Looking for Enid: The Mysterious and Inventive Life of Enid Blyton

by Duncan McLaren

This is a strikingly inventive and unusual portrait of the most successful English writer for children until JK Rowling, Enid Blyton, who entertained millions worldwide with her myriad adventure stories and mysteries but was herself an adventure and a mystery. Everyone who ever wondered what kind of woman Enid Blyton was.Enid Blyton gave us the "Famous Five" and "Fatty's Find-Outers", the "Enchanted Wood" and the "Wishing Chair". Some of us, encouraged by austere critics, have pretended no longer to want what Enid gave. We have pretended that we were not once upon a time enthralled by her stories. We have chosen to forget how much we loved the time we spent in their company. And we have feigned disdain. Now, Duncan McLaren offers lapsed devotees the possibility of honest redemption. If you're willing to acknowledge that Enid Blyton once mattered to you, you are warmly invited to accompany Duncan on an adventure that will investigate what made Enid Enid and endeavour to reach the source of her torrent of stories, those that came when she was 'letting her mind go free'.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Literature

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Of the 12 books I've written so far, two have been published in full. I was 40 when Personal Delivery came out, while Looking For Enid appeared 10 years later. The call I got from David Bowie, an inspiration of my adolescence, congratulating me on Personal Delivery, just about balances the clutch of one-star reviews I've received on the Amazon site for my book on Enid Blyton, the wonder of my childhood. What next? A book on Evelyn Waugh's brittle and brilliant youth is in the pipeline. At least as far as I'm concerned it is.

I've also got a book on the go about my mother, who has dementia and is in a care home. There is a blog on this at: http://www.saga.co.uk/health/carers/b...

My ambition is to have three books in Amazon's top million sellers by the year 2020. No, dammit, four.

Update: August 2011:
Beautiful Books will publish 'EVELYN!' in September 2011. See their website which gives an insight into the contemporary publishing process. http://www.beautiful-books.co.uk

EVELYN!, whose strapline is 'Rhapsody for an Obsessive Love', explores the love triangle between Evelyn Waugh, Evelyn Gardner and John Heygate. Though there is another love triangle going on, involving Evelyn Waugh, his books and me.

The 'Visiting Mabel' blog was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for blogs in 2011.

Reviews

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly the strangest and yet, maybe, one of the most brilliant biographies of an author I've ever read. It's an approach that I don't think would have worked for anybody but Enid Blyton and so, perhaps, the unorthodoxy of Looking For Enid was always destined to work when its subject was such a furiously unorthodox figure herself.

Looking For Enid sets out to discover the truth behind the myth. Enid Blyton for me has always been one of those authors who controlled her brand. Image was all, irrespective of that which went on behind the scenes. The most immediate example of this is her utobiography, The Story Of My Life which still remains one of the most audaciously artificial texts I have ever read. Enid didn't - doesn't - give away her truth easily.

Yet Enid Blyton is an author we all know, and much of that's due to the cultural shorthands that now, rightfully or wrongfully, surround her name. A ferociously readable writer, possessed of an almost Sisyphean urge to write, she produced bluntly workmanlike narratives that often denied elegance but could be read. Undoubtedly, those narratives are also often coloured of problematic social, gender and ethical characteristics, and I don't deny nor seek to excuse that. I'm not a fan of Blyton (though I'll fight the corner for Malory Towers and St Clare's to be considered as expressions of feminine potential within a society designed to not recognise such), but I do find both the author and the reach her work still has upon British children's literature utterly fascinating. I'd never heard of Looking For Enid and so was intrigued to see what

Looking For Enid visits locations connected with Blyton; Beaconsfield, Beckenham and Bourne End, with a sort of madly ecccentric metafictive fanfiction element in which the Five Find-Outers attempt to solve the mystery of Enid Blyton's lost books and in which McLaren slightly Mary-Sue's himself into the role of Fatty. Along the way, you learn perhaps a little bit too much about uteruses (seriously) and McLaren's sex life (honestly) and a lot to do with carp (I'm not making any of this up). There's a lot of Freudian-esque reading into the subtext of Blyton's work, which, to be frank, always makes me slightly jaded. You look hard enough, you can read a phallus into everything.

Plus the uterus business, really.

