What do you think?
Rate this book
The Famous Five #12
Five Go Down to the Sea
Who would deliberately lure somebody on to treacherous rocks on the Cornish coast? Somebody is flashing lights from the old tower on stormy nights - and the Famous Five sense danger. But can they solve this mystery safely? These classic editions feature Enid Blyton's unchanged text and Eileen A. Soper's original illustrations.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
136 people are currently reading
2158 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,152 books6,343 followersSee also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)
Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.
Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.
Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.
According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.
See also her pen name Mary Pollock
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)
Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.
Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.
Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.
According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.
See also her pen name Mary Pollock
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews
August 14, 2024
At least this title actually has some connection with the book! Five really do go down to the sea.
The Five take yet another parentless holiday, this time to a farmhouse near the sea. They go by train and are delighted to find the station is just a bare platform stranded in fields. The Five (rather like Mrs Blyton I imagine) do not approve of the kind of diversions that teenage children tend to like. They would rather be miles from anywhere enjoying bracing walks.
The farmer is a giant (six foot at least) and the Five can understand nothing he says, though his wife miraculously translates his mumbles. Early on we discover that he lies to his wife about what he is up to. Suspicious!
A spare child is provided in the form of a simple urchin who follows them about and lives in poverty with his grandfather.
Hints of adventure arrive in the form of tales about wreckers being active on this coast almost a hundred years before. We learn that the grandfather remembers his father being involved in wrecking - which is possible given the books are set in the 40s (this, the 12th in the series, was written in 1953).
"Excitement" arrives 1940s style when The Barnies, a local touring group, arrive in the area to put on variety shows in the barns of local farmers. The star of the show is Clopper, a pantomime horse, who has the Five in hysterics and the two boys fascinated with the costume.
On learning from Grandpa that the wreckers' light still shines on wild nights the Five investigate Five stylee. Which means the boys go out while Anne and George stay in bed, one willingly, the other angrily.
The boy who follows them (Jan) reveals the existence of a secret wreckers' way from the cove to the clifftops. The farmer is seen sneaking around at night and searching the Barnies' belongings. The plot thickens. The only other suspicious character - suspicious because anyone mean is likely to be a criminal in the FFverse - is "the governor" who is in charge of the Barnies and yet is an unsmiling fellow.
The Five manage to get trapped by baddies in a room off the wreckers' way (tick kidnapping, tick secret passages/caves). The baddies are up to smuggling it seems, and bizarrely they land their goods on stormy nights, using the wreckers' light as a signal to arrange a reception.
Jan saves the children, and they discover that the tunnel leads all the way to the barn in the farm that they are staying at. One of the baddies looked like the farmer, so Julian lets the farmer's wife know he is a bad sort. This doesn't go down well!
Anyway, it turns out that the farmer, who can talk when he puts his teeth in, is working against the smugglers, and together they manage to catch the main baddy, who is the only other "suspect", the governor.
The modernising twist here is that the governor is a drug dealer. The first and, I think, only mention of drugs in the series. The children cunningly determine the hiding place where the governor keeps the drugs ... which ... ridiculously is in a compartment inside the head of the pantomime horse that is in the keeping of an innocent party who wears the thing every day.
Consider where else he could hide what is essentially a handful of drugs. Consider the madness of keeping them in a horse head worn by someone else. Consider how easily a handful of drugs could be smuggled into the country without the dangers of wild nights at sea and signalling from land etc.
Anyway, not a terrible addition to the series. No treasure in this one, no girls dressed as boys, no twins, but many of the other regulars are ticked off the list.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
The Five take yet another parentless holiday, this time to a farmhouse near the sea. They go by train and are delighted to find the station is just a bare platform stranded in fields. The Five (rather like Mrs Blyton I imagine) do not approve of the kind of diversions that teenage children tend to like. They would rather be miles from anywhere enjoying bracing walks.
The farmer is a giant (six foot at least) and the Five can understand nothing he says, though his wife miraculously translates his mumbles. Early on we discover that he lies to his wife about what he is up to. Suspicious!
A spare child is provided in the form of a simple urchin who follows them about and lives in poverty with his grandfather.
Hints of adventure arrive in the form of tales about wreckers being active on this coast almost a hundred years before. We learn that the grandfather remembers his father being involved in wrecking - which is possible given the books are set in the 40s (this, the 12th in the series, was written in 1953).
"Excitement" arrives 1940s style when The Barnies, a local touring group, arrive in the area to put on variety shows in the barns of local farmers. The star of the show is Clopper, a pantomime horse, who has the Five in hysterics and the two boys fascinated with the costume.
