Talk About Blyton!

Famous Five – Bloopers?

October 14, 2008 – Ilsa says: On reading Smuggler's Top yet again, I notice that when the decision is made for the children to go to Smuggler's Top, the day begins early. Aunt Fanny helps with the packing while George disappears, and then they have an early lunch. After a long while in the car they stop for lunch at 12. 30!! I realise breakfast may have been at the crack of dawn, but surely an "early lunch" couldn't have been called that unless it was at least 11am. (and I think it would probably have been later). Piling into the car, stopping to pick up Timmy and then a "long drive" all in an hour and a half?
	Fatty says: Looks like you've spotted a blooper here, Ilsa.
January 25, 2009 – Terry says: It's a bit like Five Go To Billycock Hill where we meet the mysterious men supposedly interested in butterflies but seem to have an ulterior purpose. Yet their significance is never explained and they are not tied in with the resolution of the mystery and conclusion of the book. However, I thnk the biggest 'blooper' is Five Are Together Again where the well built lads Dick and Julian in books such as Five Go To Mystery Moor suddenly reverse in age according to the Eileen Soper illustrations. The Five also revert as a group to being younger, and the story goes backwards with a childish narrative inserted into the story, redolent of the Five's early days rather than the correct timeframe that should be in this final story.
January 29, 2009 – rogoz says: Terry may note that it seems Blyton most likely didn't construct novels top-down and when done as serials, possibly only one chapter ahead was typed. Her methods of composition were most unusual. This would explain plot dead-ends where the story turns in another direction. An example of this is in ' Together Again ' where Julian draws up fake plans which aren't used later. Then the ending is rushed where Georgina has to quickly recount her improbable adventure on the Island - the high point of the story!
November 11, 2009 – Jayde says: On the cover of Five go to Kirrin Island again, If you have a close look, you will notice that George is looking out to Kirrin with the wrong side of the Telescope. A simple mistake.
November 13, 2009 – April June says: Jayde, I did notice that George was looking through the wrong end of the telescope. I wonder how that happened? Perhaps a mistake on the illustrator's part?
	Fatty says: This is very well documented. If you do a little research, you will find out! ;-)
December 21, 2010 – Jayde says: Have you noticed that in Five on Kirrin Island again, they start calling Alf James? Im not sure if Enid Blyton got mixed up, but up until Five On Kirrin Island again the call him Alf the fisher boy dont they? Then its switched to James. Have you noticed it? Any more mistakes in Five on the sixth book?
	Fatty says: I have moved your post to the Bloopers thread, so that kind of answers your question!
May 14, 2013 – EB's GF says: I have to point out the biggest error Enid ever did. On pg. No. 41 of Five Go To Mystery moor. There is a line that says 'George looked nice, because her curly hair went with a skirt and blouse very well. '. Well how could George wear a skirt when she always likes to be a boy and always wears boys' clothes? That is really the biggest error in the Famous Five.
	Fatty says: If you read a little more carefully, you will see that it is not an error at all. Girls had to change into a dress for their evening mealtime, it was one of the rules of the riding stables. Incidentally, in the early H&S editions, the passage can be found on page 39.
May 15, 2013 – Nigel Rowe says: Just goes to show, read and understand before you leap into attack!
	Fatty says: Indeed it does, old friend!
May 15, 2013 – Jeni says: Yes, Fatty and Nigel. As Kevin says - jumping to conclusions is the worst kind of exercise! I am quick to find errors in books, and I can safely say I have never found an error in a Blyton book.
	Fatty says: There are a few well known bloopers, Alf/James, Joan/Joanna and so on, but nothing as bad as EB'sGF thought!
May 15, 2013 – Saky says: Fatty, I didn't understand what you meant by: This is very well documented. If you do a little research, you will find out! ; -) A quick Google search revealed nothing.
	Fatty says: The world doesn't begin and end with Google! ;-) You can see the cover in question HERE.