But I'm still giving this four stars, and that comes from a recognition of this book's mad brilliance. It's infuriating, yes, and could do with stepping away from the socratic exposition that McLaren does tend to engage in with his partner, but it's sort of fabulous and vividly unique. I don't think I've ever read a book like this that is so - madly honest - about what it's like to be a fan, and to love something, and to also just want to find out more. Looking For Enid certainly concludes by finding her; I'm not sure that it's my Enid, but I do know that the ride towards that point is kind of unforgettable. Mad, weird, totally bizarre, and a bit super odd at points, but also, sort of brilliant.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mysterious and Inventive Life of Enid Blyton, indeed. Enid Blyton is one of my favourite authors of all time and extremely prolific, a conservative estimate puts her total works at more than 800. This book is not a conventional biography, though a number of those do exist. This is also not one of those books who presumes that because the books are written for children, they are somehow simplistic, or tried to lever these books into the modern day.

What the books are, however, is a reflection of the mind and the life of the writer. This book seeks to explore the reasons for Enid Blyton's incredible production [she could write an entire book in less than a week] and the impact that the men in her life had on it. The conclusions are both fascinating and, in some cases, rather bizarre. By looking at both what is known about her life [a biography by Stoney, an autobiography, letters, diaries, etc] and the information that snuck out into her writing, the author manages to discover a number of things that might seem obvious and to draw a number of interesting conclusions as to why certain themes recur [tunnels and caves, for example].

He also includes some fictional sections, as the Five Find-Outers attempt to unravel the mystery of Enid Blyton [these are quite amusing]. If you ever enjoyed Enid Blyton, this is a fun and fascinating read.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided that I wanted to read a biography of Enid Blyton, and finding one by Barbara Stoney, I asked my husband to buy me it for Christmas. He bought me this book instead. I was rather ungrateful, as I had read reviews of this book, and had heard that the Stoney one was better.

You may be wondering why I am telling you that, rather than writing a review of the book - well the book is like that. It is like a stream of consciousness from McLaren as he and a girlfriend visit the places Blyton lived and holidayed, theorising about Enid, and imagining themselves as Fatty and Bets - who were apparently two children from the Adventure series.

You do learn bits and pieces about Enid, but on the whole you learn a lot more about Duncan McLaren.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the bad reviews for this book completely miss the point, it doesn't claim to be a simple biography, if you want that, read the official biography, the sugarcoated autobiography, or the bitter daughter's tell all.
This is one mans rediscovery of a childhood love, a pilgrimage to places associated with Enid and some theories about her writing, as it relates to the men in her life. You may disagree with his conclusions, but they make some sense. To dismiss this as, "Not the biography I thought it was!", is your loss. It had me checking my own, much loved, copy of 'Hello Mr Twiddle!' after it was discussed by the author and his travelling companion, to see that, yes, it was a Dean edition, with a list of other titles on the back, just as described!

[Kenneth Yeung · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of Enid Blyton as a child and nowadays collect unexpurgated editions of her books. A few years ago I read Barbara Stoney's excellent Blyton biography and enjoyed it immensely. Later, I was thrilled to come across 'Looking For Enid' but my elation quickly turned to dismay after I started to read the book. Quite simply, it is the worst book I have ever read. It added nothing to my knowledge of Enid Blyton. All of the facts were swiped from the Stoney biography and the rest of it was inane prattle, including McLaren's offensive musings upon Blyton's sex life. This book was an insult to a fascinating and complex writer. It is rare that I throw a book in the rubbish bin, but I did not think twice about chucking this one away.

[Jacquie South · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm ... still making my mind up on this one ! This is NOT a biography, in the normal sense of biography. There is not much actual information about Enid Blyton's life in a strict factual sense. McLaren studies Blyton mainly through her Famous Five and Mystery (Five Find-Outers) series, and is most interested in her relationships with the 3 important men in her life - her father Thomas, and her husbands Hugh and Kenneth.

This is a strange book, with, to use one of Enid's favourite words, 'queer' sidelines of thought and writings by McLaren - conversations between McLaren and his friend Kate about Blyton's books and relationships, sections written as Bets and the Find-Outers, wanderings between charity shops and the countryside of Devon. In all, there's a bit too much about McLaren (and his sex life, which is totally unneccessary!!), and not quite enough about Blyton. The whole thing about the carp was way beyond me!

So, as I said at the start, I'm still thinking about my response to this book! It did make me think of certain aspects of Enids's writing in a different way, but was very narrow in it's focus (not that it tries to be anything more than it is), and there's still much more I would like to know about her life and work.

