Like many children in Britain and other countries around the world, I grew up reading Enid Blyton. Although her books have attracted a lot of criticism for their outdated attitudes and a perceived lack of literary merit, I have lots of happy memories of solving crimes with the Five Find-Outers, going on adventures with the Famous Five and getting to know the girls of Malory Towers and St Clare’s. As a child, I never gave any thought to the author herself and what she may have been like as a wife, mother or friend, but I later became aware that she was allegedly not a very nice person and certainly not the loving, maternal figure her books would lead you to believe. She has been the subject of TV documentaries and a 2009 BBC drama starring Helena Bonham Carter as well as several biographies, including this one, The Real Enid Blyton, in which Nadia Cohen takes us through Enid’s life from birth to death and attempts to shed some light on the woman behind the stories.

Enid was born in East Dulwich, South London in 1897 and Cohen suggests that her character was shaped by the break-up of her parents’ marriage while she was in her early teens. Enid had a close, loving relationship with her father, Thomas Blyton, who instilled in her a love of reading, animals and nature, but she didn’t get on very well at all with her mother, Theresa. When Thomas left his wife for another woman, Theresa refused to agree to a divorce and insisted that his new living arrangements be kept secret in order to avoid bringing shame on the family. Enid was devastated and felt that her father had betrayed her by choosing someone else over her. As she grew into an adult, she would learn to detach herself from the people around her, ‘removing people from her life without a backward glance’, and would deal with anything unpleasant by simply pretending it hadn’t happened, things Cohen attributes to the emotional damage caused by her father’s departure.

Enid began to write after taking a teacher training course and working first as a teacher then as a private governess. She said, ‘It was the children themselves who taught me how to write. No adult can teach you that as they can.’ I was interested to read that early in her career she submitted an adult novel, The Caravan Goes On, to her agent but it was rejected and later reworked into her children’s book Mr Galliano’s Circus. If that novel had been accepted, I wonder whether she would have continued to write for adults rather than for children. However, that was not to be and apart from an adult play she wrote in the 1950s (which was also rejected), she concentrated on writing for the younger readers she understood so well. By the peak of her career in 1951, she produced thirty-seven books in that one year alone.

Despite Enid’s popularity with children she had never met, her own children seem to have felt neglected and unloved. Cohen provides plenty of evidence of this, sprinkling throughout the book quotes from Gillian and Imogen, Enid’s two daughters by her first husband, Hugh Pollock. Imogen described her mother as ‘arrogant, insecure and without a trace of maternal instinct. Her approach to life was childlike, and she could be spiteful, like a teenager’. Enid and Hugh divorced when the girls were still young children and she refused to let them have any further contact with their father – another example of cutting all her ties, but this time her children were made to suffer. Her second marriage, to the surgeon Kenneth Waters, was happier, but Enid’s relationship with Imogen in particular never improved. However, Cohen’s portrayal of Enid seems quite fair and balanced overall and she does acknowledge Enid’s good points, such as her energy, impressive work ethic and support for various charities.

Cohen also discusses some of the criticism directed at Enid’s work and the recent attempts of publishers to censor and ‘update’ her books, something I think many of us who were Blyton fans feel quite strongly about! It can’t be denied that her books did contain a lot of sexism, racism and snobbery, but some of the changes that were made just seem completely unnecessary. Even before these recent controversies, Enid’s books had been banned by some libraries and by the BBC (until the 1950s), because of her ‘over simplified writing’ and ‘undemanding plots’, with one critic accusing her of poisoning the reading ability of children and another claiming children would become addicted to her books and would never go on to read adult literature. Enid’s response to all of this was that she didn’t care about the opinion of anyone over the age of twelve!

I enjoyed this biography and found it interesting to get some insights into the life and career of a favourite childhood author, even if they weren't always positive ones!

My absolute all time favourite author from childhood - I remember being devastated in the 80s when I learned that she had died whilst being thrilled last year at seeing her typewriter in the Seven Stories children’s book museum.

This isn’t just a biography - it includes anecdotes and viewpoints from other parties at the times mentioned. Of course, Enid’s writing has been brought under scrutiny many times over the years but it was interesting to read that the BBC had banned her in her lifetime (she died in 1968) whilst also learning of a more recent renaissance of her work and how popular it remains today.