November 17, 2014 – Neal says: Another error I remember was in "Five on Kirrin Island Again" they repeatedly referred to (and visited) the stone room in the castle, where they first thought Uncle Quentin's workshop was. However in "Five Run Away Together" (3 books previously) they had planned on living in the same room only to discover it had caved in! Looks like Blyton managed to rebuild it somewhere along the line!
December 31, 2014 – Evie M says: While we're on the subject, another blooper I remember is in Five On A Hike Together, where Anne and Dick stay with that old woman. She says she is deaf, but she hears her son coming and tells them to go. How could she hear him if she is deaf??????????
	Daisy says: She didn't hear him coming into the room, Evie, he just walked in whilst Dick was calling for Anne.
February 21, 2015 – Jo says: Hi, Have enjoyed reading The Famous Five again with some of the pupils I tutor. Can anyone explain why it is George's mother whose family owned the island and, at one time surrounding land, and yet the surname of Fanny, Quentin and George is Kirrin? Kirrin would have been Fanny's maiden name if the island took the family name - and the farmhouse, of course. Also, in the late Famous Five, 'Five Are Together Again', why is Timmy waiting at home for George to return from school? I thought he went to school with her. In this book, the cousins chat about Timmy always knowing when George will be coming, so it must have been going on for some time this business of Timmy being left at home - in a kennel no less!! (thought he had the run of the house) Did Enid Blyton forget do you think, or did she just want to change things up a bit, and didn't give an explanation of why. In Five Have A Mystery to Solve, there is an explained change, Julian and family have moved house nearer to George. Perhaps Enid Blyton planned a whole succession of further stories and was setting the scene for some more possibilities. I think George is a very convincing character, so finely modeled as to maybe based on the author herself, who knows, and very entertaining are the scenes in which she is cross with characters like Henry and Jo who want to boys. The relationship between George and Timmy is very well described, I think, and generally good is how other pets help the children and use their powers to do more than humans can do. You can see how kids got a lot of pleasure out of understanding animals in those day, although things were very much freer, clearly. Timmy seems quite a wild, not to say dangerous dog, when enemies are around. Can't see him being allowed off a lead in today's times. But you could write a whole article on what was different then: children rowing out to see in a boat with a hole, and against currents; caves open to the public with only a sign saying 'Keep to the roped tunnels.' Hope somebody has some answers to my questions. Thanks.
	Fatty says: There are more questions than answers, unfortunately. Enid made quite a few bloopers which have been discussed at length on this site as well as the Society Forums.
September 4, 2016 – amy says: In Five on Kirrin Island Again at chapter 12 the children examine the old map of the island which George still has stored in the old lead lined box. In the first book they are lucky enough to take a tracing of the map before the box and map are sold by Uncle Quentin. Did they get it back when the gold thieves were caught?
	Daisy says: It's been a while since I read these books so sadly don't know the answer to your question, Amy. Maybe someone who has read the books recently may know the answer.
September 24, 2016 – hammy says: Hello, an answer to amy: I have just re-read the first book (Five on a Treasure Island) and it is not mentioned that the children got back the map. I supposed it can be assumed?
December 29, 2016 – Padré says: This is not a blooper made by Enid Blyton but by one of the meddlers who insist on "updating" the books. I have the 1970s Knight edition of Five Go To Billycock Hill. At one point, a man claiming to be one of the butterfly men gives Dick fifty pence for a butterfly. Dick gives it to the old woman, Mrs Jane. This is clearly an update as there was no such thing as fifty pence at the time the book was written - decimalisation didn't come in until 1971. However, the "updater" didn't do a very thorough job as later, Julian talking to Dick refers to "the five shillings you gave her". That must have been what was in the original book. Five shillings actually translates to twenty-five pence in new money, but I don't consider this to be a mistake as the updater probably decided to double the amount to allow for inflation.
	Daisy says: Many of Enid's books have been updated, and the 'money' converted, it's a sign of the times we have to live with. If it means readers of today will read Enid's wonderful books, then it's all worth it.
December 30, 2016 – Paul says: Anne's startled reaction to television, which wouldn't make sense to later generations of children, was also removed in the 1970s edits.