[David Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting read. In fact I couldn't put it down. Initially I thought this was going to be a straight biography; that would have been good enough, but this mixture of the known facts about Enid Blyton's life and a fascinating theory regarding the influence of the three main men her life on her writing, with particular reference to The Famous Five and the Five FindOuters, had me turning the pages in the same way the great author herself achieved. McLaren recreates Enid's style of writing superbly and I find myself wanting to re-read her stories. I never dreamt they were so gynaecological! I'm not sure how those who knew her would react to the theories espoused but they are persuasive.
One or two little errors I thought. Surely it was a furnished room in an unfurnished house in The Mystery of the Secret Room rather than vice-versa. Does that make a first edition more valuable?

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something very unusual has happened while I've been reading this book - I've given up half way through! I think I just got bored with it (admittedly I've not been well this week and had very little patience). I read loads of Enid Blyton books as a child and enjoyed them so I was looking forward to finding out more about her. I got confused by the details about Enid's live and bored by the bits about the author's life. Shame. But I do feel inspired to find a straightforward biography (and maybe even borrow my niece's Mallory Towers books!)

[Verity · Rating 1 out of 5]

A ludicrous attempt at trying to provide an insight to Blyton's life.

The author assumed whatever he wanted to from very dubious coincidences in Blyton's writing and real life.

He also couldn't seem to help but give everything a seedy undertone.

Less about his own (sex) life wouldn't have hurt the momentum of the book either. Very poor.

[Gerard Charles Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am inclined to write this a review ‘under reserve’ because I think I would have to read the book again to do it full justice. The title says exactly what the book is about. The author sets out to discover who Enid Blyton was not only by reading the critical literature and consulting Blyton experts and Blyton organisations, but by actually setting off, backpack and all, on a tour of discovery.

He tracks down the houses and places where Blyton lived or stayed, from childhood to the end of her life. He also attempts to demonstrate that some of the places familiar to Blyton (holiday resorts etc) served as model for crucial scenery in some of her books. He does it rather convincingly. I found myself on google maps (I’m here in Melbourne) trying to follow him on his tour. He is accompanied most of the time by his girlfriend, Kate, who acts as a sometimes doubtful sounding board for his speculations. His journey of discovery includes much speculation (often convincingly) about how people in Blyton’s life influenced her writing. These include her father, mother, and first husband.

While all this is going on he weaves the characters and stories of some of Blyton’s books into the action, so that in the end the characters are mixing with and talking to Enid Blyton herself. I thought this very daring, but for the most part he pulls it off. Bravo, Dunc.

Now for my reservations. The characters and stories woven into the narrative are mostly from Blyton’s Mystery/Find-Outers series. You really have to be familiar with this series to appreciate the success of what he is doing. I have read one from this series (The Mystery of the Strange Messages – Christmas present 1957) so I struggled a little in the beginning. But I got the hang of it eventually. (I’m almost exclusively a Famous Five fan.) I suggest those coming to this book brush up on their Mystery/Find-Outer stories. It will make it easier to follow what is being attempted.

My only real criticism is the attempt at a sort of Freudian psychoanalysis of Blyton’s (sexual) motivations for parts of her stories. I didn’t realise – and it was a surprise that I never saw it – that tunnels and towers (especially tunnels) played a big role in the Famous Five series. I thought to myself while the author was developing his analysis, ‘Oh no, don’t do it, Dunc.’ But he did it – not at all convincingly. Let me go for the more obvious explanation: tunnels are mysterious and provide tension for 12-year-olds. On the other hand, I think the author has made a sub-case for Blyton’s arrested development as a writer: she writes with the mentality of a 12-year-old. Indeed, she was never successful as a writer for the adult market. Fortunately, this attempt at psychoanalysis is a small part in an otherwise interesting, engaging and eccentric biography.

A last recommendation: I would suggest that one read Barbara Stoney’s more traditional biography (Enid Blyton: The Biography) before tackling this one. It will make it easier to follow the author’s adventure. Highly recommended. I also recommend McLaren's website devoted to Enid Blyton.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky and unusual, this book uses an entirely different approach. Is it a biography, a memoir, a travelogue, fiction based on Enid Blyton's books? It is all of these, which is intriguing but also somewhat disjointed.
I enjoyed the author's charity shop searching and the discovery of treasure this involves, as I am equally thrilled with the search for secondhand books (if I see a green Virago cover, I am in heaven!)
There were many amusing tidbits of Enid information that only a dedicated Blyton fan would notice. Such as the illustrations of early Blyton works by Eileen Soper - the one on the book cover above being a case in point. This illustration had to be corrected in later editions as George is looking through the wrong end of the telescope!
I particularly loved this one, speaking about [The Children's Life of Christ]:

"Obviously Eileen Soper was obsessed with Timmy, because opposite the title page is the colour frontispiece from which I learn that Timmy was present at the Nativity."

