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Not quite Rowling but ...

She is not very cool now but Enid Blyton made childhood magical with her uncomplicated storytelling. MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER discovers there's still a readership for this often politically incorrect writer who was a product of pre- and post-War Britain

PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.

WORLD BEFORE POTTER From the 1960s onwards Blyton has often come under flak for being racist and sexist.

There is a line in Kavya Vishwanathan's much-reviled How Opal Mehta Got Wild, Got Kissed and Got a Life where Opal talks of holidays in India spent reading Enid Blyton books. That one line is a trigger to memories of long summer vacations spent reading about the adventures of Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, Jack and with much squawks from Kiki. It was a time when books smelt like books rather than the strange synthetic odour they have now.

While Opal's pedigree has got into a lot of controversy, that one observation is spot on. Enid Blyton, whose birth anniversary is tomorrow, is very much a part of our colonial heritage. As Priya Raman, a mum of two, comments: "I read a lot of Enid Blyton when I was little, I think it is a Commonwealth thing. Indians do read more British literature." Priya, who is settled in California, explains: "I encourage my children to read Blyton but the books are not available in the States. They read when they come to India though." (Quite like Opal!)

Before Pottermania

Much before the mass hysteria created by Harry Potter and people genuflecting before J.K. Rowling for resurrecting the interest in reading, India apparently went through a Bookworm Period till the arrival of satellite television when children read and read till their eyes popped out all thanks to Ms Blyton.

Angel Pappali, teacher, says: "I loved the books for the style and for the fact that it takes you into a world of imagination. It is constant and fixed. I guess as children we like that security. I was in boarding school so I liked the Malory Towers and St. Clare's series."

There are different reasons why people love Enid Blyton. Deepanita, working at a multinational company, loves "the description of food, fun and the carnival feeling in the books. The sense of mystery in the Five Find-Outers, and of course the happy knowledge that all things end well. There are no sad endings in her books which is a good when you are a child."

Mary Joseph, an educator, likes the fact that "you never feel as if an adult is talking down to a child when you read her books." Then there is Shaun Williams, scriptwriter, who loves, "the world and the characters. I just loved the world and had this desire for it all to be real... I was fascinated by elves and really hoped I could meet one — tiny little people who I could've held in my hand."

While Jasper Fforde damns Blyton for poor characterisation in Well of Lost Plots, there is a legion of fans just waiting to leap to her defence. Like Angel comments: "The books are clean and well written. There is nothing you need to worry about."

From the 1960s onwards Blyton has often come under flak for being racist and sexist. The golliwogs and Anne's (in the Famous Five stories) passion for playing house are frowned upon for stereotyping. "I found Anne supremely irritating," says Priya. "I always wondered why anyone would want to arrange things on a shelf! But apart from that I never thought of the books as being racist. I think that is an adult reaction."

Angel says: "I think it is much ado about nothing." Mary dismisses the whole debate as "all rubbish. The children who read her books don't even think about those things." Deepanita "was not aware that she was racist until I read an article about her. Her writing did not strike me as sexist/racist. When you are young you take these things at face value."

Miriam, a doctor, had an experience of political correctness. "When I first read Island of Adventure, the villain, Jo Jo, was black and was very stereotypical — you know rolling his eyes and talking a whole lot of superstitious stuff. I later read another edition of the same book and Jo Jo had turned white and was called Jo! I think it is unnecessary paranoia and reading too deeply into things. Or maybe in the west, it is a big deal: we just don't think like that."

All of us have had our clubs thanks to Blyton. Shaun was part "of Falcons with a koel call as the password." Angel's sons Tarun and Rahul also had groups thanks to Secret Seven and Famous Five.

Enid Blyton is part of reading heritage that is passed down generations as Angel comments: "I encouraged my boys to read, my god-children Tanya and Kevin are also hooked on to the books. It is people who have a culture of reading that inculcate the habit in their children. Otherwise parents just go with the current craze like Rowling, which I personally feel is for older children."

A view that Kirin of Landmark bookstore concurs with "The two writers have different target audiences so there is no question of comparing them. From the ages of three to five, children love Blyton's Noddy books. From five to 10 it is her Famous Five, Secret Seven and other adventure books and above 10, it is Rowling and Harry Potter."

So what if Noddy jumped into bed with Big Ears? Or there are characters called Dick and Fanny? Or Anne loves to play with dolls, the worst insult you could give George (nee Georgiana) is that she is behaving just like a girl and Julian is a pompous ass? It is all right as we get on the train and get our first view of Kirrin Island, Malory Towers or the strange lands on top of the Faraway Tree.

God save the queen, as Kiki is known to devoutly comment!

So many settings and characters

Born on August 11, 1897, Enid Mary Blyton has written more than 800 books. The books can be broadly divided into three — the boarding school stories, the adventures and the fantasies.

Boarding school: There are three series — the Malory Towers, St. Clare's and the Naughtiest Girl. Darrel Rivers (the name is inspired from Blyton's second husband Darrel Waters) is the lead protagonist of the Malory Towers series. The books follow Darrel from a nervous first former to responsible head girl in the sixth form. The St. Clare's series follows the adventures of identical twins Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan while Elizabeth Allen is the naughtiest girl in school.

Adventure stories: There are many series in this group, right from the Famous Five, the Secret Seven to the Five Find-Outers, the R series, the adventure series and the secret series.

Some books, like Secret Seven and Find-Outers solve mysteries in their little village, while others go to exotic locations and have extraordinary things happen to them. The R series with Roger, Dinah, Snubby and Barney are so called as all the titles start with R. The series features some of the better-developed characters, including the circus boy Barney and the irrepressible Snubby.

The adventure series has Philip, Dinah, Jack and Lucy Ann with Kiki the parrot providing comic relief. There is also Bill Cunningham, that rare brand of grownup who joins in all the hair-raising adventures.

The Secret series starts off with four children running away from wicked guardians and living on their own till their parents' return. There is also the Adventurous Four, perhaps the only book that mentions the Nazis.

Fantasy: Here you have ordinary children placed in an extraordinary world. The Wishing Chair takes the children to different lands to tangle with wizards and elves.

Different lands come to the top of the Faraway Tree, which the children visit. The land is nothing short of wonderful: right from the land of goodies and take what you want to the not-so-welcome land of temper! There are Toyland tales where toys come alive at night like the big rude doll Amelia Jane, and of course the supremely popular Noddy books.

Others: There are other stories like the circus stories featuring Mr. Galliano's circus, the farm stories about six warring cousins, a story about delinquent boys, The Six Bad Boys, and also a children's version of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress called The Land of Far Beyond.

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