Overview
- Draws on Blyton’s business correspondence to establish a fresh portrait of this best-selling author
- Examines Blyton’s most famous series but also provides readings of many lesser-known works
- Argues for the importance of Blyton as a literary figure with more varied achievements than is often supposed
Part of the book series: Literary Lives (LL)
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book is a study of the best-selling writer for children Enid Blyton (1897-1968) and provides a new account of her career. It draws on Blyton’s business correspondence to give a fresh account of a misunderstood figure who for forty years was one of Britain’s most successful and powerful authors. It examines Blyton’s rise to fame in the 1920s and considers the ways in which she managed her career as a storyteller, journalist and magazine editor. There is discussion of her most famous series including the Famous Five, the Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy, but attention is also given to lesser-known works including the family stories she published to acclaim in the 1940s and early 1950s, as well as her attempts to become a dramatist. The book also discusses Blyton’s fluctuating critical reputation, how she and her works were received and how Blyton the person has fared at the hands of biographers and the media.
Reviews
“Maunder covers Blyton's life, work and reputation in a readable, analytical and considered overview, concluding that Blyton is ‘a figure whose rehabilitation is long Overdue’. … Librarians begantaking Blyton books off the shelf in libraries. In this latest volume, Maunder documents the reassessments of Blyton which have emerged in the last three decades. In doing so, he has judiciously established the framework for the continuing debate on Blyton's influence and her role in children's literature and publishing.” (Colin Steele, The Canberra Times, canberratimes.com.au, April 1, 2022)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Andrew Maunder is the author of Bram Stoker (2006) and the editor of the series British Literature of World War I (2010). His recent works include British Theatre and the Great War (2015) and R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End: A Guide (2016).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Enid Blyton
Book Subtitle: A Literary Life
Authors: Andrew Maunder
Series Title: Literary Lives
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76332-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-76331-2Published: 07 December 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-76332-9Published: 02 December 2021
Series ISSN: 2946-2037
Series E-ISSN: 2946-2045
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 322
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 7 illustrations in colour
Topics: Children's Literature, Twentieth-Century Literature, Literature, general