical ones. She would have given me a taste for sci fi for life. I read so much as a child that I didn't notice the author's name, just the yummy feeling of devouring more and more enjoyable stuff and didn't notice they were aimed at age groups so I just read my way through whatever I could get hold of. At least the kids were co-ed and managed their adventures together.[[User:Julia Rossi|Julia Rossi]] 02:27, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
:You should check out the links which explain why we should avoid trivia sections and how it can be done. The key thing to remember is this is an encyclopaedia, not a fan site or a place for general information about her and her books [[User:Nil Einne|Nil Einne]] 19:49, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
== School experience ==
I read on German W.P. that E.B. herself attended a school named "St Clare's", like her characters in some of her novels, and that her real-life experiences inspired those books (or at least that that was what she herself told) - but here I do not find a reference to that aspect of her life and work, so I wonder whether that piece of information is reliable, or, if it is, why you left it out ?!
Also I tried to include a link to "[[St. Christopher's School]]", which she attended (afterwards) (acc. to both articles), or rather I checked by this way whether it had an entry or article of itself on W.P., but apparently so far there exists only one for a school of the same name in Virginia (USA). So I wonder, does "her" school in [[Beckenham]] still exist or is there just no refenrence in this electr. encyclopaedia ?
I thaught it might be interesting especially for an author who became a teacher herself AND choose schools as setting for a number of her books: so her own school experience very obviously MUST have left quite an "impact", don't you think so ?!
- I also noticed that the article does not say a thing about her teacher training, where and how long and why chosen (German W.P. says the career was chosen against the will of her parents who rather wanted her to become a musician).
Regards,[[User:147.142.186.54|147.142.186.54]] 15:51, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
:Actually, the first part is not true: the German wikipedia only states that Blyton had gone to a boarding school herself and that this boarding school later became a model for St.Clare's.--[[Special:Contributions/87.162.176.196|87.162.176.196]] ([[User talk:87.162.176.196|talk]]) 06:40, 5 December 2007 (UTC)
== racist quote ==
On reading an article in the Scotsman [http://living.scotsman.com/books/Enid-goes-adventuring-again.4428599.jp] that in parts appeared to be derivative of this one, I encountered a quote that could require a shift in the “controversies” section – George was said (by the narration, not just some character) to be “as black as a nigger with soot” (it is Wikipedia policy not to use astericks). A search for it finds some apparently reliable sources. Does anyone have an old book that could be checked to confirm and/or see by what time it had been excised? This would clearly require a prominent place in discussion of whether her books were racist, and would also change the question of whether her books are “staunchly defended” by many people.[[User:Billwilson5060|Billwilson5060]] ([[User talk:Billwilson5060|talk]]) 10:18, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
== Unsourced material ==
{{User:Tbsdy lives/trivia|
* In a survey of adults between the ages of 25 and 54, conducted by [[Cartoon Network (UK)|Cartoon Network]] in England in 2004, ''The Famous Five'' was named as the top children's book. ''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'', by [[C. S. Lewis]], came second, ahead of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Treasure Island]]''. Tolkien's ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' tied with a second Blyton title – ''The Secret Seven'' in fourth place.
* Her nephew was the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' composer [[Carey Blyton]].
* The name of an important female character in her Malory Towers series (Darrell Rivers) was inspired by the name of her second husband, Kenneth Darrel Waters.
* ''Letters from Bobs'', one of Blyton's early works, sold more than 10,000 copies in just one week.}} - [[User:Tbsdy lives|Tbsdy lives]] ([[User talk:Tbsdy lives|talk]]) 20:12, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
== Pen name ==
The infobox states:
*Pen name Enid Blyton (1937 - 1968), Mary Pollock (1940 - 1943)
and also
*Writing period 1922 - 1968
what name did she use between 1922 and 1937? --[[User:Redrose64|Redrose64]] ([[User talk:Redrose64|talk]]) 17:47, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
== Enid on BBC4 ==
Perhaps inevitably, this page has attracted much attention since the BBC drama which was broadcast last week. We should be wary of citing it. The opening credits stated : "The following drama is based on the lives of real peope. Some scenes have been invented and events conflated for the purposes of narrative". While it portrays her life, it seems dangerous to quote from it as though it were a completely reliable sourcec.[[User:Informed Owl|Informed Owl]] ([[User talk:Informed Owl|talk]]) 11:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)Informed Owl
Informed Owl: you are clearly a Blyton fan, and want to whitewash her memory, which is your right. However, the reference was not specifically to the drama, but to quotations directly from Imogen, whom one might rightly describe as a reliable source.
I am not a Blyton fan and I have no interest in whitewashing her memory. My sole interest is accuracy on Wikipedia. The sentence I reverted although purporting to quote Imogen, used the TV programme as a reference which as I said above came with a clear warning that it was a drama with invented scenes. If anyone can give a more accurate and reliable reference for the comments attributed to Imogen, then there can be no problem with the quotation going back in.[[User:Informed Owl|Informed Owl]] ([[User talk:Informed Owl|talk]]) 23:24, 25 November 2009 (UTC)Informed Owl
:I suggest you leave it out until there is a reliable source. [[User:Xxanthippe|Xxanthippe]] ([[User talk:Xxanthippe|talk]]) 23:33, 25 November 2009 (UTC).
==Censorship==
Does anyone know where I can find out which books were censored and which weren't by title and edition and printing?
Basically I'd like to buy some of the old books in their original form to give to my young nephew as he's at that kind of age.
[[Special:Contributions/81.156.176.22|81.156.176.22]] ([[User talk:81.156.176.22|talk]]) 21:49, 9 February 2010 (UTC)
We've changed the maximum allowed pages. Outta here.
| 