The facts of her career are indisputable - one of the most prolific and published children’s authors of all time. What was interesting to learn about was her childhood, including her father leaving the family home when she was young, but also about her subsequent estrangement from her mother and younger brothers. It was also telling to read the words of her daughters, leaving the reader in no doubt that whilst Enid was incredible with children that may not have included her own two. The book also details Enid’s two marriages and how any scandal was covered up at the time.

This was well worth a read - I feel I know more now about her as a person as well as an author. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

I loved Enid Blytons books as a child. I desperately wanted to go on adventures with the famous five and I begged my poor working class mother to pay for me to go to Mallory towers. I had also become more aware as an adult about the criticism of her work. This biography does look at both the adoration of Blyton by children and some of the more complex aspects of her character. I would have liked a little more commentary from the author to be fair and a little more analysis from the book. For example, when talking about how she emotionally distanced herself and her children from her first husband and their father, (playing devils advocate) it could be that she didn’t want them to be around an adulterous man with depression and alcohol issues? It would have been interesting for the biographer to look at accounts from other family members of friends too.
Overall, an easy read though and one that introduces the complexities of this well loved authors life.

The Real Enid Blyton
by Nadia Cohen
Pub Date 30 Oct 2022
Pen & Sword, Pen & Sword History
Biographies & Memoirs | History | Nonfiction (Adult)



I am reviewing a copy of The Real Enid Blyton through Pen & Sword and Netgalley:


Enid Blyton was the most profiling Children’s author in history. She was 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.


Both 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.


Enid imagined a more remarkable 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 made sure her image was crafted so that 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.



Enid was a complex and immature woman who 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.


I give the Real Enid Blyton five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I was pleased to see this offered as an ARC on NetGalley because, like millions of others, I loved reading Enid’s books and still do. Granted I stick to the fairy tales, the Faraway Tree series being my favourite, but I was never interested in the ‘real life’ books. It’s true her writing was quite simplistic but her imagination was enchanting. It is sad that Enid wasn’t as warm and friendly as her books would suggest but this book spanned her life and told unflinching truths. There were a couple of eyebrow raising moments in this but on a whole I think it was well written and complete. I recommend it to any Blyton fan or anyone interested in popular children’s authors.

A complex portrayal of an extremely difficult and damaged woman, The Real Enid Blyton captures just how one woman could be so captivating and magical to generations of children, and so thoughtless and almost cruel to her own.
This isn't a one-sided portrayal - Cohen examines what made Blyton this way, and it's the first time I've read about the traumas that may have shaped Blyton's behaviours. Sympathetic without ignoring the crueler details of Blyton's personality, this is a layered portrait and worth a read

Having doesn't much of my childhood engrossed in Enid Blyton's books, I was keen to learn more about my first favourite author. Of course I knew all about the accusations of racism, sexism and snobbery that had been levelled against her and her books and how unacceptable it was by today's standards but I knew very little about Enid and her influences until I read The Real Enid Blyton. What a fascinating insight it gives to this imaginative, childlike, flawed and driven woman. I would heartily recommend

My childhood was spent reading Enid Blyton books. When my daughter was little I insisted on reading Blytons stories to her. She was so creative and made childhood seem magical.
Nadia Cohen has put together a very comprehensive narrative of Enid’s life. From her feelings of abandonment as her child. Her loathing of her mother. Her loves and her friends. More importantly the relationship she had with her two daughters Gillian and Imogen.
A complex woman who spent hours behind the typewriter. Always answering the letters that were sent to her.
No matter what people think of the books nowadays, they were written in the way Enid saw the world. It was normal for her times. We just have to know that it’s not always appropriate today.
I really enjoyed this book and felt io knew more about the woman when I had finished it.

Before there was J.K Rowling, indeed, before even Roald Dahl, there was Enid Blyton, the most successful children's author of the 20th century.
Few writers have been as popular or as prolific. Emerging from a childhood marred by her beloved father's decision to leave her mother for another woman, Enid, born in 1897, wrote an astonishing number of books between the early 1920s until she developed dementia in the 1960s, The Famous Five, Secret Seven and Noddy series amongst them. Not everything went smoothly for her. Her first marriage failed and she has been accused of treating her own children coldly and her books have been accused of being variously racist, sexist and formulaic. This fine book tells the whole story, Big Ears, naked tennis matches, lashings of ginger beer and all.