May 9, 2017 – Tony says: I'm currently reading the Kirrin Island stories to my grade 4 and they picked up on Alf/James straight away and the telescope going the wrong way.
	Daisy says: I hope they love the stories though!
June 15, 2017 – Faya says: In Five go to Mystery Moor, on page 11, it says that 10 kids were to sleep in the stables, among which the Five. Then, some pages later, it's only Julian and Dick that sleeps in the stables! Isn't that a major error in Blyton's books or am I just wrong? Please help me clarify. Thank you.
June 18, 2017 – Paul says: Shouldn't we have a general thread for bloopers in all stories and series, not just the FF?
	Buster says: Don't see why not. Fatty says: This is being considered at the moment, Paul.
October 21, 2017 – Nandita says: Hey guys Famous Five 21 (Five are together again), it's mentioned that George always waits for term end as Timmy stays at home but in all the earlier novels, he went to school with George and in the second book Gerige herself said that she wouldn't go to school of Timmy wasn't allowed. They haven't mentioned the school rules being changed and George wouldn't just accept it. I would be glad of any clarity provided.
	Fatty says: Yes, most odd. It was written when Enid had become ill, so maybe she just forgot.
March 11, 2018 – Sam says: Not sure if this is appropriate here, but does anyone see any inconsistencies between the originals and the continuation stories by people like Claude Voilier?
	Daisy says: I have read a few Claude Voilier books, Sam, but do confess that even though the characters are Blyton's that is where it ends. The theme of writing, if that's the best way to describe it, is completely different, and the characters don't quite feel like the Famous Five.
March 12, 2018 – Sam says: That's exactly what I mean, Daisy. I have a copy of Five and the Missing Cheetah, and the Julian there and the one in the originals are totally different. I had read a couple more when I was a schoolboy, but am not really interested in reading any of them again as they are not really Famous Fives in my opinion.
April 8, 2018 – John says: I must agree with Jo, above. As a child of twelve or thirteen, the odd circumstance of the children's surnames was for me the most glaring error in all of the books. As Jo notes, Kirrin island and Kirrin Bay are named for Aunt Fanny's family, making 'Kirrin' Aunt Fannys maiden name. Yet Julian Dick and Anne who are Quentin's brother's children, are noted as 'the Kirrins' various times in the other books. One can only presume that Quentin and Fanny are rather closely related! I am now reading the books to my seven year old and we have also been watching the 1978 TV series, which is what brought me to this page, as I had to check whether my memory of that old niggling inconsistency was accurate or not. My daughter, by the way, is absolutely loving it! Regards, John.
May 10, 2018 – Jason Ayers says: I am re-reading the Famous Five stories to a kid I know. I absolutely love Enid Blyton, first of all, but on Re-reading Five on a Treasure Island, there are a few things which struck me as. Queer. When the children arrive. Aunt Fanny goes into some detail about George. She explains that she hates being a girl and that she insists on being called George. However, the next morning it is almost as though the Julian, Dick and Anne have completely forgotten the conversation. Anne asks George if she is Georgina, then the boy called, " Cousin Georgina, come out and see us", through the bedroom door, causing George to walk off in a huff. If they had remembered what their aunt had told them, they could have avoided upsetting their cousin. Towards the end of the book, when George and Julian have been captured, Dick says they can't row back to the mainland for help because only George knows how to get in and out of the rocks? But how did the baddies know how to get in and out of them in their motorboat?
	Daisy says: I guess all this 'inconsistencies' is just Enid wanted to reiterate maybe some parts of the story, as the case of Georgina, and to also the later part of your question, maybe Enid wanted to make the story more exciting in the fact that 'only George' could row them back. All the stories are fiction and Enid could write what she wanted and how she wanted, it was her story after all.
July 19, 2018 – Joe Conlan says: In 5 on a treasure island, the 4 children climb up at rope in the well to get out of dungeons. How did Timmy get out?
	Daisy says: Maybe he found his own 'secret way'.
