Name of the Book:Enid Blyton The Biography. Its an interesting biography. But I felt it’s not a full one because it doesn’t answer the question about the writing process behind Enid Blyton’s success .Saying that it still is the most lucid,interesting and fast paced book I have read on an author’s life and work.
There appears to be,no end to controversies about Enids work .While we thought children’s books were supposed to be simple and feel good ,her critiques feel they are too simple and dumb down kids literature.
For someone like me whose mother tongue wasn’t English ,I thank God her language was that simple .It helped me fall in love with reading and made me a life long booklover .Her popularity and book sales have few competitions.I feel the only thing that’s keeping her down nowadays (somewhat) are the sanitized new version of her work and the new illustrations which don’t do justice to her vision and that of her original illustrators.But every day her fans keep on increasing as kids who grew up reading her books introduce their kids to those treasures, like I did.
Why I picked up the book?
I was looking for a book to know more about how Enid Blyton wrote.Her books have been the greatest inspiration for me , both as a reader and an author.
My daughter too inaugurated her bookworm life,during COVID lockdown with a stash of Famous Five the complete series which I had gifted her two years back.That marked the beginning of re-reading repeatedly those Enid Blyton stories.
When someone has influenced your life so deeply ,it’s a call of the gut to find out more about her.Someone wise once said -you will find your best teachers in the libraries.People who are no longer there continue to inspire from the world beyond and Enid Blyton continues to make children grow up better,stronger,kinder and more willing to make friends with the world.
The book is about Enid Blyton’s childhood,adult life ,author life and the relationships and influences which shaped her writings .
While it’s difficult to write about authors who are as famous as Enid Blyton, it’s even more difficult to write it in a balanced way.
Barbara Stoney does justice to this while retaining the magic of Enids work.While humans are all shades of black, white and other colors. Some influences are the strongest.That of childhood, seems to determine our course in life.
Will the book give an idea about how Enid wrote?
Not in step by step manner but an overview.She was a visual thinker,interested in children and teaching them.She was sincere with keeping a diary ,her ability to draw and her love for nature, all were behind her famous creativity .She was also an extremely hard worker.
Will the book give an idea about Enid Blyton the person?
Yes .Again to some extent as I haven’t found any other Enid Blyton biography, as kind and empathetic to compare against.It’s a well researched and nonsense free look at the life ,work and inspiration behind Enid Blyton the person,author,entrepreneur,and a woman before her time who was self-made before that word became trending.
Who will love the book?
An Enid Blyton fan who grew up reading her books and remembers the happy days curled up with a Famous Five and wants to know more about her.
Enid Blyton’s childhood,her father’s influence,encouragement,complex relationship with her mother,her friends,estrangements,and the lies she had to tell in her childhood were all part of the great magic known as Enid Blyton.She did more in her time than many people do in 100 life times.A woman before her time and a timeless children’s author .Her influence has shaped and saved many a child’s life ,including my own.
But it doesn’t answer the question about the writing process behind Enid Blyton’s success .Why is that?To know the reason behind that you must pick up the book.