So I had to look up the illustrations and yes, there is Timmy the dog from the Famous Five series with the Three Wise Men.

Overall, an interesting read but some tenuous and peculiar connections between Enid's writing and her life.

[Emma Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about this book was how it made me look back to the time when Enid Blyton books were a huge source of enjoyment for me. I loved the fact that they were mainly about children who were left alone by adults and were able to have interesting adventures and freedom which I didn't feel that I had. Some of the writing is funny and perceptive and I found out a lot about EB that I didn't know. However this book is more about the life of the author really and he does have an unfortunate habit of having to ascribe pretty much everything to sex and also make creepy references to his own sex life. A book about a children's author written by a childish man. Also - an obsession with the finder outers and virtually no mention of the Secret Seven at all. The other great Blyton obsession - food eaten outside and ginger beer - goes completely unexplored. So I am actually going to remove a star and give this book 2 stars.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is less about Enid Blyton than it is about the obsession and over-analysing mind of Duncan McLaren. This was an agonisingly slow read. It reminds me of a high school English class with a pompous lecturer who thinks they know everything about literature.

Teacher:

“When the author mentions that the wall is blue, they are referring to the sadness of their situation and their battle with depression”

Author:

“Uhhh, not quite. I actually meant that the wall was painted in blue paint”

[Pip Snort · Rating 1 out of 5]

This began oddly but not uninterestingly, but then wandered off into some unusual and not very well written speculation, reimagining and personal description that crushed any of my surviving interest in the work. I'm stunned it was published.

[Nancy Radford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd but curiously intriguing

[Merry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I was more than halfway through when I made a sudden decision to leave its narrator balanced just there on a small stool in yet another charity shop peering at the Castle of Adventure whilst listening in to a dull conversation between a tramp and the cashier... Simply, I ran out of patience.

And I was disappointed to do that. Because I applauded the idea of someone middle-aged like me, going out to seek the identity of Enid Blyton - hero of our childhoods - but became increasingly exasperated by his method.

I think Duncan can write and I hope he is now making a career out of writing adventure stories for children instead?... For what it's worth, I think he could...

[Lizie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite interesting! The author, a Blyton fan, explores places Enid lived, linking people and places he encounters, to the stories and characters in her books. Style is quite tongue in cheek. I only read half the book as it was due back at the library and the chapters were starting to follow a very predictable pattern. I did find out some amazing facts about her though - she wrote 600 books, was married twice, had two daughters, one of whom hated her and the other retained control over what was published about her!

[Darcassan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read, really well researched and amusingly inventive in approach. The imagined episodes constructed in a Blyton-esque fashion enlivened the narrative no end, and I really enjoyed the author's interpretation of events in Blyton's life. The proof that this is a worthwhile read for me was that it made me want to go back and read Blyton's books again. I also loved the author's constant assertion that there is no shame in reading and enjoying Blyton's work, at any age.

[Derbhile Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skipped through quite a lot of this book. I could see what the author was trying to do, and there are probably many who would consider it quite inventive, but I found it alienating, and the author's irritating personality got in the way. I stayed with it because of my fascination with the subject matter and the odd interesting glimpse into how Enid's real life fed into her fiction. Plus it mentioned the Six Bad Boys, one of my favourite Blytons.

[Vcmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting exploration of the life and psyche of Enid Blyton through her books and biography.

Interesting approach mixing straightforward narrative with fictionalised adventures with the characters.

Makes a much more balanced interesting account than the TV series. I now want to re-read the book as well as loads of her fiction and to read the authorised biography and her autobiography- The Story of My Life

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very innovative biography of Ms. Blyton through the prism of the correspondence some of her best work had with her life, relationships and habitations. The blurring of fact and fiction make it very engrossing read - despite the time or two it seems to be getting out of hand.

[Yvonne Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky. Often written in the style of Enid, the author conducts a quest to explore her life.

I'm about to read the book again. More later.

[Olga Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second time I've tried to read this book and given up.

[Jessica]

Made me want to re-read and re-read all Enid's books all over again!

[Nadja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duncan McLaren learned much from Enid Blyton...he is the quintessential author for Blyton fans, now all grown up and still looking out for adventure.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I wanted to love this, I didn’t 🙁 I’ve picked this up about 5 times over the years. Maybe it’s because I don’t know the characters he refers to, fatty, etc. Very strange