AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Enid Blyton

Enid Mary Blyton (August 11, 1897–November 28, 1968) was a popular English children's writer. She was one of the most successful juvenile storytellers of the twentieth century. She is noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups. Her books have enjoyed popular success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 400 million copies. By one measure, Blyton is the sixth most popular author worldwide: over 3400 translations of her books are available in 2007 according to UNESCO's Index Translationum;[1] she is behind Lenin and almost equal to Shakespeare. One of her most widely known characters is Noddy, intended for beginning readers. However, her main forte are the young readers' novels, where children ride out their own adventures with minimal adult help. In this genre, particularly popular series include the Famous Five (consisting of 21 novels, 1942–1963, based on four children and their dog), the Five Find-Outers and Dog, (15 novels, 1943-1961, where five children regularly outwit the local police) as well as the Secret Seven (15 novels, 1949–1963, a society of seven children who solve various mysteries). Her work involves children's adventure stories, and fantasy, sometimes involving magic. Her books were and still are enormously popular in Britain, Malta, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Australia, and as translations, in former Yugoslavia, Japan, and across most of the globe. Her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages.