Enid Blyton :

Creating magic for children

You are sure to have read and enjoyed at least a few Enid Blyton books. The British author has written hundreds of books, which have delighted and enthralled millions of children over many decades. Noddy, the Famous Five and Secret Seven are some of her most famous series for children.

Enid Mary Blyton was born on August 11, 1897 in London, the eldest child of Thomas Carey Blyton, a cutlery salesman, and Theresa Mary Harrison. She had two younger brothers, Hanly and Carey.

Later, the family moved to nearby Beckenham, where Enid attended St. Christopher's School from 1907 to 1915; she was good both at academic and extra-curricular activities and was the head girl when she left school. She was a talented pianist too.

After leaving school, she trained as a teacher. She taught for five years at Bickley, Surbiton and Chessington, and started writing in her spare time. Her first book, a collection of poems titled Child Whispers, was published in 1922.

On August 1924, Blyton married Major Hugh Alexander Pollock, editor of the book department in the publishing firm of George Newnes, which published two of her books that year. They had two children, Gillian Mary Baverstock and Imogen Mary Smallwood.

By 1939, her marriage to Pollock was in difficulties. They divorced, and Enid married Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters, a London surgeon, in October 1943. She led a very happy life with her second husband and her two daughters (although some claim that she was very cruel to her children and neglected them) until her husband died in 1967.

Over the following months, she became increasingly ill with Alzheimer's disease. Blyton died at the Greenways Nursing Home in Hampstead, London, on November 28, 1968, and was cremated at Golders Green.

Blyton wrote over a period of 40 years and is estimated to have released close to 800 books. She is better known for several series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups. Over 400 million copies of her books have been sold in many parts of the world. She was the fifth most popular author in the world even last year, according to a survey.

Her work involves children's adventure stories, and fantasy, often involving magic. Her books continue to be enormously popular in Britain, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia.

Her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages, including Dutch, Chinese, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Malay, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. Chorion Limited of London now owns and handles the intellectual properties and character brands of Blyton's Noddy and the Famous Five.

Besides the many books, she has also contributed numerous articles to magazines. It is said that at one point in her career, she regularly produced 10,000 words a day. Blyton also wrote books on nature and Biblical themes.

Her The Land of Far-Beyond is a Christian story with modern children as the central characters. She also produced retellings of Old Testament and New Testament stories. Her work has been criticised by some as stereotyping racist and gender roles.

Most popular works

* The Noddy books (Noddy is one of her most widely known characters)

* The Famous Five series (consists of 21 novels written between 1942 and 1963, based on four children and their dog who have various adventures)

* The Secret Seven series (consists of 15 novels written between 1949 and 1963, about a society of seven children who solve various mysteries)

* The Adventure series

* The Barney Mystery series

* The Circus series

* The Magic Faraway Tree series

* The Malory Towers series

* The Mary Mouse series

* The Mystery series (also known as the Five Find-Outers)

* The Naughtiest Girl series

* The Secret series

* The St. Clare's series

* The Wishing-Chair series

Statistics

* Blyton's books have sold over 400 million copies.

* She is constantly voted a favourite author of children.

* Her books continue to sell more than eight million copies worldwide.

* More than a million Famous Five books are sold worldwide.

* Her books have been translated into more than 90 different languages.

* In a survey of adults between the ages of 25 and 54 conducted by Cartoon Network in England in 2004, The Famous Five was named as the top children's book. The Secret Seven secured fourth place.

* Letters from Bobs, one of Blyton's early works, sold more than 10,000 copies in just one week.