She is the most prolific children's author in history, but Enid Blyton
is also the most controversial. A remarkable woman who wrote hundreds of
books in a career spanning forty years, even her razor sharp mind could
never have predicted her enormous global audience. Now, fifty years
after her death, Enid remains a phenomenon, with sales outstripping
every rival.
Parents and teachers lobbied against Enid's books, complaining they were
simplistic, repetitive and littered with sexist and snobbish undertones.
Blatant racist slurs were particularly shockingly; foreign and working
class characters were treated with a distain that horrifies modern
readers. But regardless of the criticism, Enid worked until she could
not physically write another word, famously producing thousands of words
a day hunched over her manual typewriter.
She imaged a more innocent world, where children roamed unsupervised,
and problems were solved with midnight feasts or glorious picnics with
lashings of ginger beer. Smugglers, thieves, spies and kidnappers were
thwarted by fearless gangs who easily outwitted the police, while
popular schoolgirls scored winning goals in nail-biting lacrosse
matches.
Enid carefully crafted her public image to ensure her fans only knew of
this sunny persona, but behind the scenes, she weaved elaborate stories
to conceal infidelities, betrayals and unconventional friendships, lied
about her childhood and never fully recovered from her parent's marriage
collapsing. She grew up convinced that her beloved father abandoned her
for someone he loved more, and few could ever measure up to her
impossible standards.
A complex and immature woman, Enid was plagued by insecurities and
haunted by a dark past. She was prone to bursts of furious temper, yet
was a shrewd businesswoman years ahead of her time. She may not have
been particularly likeable, and her stories infuriatingly unimaginative,
but she left a vast literary legacy to generations of children.