April 16, 2020 – Saree says: Hey, I just spotted a mistake in an illustration. Its book 10 - Five On A Hike Together. It says that Merry Meg is the only boat fit to still use from the boathouse. And it says so later in the book that Dirty Dick and Maggie take the boat Merry Meg. But in the illustration, the name of the boat is Cheeky Charlie.
	Daisy says: Which edition of book is this, Saree? In my original book of Hodder & Stoughton there is no illustration of this boat.
April 16, 2020 – Saree says: Hey, the Famous Five book, 10 - Five On A Hike Together are the Illustrated Enid Blyton Edition.
	Daisy says: Yes, I know the book you are referring too, Saree. But in the original Hodder publication, there is no picture of which you are referring too. Maybe you have one of the newer published books, and sometimes the illustrations can be completely different to the context of the written word in the books.
April 17, 2020 – Saree says: Okay, sure. The series does look pretty newish. Thanks, anyways.
April 21, 2020 – Alex Selkirk says: Just finished reading Five Get into Trouble in a hardback edition from the 1950s, similar to the one I had as a child. It was enjoyable to read it again after almost 60 years, and I believe it's one of the most exciting Five stories. I recall it gave me nightmares at the time, about being pursued by men in a Bentley! I'd even remembered the registration, KMF 102. I did notice a couple of inconsistencies, which completely escaped me the first time around. Before the children set off, Julian asks Aunt Fanny to let them know where to write to her and Uncle Quentin when they know where they'll be staying. As the Five are about to leave on a camping trip, pitching their tents in a different place every day, this would be difficult. Later, at Owl's Dene, one of the rooms is described as containing a radiogram. The children hear a police message on another radio set asking for information about Richard Kent. So far so good, except that Aggie, the housekeeper, told them that the house had no gas, water or electricity laid on. Even so long ago, it was not uncommon for a radio to work from batteries, which had to be charged at a radio shop while you used the spare ones. This might explain the police message away. However, I don't think I've ever come across a radiogram powered by batteries, despite being a radio and hi-fi enthusiast for many years. Another point - how did the mechanism for remotely opening the driveway gates operate with no electricity? My feeling is that Blyton was such an important author to her publishers that they published her stories without scrutinising them too closely. Quibbles aside, a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to the other 20 books, when I can get my hands on them.
	Daisy says: So glad you have enjoyed this book, Alex. Reading them as adults one does tend to pick up on little things that reading as a child you may have missed. I think it's lovely to read the originals and go back to a time of nostalgia and innocence.
May 15, 2020 – Nigel says: Saree - you are spot on. The mis-named boat must have just been an error. I noticed this when reading it as a child.
May 21, 2020 – Vergara (Spain) says: About the boats in "Hike", I've got the 1997 Hodder edition of paperbacks that come in a boxed set, with illustrations by Eileen A. Soper, and there is an illustration of the boats on page 118. Three boats can be seen, floating on the water: the closest one to the Five is Merry Meg, then comes Cheeky Charlie, and you cannot see the name of the third boat (it's supposed to be Careful Carrie). This matches the order in which the Five see the boats. But although all three boats are floating, it's true that Merry Meg seems to be slightly more sunken than Cheeky Charlie. What I'm surprised about it that the illustrations in these books are not exactly the same as in the originals! There's something about these books which I don't like (thought it's not a blooper): the two words in the name of the boat the Five are looking for don't start with the same letter! By the way, there's a mistake in this edition of the books, I think, though nothing to do with Enid Blyton. After the few books, all are said to be originally from 1942 on the first page!
May 21, 2020 – Vergara (Spain) says: Oh! Now I see what Saree meant! It's another illustration, that on page 136. Right, it's the wrong boat Maggie and Dick are using!
May 22, 2020 – Evangeline says: Not sure if this counts as a blooper, but after reading Five Go To Demon's Rocks and Five Are Together Again in succession, it occurred me that in Demon's Rocks there is a big conflict about where the children will go because Quentin and Prof. Hayling don't want them in the house, but then in Together Again we learn that Tinker and his dad live close to Kirrin, so George can cycle there and back in one night- so surely it would have been easier for Quentin and Prof. Hayling to simply drive over to Big Hollow and stay there instead? I suppose possible explanations could be that Tinker and his dad moved house in between the books, or that they needed notes/equipment that were in Quentin's study and couldn't be transported safely.