Every lover of reading and in fact everyone reader or not has heard of Enid Blyton….The Famous 5, The Secret 7, my fav ever ‘The Rilloughby Fair Mystery’ part of the Barney series that as a child I read and re read and then read again….we all have our memories of this author and her books……’lashings of ginger beer’ ‘whole fruit cakes’ and ‘mounds of sandwiches’…they were innocent times and many of us thrived on her books
This book tries to discover if in fact Enid Blyton was as wonderful as portrayed and although we have all heard the stories and rumours and criticism’s re racism, sexism and snobbery, I was almost wary to read the book in case it was an onslaught and everything I had loved in her books was false…it wasn’t, oh there is plenty to learn about her and her ‘foibles’ and not so great ways but all in all it is a very fair representation of her life and career, fascinating in good and bad and leaves the reader maybe not under any illusion she was perfect but still able to focus on her many attributes
I was surprised to read her books still sell between 6-7 million copies a year, yep still that many every year
A remarkable women, an intriguing life and a fascinating read

I grew up reading Enid Blyton and it was fascinating to read about her as a person, not just as the creator of beloved children’s stories. It’s not always pretty but it is thorough. The book explores many aspects of her life and does not shy away from the darker parts.

This Biography is a Wonderous & Thought-Provoking Insight into the creator of The Famous 5, Noddy, St. Clares, Malory Towers & The Enchanted Lands.
(Thanks to Net Galley & Nadia Cohen for this Book).

The Real Enid Blyton
By Nadia Cohen

The first author I was ever truly conscious of was Enid Blyton. To me, her famous signature was like a trade mark, an approval stamp that declared "suitable for children". I wasn't into the fairies and goblins at all, I had no relationship with Noddy, but put island or cave alongside the word adventure and I was in. Loved The Secret Seven, would read The Famous Five but wasn't as impressed with it. The Twins at St Clare's and Mallory Towers whipped me up into a frenzy about going to secondary school. My parents laughed at my attempts to get them to send me to boarding school. I still harbour latent jealousy towards anyone I now know who boarded, envious images of midnight feasts and jolly hockeystickness flare up when I meet them.

This biography of Enid Blyton is a wonderful trip down memory lane. Of course I remember the contention around Blyton's simplistic writing, the side eye from librarians and teachers when I'd seek out titles and they would gently steer me in another direction. I remember the gollie controversary, but at that stage I was old enough to agree with all the reasons. The author has done a good job at presenting the complicated character that is Ms Blyton here. She plots the course of Blyton's most important relationships, and paints a much ,more nuanced character than I had known. Her damaged childhood, her transactional friendships, her troubled family dynamics and her ultimate regrets and shame at how she treated the people around her, once she had reflected on her life.

Emotions and nostalgia aside, I found the writing to be a bit stilted. The early chapters almost feel like they were writing in the style of Enid Blyton herself, the latter ones not so much. There is a lot of repetition which becomes a little irksome. The author is not presenting a judgement on Blyton, merely presenting the facts, I would have liked more meat on the bone. But I like that she has given enough reasons to maybe forgive Blyton for being a product of her time, place and circumstances. It sounds like when she knew better, she tried to do better.

Publication date: 30th October 2022
Thank you to #netgalley and #penandsword for the egalley

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this insightful book about my favourite childhood author

i fell in love with the magic faraway tree and the wishing chair as a child, and i always looked forward to a new enid blyton book at christmas so i found this book a very interesting read

she was a woman ahead of her times and though it was a sorry to read to see how she was with her children her focus on getting reading established through her writing and her time spent teaching, its an amazing legacy she left behind

its hard to imagine the criticism reined down on her writing but it was always aimed at childrens ages and ranges and not really for adults...and that was her greatest weapon

i am glad i read this book about her life and though towards the end of the book it was a bit repetitive it nevertheless gave me an insightful view into her life