Enid Blyton: The Biography
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Product Description
Product Description
Enid Blyton is known throughout the world for her imaginative children's books and her enduring characters such as Noddy and the Famous Five. She is one of the most borrowed authors from British libraries and still holds a fascination for readers old and young alike. Yet until 1974, when Barbara Stoney first published her official biography, little was known about this most private author, even by members of her own family. The woman who emerged from Barbara Stoney's remarkable research was hardworking, complex, often difficult and, in many ways, childlike. Now this widely praised classic biography has been fully updated for the twenty-first century and, with the addition of new colour illustrations and a comprehensive list of Enid Blyton's writings, documents the growing appeal of this extraordinary woman throughout the world. The fascinating story of one of the world's most famous authors will intrigue and delight all those with an interest in her timeless books.
About the Author
Barbara Stoney is an author and biographer whose previous books include Sybil, Dame of Sarkand Henry Ford, the Motor Man. She lives in Berkshire.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have always found Enid Blyton a facinating character, but somehow this book failed to give me the insight that I expected. The book is a good read but, like Enid you never get under the skin. Perhaps I am being unfair as I wanted to understand her inspiration, this is touched on but never fully explored, also documentary evidence, ex-pupils, ex-employees, publishers and family do not seem to have been interviewed. I know Enid Blyton was a very private person and this book just confirmed that to me.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I grew up on a (literary) diet of Enid Blyton's books: first the Faraway Tree and later the Famous Five. I loved them all and it wasn't until i reached my teens that i became aware she was a controversial figure, accused of being a reactionary who dumbed down children's vocabularies.
This biography shows what a remarkable individual Enid Blyton actually was: a self-made woman in an age when women were still expected to just marry and procreate, a vivid and compulsive - yet also repetitive - writer, a keen educator of children who was however distant to her own, a universal mother figure who in many ways remained a perpetual child. Finally we reach the final pages of the book and her harrowing descent into dementia ending in her death.
Curiously, my overall feeling after finishing the biography was vindication: because as flawed and limited as Enid Blyton may have been, she was also a true original in her own way.
This biography shows what a remarkable individual Enid Blyton actually was: a self-made woman in an age when women were still expected to just marry and procreate, a vivid and compulsive - yet also repetitive - writer, a keen educator of children who was however distant to her own, a universal mother figure who in many ways remained a perpetual child. Finally we reach the final pages of the book and her harrowing descent into dementia ending in her death.
Curiously, my overall feeling after finishing the biography was vindication: because as flawed and limited as Enid Blyton may have been, she was also a true original in her own way.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Barbara Stoney's biography of Enid Blyton shows the best-selling and beloved children's author to be complex and childlike. Stoney unearths a lot of information about the writer which should interest anyone fascinated with her, and the the books she wrote. The book gives a listing of many of Blyton's books, although it is not complete. Stoney's biography is a fair and unbiased assessment of Enid as a writer. It seeks to view her as a product of a particular time period, and shows that, despite her critics, she remains the most beloved of children's writers. And after all, isn't that what ultimately counts?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enjoyed
Enjoyed this book very much. Was written in good plain english and gave a clear picture of Enid Blytons life. Barbara Stoney really does justice to a much loved author. Read more
Published 17 days ago by ALISON
A balanced picture
This book is the authorised biography, approved by Gillian Baverstock, Enid Blyton's older daughter. Read more
Published 14 months ago by LynnP
scratching the surface
Having grown up reading Enid Blyton books I was interested in reading something about Enid's
life. this book for me didn't really go far enough. Read more
life. this book for me didn't really go far enough. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Lesley Helen Punter
Enid Blyton: The Biography
I was totally satisfied with this purchase. A most pleasant book, received in as described condition, it was very promptly dispatched and securely packaged. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Marcherart
Disappointing
This is a well-written and carefully-researched biography, but there are no real insights into Enid Blyton's character. Read more
Published 21 months ago
very interesting
Having watched a film on TV called 'Enid' it left question unanswered and there were large gaps in her life. So I went on the net to find any books relating to Enid Blyton. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by Mrs. Marcia Cummins
Good and honest read
Enid Blyton was always my favourite author as a child growing up in the 1950s and one of her books was one of the first I borrowed from our local library aged 5! Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2009 by Linda Mitchell
An interesting take on a very popular author
I found this book very interesting, it basically is a complete run through of Enid's life and is very detailed in what she did when. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Mrs. Odette Carter
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