The Famous Five

by Claude Voilier

English, French (translation)

262 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Dan]

I read all of the Famous Five books, and the Secret Seven books, AND some of Blyton's other childrens' adventure stories, when I was a child. I was surprised to come across a number of so-called Famous Five books by a completely different author.

Voilier is a French teacher, journalist, translator (especially of popular English children's series such as The Three Investigators and The Dana Girls into French), and a prolific author, having written over 600 short stories for various French magazines, and about 400 stories for children. Starting from the early 1970s, and continuing up to the mid-1980s, Voilier wrote a series of books based on Enid Blyton's Famous Five series. The series comprises 24 books, 18 of which have been translated into English by Anthea Bell.

The original (!) French Famous Five series by Claude Voilier was published by Bibliothèque Rose, a division of the giant French publishing house Hachette. In the original hardback editions, the books do not have chapters, and every second page has a comic strip-style illustration that sums up the main action in the text on the opposite page.

Full list of the French series:

1. Les Cinq sont les plus forts (1971; English title: The Famous Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds)
2. Les Cinq au bal des espions (1971; English title: The Famous Five in Fancy Dress)
3. Le Marquis appelle les Cinq (1972; English title: The Famous Five and the Stately Homes Gang)
4. Les Cinq au Cap des tempêtes (1972; English title: The Famous Five and the Missing Cheetah)
5. Les Cinq à la Télévision (1973; English title: The Famous Five go on Television)
6. Les Cinq et les pirates du ciel (1973; English title: The Famous Five and the Hijackers)
7. Les Cinq contre le masque noir (1974; English title: The Famous Five Versus the Black Mask)
8. Les Cinq et le galion d'or (1974; English title: The Famous Five and the Golden Galleon)
9. Les Cinq font de la brocante (1975; English title: The Famous Five and the Inca God)
10. Les Cinq se mettent en quatre (1975; English title: The Famous Five and the Pink Pearls)
11. Les Cinq dans la cité secrète (1976; English title: The Famous Five and the Secret of the Caves)
12. La fortune sourit aux Cinq (1976; English title: The Famous Five and the Cavalier's Treasure)
13. Les Cinq et le rayon Z (1977; English title: The Famous Five and the Z-Rays)
14. Les Cinq vendent la peau de l'ours (1977; English title: The Famous Five and the Blue Bear Mystery)
15. Les Cinq aux rendez-vous du diable (1978; English title: The Famous Five in Deadly Danger)
16. Du neuf pour les Cinq (1978; English title: The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy)
17. Les Cinq et le trésor de Roquépine (1979; English title: The Famous Five and the Knights' Treasure)
18. Les Cinq et le diamant bleu (1979; reprinted in 1980 as Les Cinq et le rubis d'Akbar; never translated into English)
19. Les Cinq jouent serré (1980; English title: The Famous Five and the Strange Scientist)
20. Les Cinq en croisière (1980; never translated into English)
21. Les Cinq contre les fantômes (1981; never translated into English)
22. Les Cinq en Amazonie (1983; never translated into English)
23. Les Cinq et le trésor du pirate (1984; never translated into English)
24. Les Cinq contre le loup-garou (1985; never translated into English)

18 of these were translated into English by Anthea Bell and published in paperback by Knight Books. They were subsequently published again in the early 1990s by Hodder and Stoughton with slightly revised titles;

In 1996, a book written by Claude Voilier and illustrated by Anne Bozellec, entitled Les Cinq et le secret du vieux puits (The Five and the Secret of the Old Well), was published and may constitute the 25th volume in the series. However, from the rather scant information available about the book, it appears as though it may be little more than a rewrite or updated translation of Le Club des Cinq et le vieux puits, which is the French version of Five Have a Mystery to Solve, the 20th book in Enid Blyton's original Famous Five series.