Most British children who grew up
enjoying reading at any time from the 1930s until as late as the 1980s will
probably have gone through an Enid Blyton phase at one time or another. She was
an incredibly prolific writer, although she did come under increasing criticism
from critics as her fame and success progressed. Some of the criticisms are
valid. She was a middle class Englishwoman whose social attitudes were formed
during the early decades of the 20th century, and to modern readers
it is possible, for example, to read paternalism, and even mild racism into her
books. Myself, I was never hooked on her more famous series, such as The Famous
Five and The Secret Seven. However, for my 7th birthday I was given
“The Sea of Adventure”, and I was hooked, and devoured all 8 of the – of Adventure
– novels.
The picture is my copy of an
illustration from “The Sea of Adventure” by Stuart Tresilian. He’s little
remembered now, but worked prolifically for magazines from the 1930s until the
1960s, and served as president of the Society of Graphic Art in the mid 60s.
Just looking at his work brings a warm glow, and reminds me how thrilled I was
by the adventures of Jack, Philip, Dinah, Lucy Anne and Jack’s parrot Kiki.
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