	Buster says: Yes, there are a few mistakes in the books that Enid wrote in the early 60's. Due to her illness that was in the early stages.
June 23, 2020 – Evangeline says: Rereading 'Five Have a Mystery to Solve' and it seems that Enid and the Five can't make up their minds whether to find the gamekeepers or not! On pages 86-87, Julian says 'I really think I'd better find them and tell them we're here' and Dick replies 'Well, let's go now- all of us'. However, a few paragraphs later they seem to forget that this is their intention, as they walk quietly and single file and say that Timmy will warn them if a keeper is near.
May 19, 2021 – Sue says: Noticed another inconsistency in Five Get Into Trouble. In chapter one, Uncle Quentin asks Aunt Fanny how he can be expected to remember if the children will be with them or with her sister. In the first book it was mentioned that the fathers were brothers. Also noted the problem with the surname that all the children share but was meant to be Aunt Fanny's family name too.
May 19, 2021 – Arka says: Hmm. See, I agree that it is clearly a mistake. But, with other theories and beliefs, things like these became interesting. So let's begin. I agree that in book one, Uncle Quentin and Mr. Barnard (let's assume they're) were brothers. But, nothing of Aunt Fanny and Mrs. Barnard's relation was talked about. So, it may be that Uncle Quentin and Mr. Barnard were brother, and Aunt Fanny and Mrs. Barnard were cousin sisters (if not siblings). And talking about Aunt Fanny's family name and children, I personally don't think that Fanny was her surname. It could be that her surname was Kirrin only, just that no one called her with that name. So, I hope that's clear. If it doesn't, then please comment again. Anyway, Thank You.
May 19, 2021 – Sue says: Thanks for the feedback, Arka. I did mean that Aunt Fanny's maiden surname was implied to be Kirrin, since it was mentioned that Kirrin Island, Cottage etc were named after her family. This was needed to explain why they belonged to George's family but not to the other children. But the children all have the same surname which implies that it was their fathers' name. Perhaps all the parents were related (hopefully not!). My own explanation is that Enid Blyton was such a prolific author, writing multiple and some similar series (Secret Seven, Five Find Outers) over the same time period that she wasn't able to keep track of these facts. After all there were no searchable epubs or computerised notes in those days and it would have taken much longer to check paper notes or previous books to ensure consistency.
September 30, 2021 – Lyn says: Hi folks. I have a 1957 copy of 'Five Have Plenty Of Fun' which is the 14th adventure in the series but in Enid Blyton's foreword, she states it as the 15th one. But 'Five On A Secret Trail' is the 15th one, which I have a 1956 copy of and it does state as the 15th in that foreword. Has anyone else noticed this? Could it be a common error?
	Daisy says: It's probably just an error when the book was printed back in 1957.
September 30, 2021 – Nigel says: My 6th impression has Enid calling it the 14th book, so had been corrected by 1964.
October 1, 2021 – Arka says: Also, couldn't Jo's father (whatever he's name was) jump out of the window through which Dick and Julian saw George prisoned (or at least, guessed so) from the ground in Five Fall into Adventure?? After all, he had been a real acrobat and so, he could have gone away easily. In the book, Jo clearly states that she can get away through the window whenever she wants, so what made her father stop, when they (Jo's father, Jake and Red Tower were trapped into the room by Jo) were trying to get out of the room? I think that either Jo's father forgot all about the window and his acrobatic skills, or the window might have been too small or too slim for him to go through it. Thank You. P. S. I apologise for not posting posts for so long.
	Daisy says: Jo's father may have been an acrobat, but Jo explains that was before he hurt his foot, so I guess climbing out of tower windows wasn't an option for him, and the others wouldn't have attempted it I'm sure.

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