On learning from Grandpa that the wreckers' light still shines on wild nights the Five investigate Five stylee. Which means the boys go out while Anne and George stay in bed, one willingly, the other angrily.
The boy who follows them (Jan) reveals the existence of a secret wreckers' way from the cove to the clifftops. The farmer is seen sneaking around at night and searching the Barnies' belongings. The plot thickens. The only other suspicious character - suspicious because anyone mean is likely to be a criminal in the FFverse - is "the governor" who is in charge of the Barnies and yet is an unsmiling fellow.
The Five manage to get trapped by baddies in a room off the wreckers' way (tick kidnapping, tick secret passages/caves). The baddies are up to smuggling it seems, and bizarrely they land their goods on stormy nights, using the wreckers' light as a signal to arrange a reception.
Jan saves the children, and they discover that the tunnel leads all the way to the barn in the farm that they are staying at. One of the baddies looked like the farmer, so Julian lets the farmer's wife know he is a bad sort. This doesn't go down well!
Anyway, it turns out that the farmer, who can talk when he puts his teeth in, is working against the smugglers, and together they manage to catch the main baddy, who is the only other "suspect", the governor.
The modernising twist here is that the governor is a drug dealer. The first and, I think, only mention of drugs in the series. The children cunningly determine the hiding place where the governor keeps the drugs ... which ... ridiculously is in a compartment inside the head of the pantomime horse that is in the keeping of an innocent party who wears the thing every day.
Consider where else he could hide what is essentially a handful of drugs. Consider the madness of keeping them in a horse head worn by someone else. Consider how easily a handful of drugs could be smuggled into the country without the dangers of wild nights at sea and signalling from land etc.
Anyway, not a terrible addition to the series. No treasure in this one, no girls dressed as boys, no twins, but many of the other regulars are ticked off the list.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
June 17, 2019
In this book, the Famous Five go down to the sea. Whadda ya mean my reviews are getting superfluous???
My wife and I sat in traffic jams for several hours today and this audiobook helped pass about four and a half of them. For this, I am immensely grateful.
This is another corker of an adventure story, with smugglers and jugglers and wugglers aplenty. (Only one of those things actually appears in this book. One of them isn't even a thing.)
The Five encounter a little boy called Jan in this story. He wants nothing but to be their friend and they continually tell him to bog off. I found this behaviour very unattractive and it made me want to give them all a slap. When Jan has a chance to get his own back, he doesn't even take it! He is clearly the better person here.
While I'm still enjoying these books, I think I may be running out of things to say about them. If you enjoyed the first eleven books in this series, you'll probably enjoy this one too. If you didn't enjoy the first eleven books, why the Hell are you still reading them? If you have chosen to read book twelve in a series without reading the first eleven, you are clearly deeply disturbed; seek professional help.
My wife and I sat in traffic jams for several hours today and this audiobook helped pass about four and a half of them. For this, I am immensely grateful.
This is another corker of an adventure story, with smugglers and jugglers and wugglers aplenty. (Only one of those things actually appears in this book. One of them isn't even a thing.)
The Five encounter a little boy called Jan in this story. He wants nothing but to be their friend and they continually tell him to bog off. I found this behaviour very unattractive and it made me want to give them all a slap. When Jan has a chance to get his own back, he doesn't even take it! He is clearly the better person here.
While I'm still enjoying these books, I think I may be running out of things to say about them. If you enjoyed the first eleven books in this series, you'll probably enjoy this one too. If you didn't enjoy the first eleven books, why the Hell are you still reading them? If you have chosen to read book twelve in a series without reading the first eleven, you are clearly deeply disturbed; seek professional help.
July 29, 2021
Another cracker of a story for the five, children will read this and they can almost believe they are along side them. How Enid Blyton keeps up the interest and excitement up without resorting to any sign of unnecessary scariness is so clever.
August 18, 2019
Enjoyed this one. Staying at a farmhouse for the holidays the Five fall into their usual adventures. Full of smugglers and roaming performers and a farmer they can't understand when he talks and a strange little ragamuffin. A lot of the adventures they have are similar but I love the different characters we always meet along the way.
January 13, 2011
Jess, my 8-year old little girl, gives it 4 stars.
SPOILERS!
Comments while reading:
"I like it when Yan says things like "frit" for afraid, and "iss" for yes. Is he a special needs kid? But I like him."
"Another character that speaks funny is Mr. Penruthlan. How could his wife understand him when all he ever said were "ocks" and "ahs"?"
"I knew it! Mr. Penruthlan IS the bad guy!"
"I love Clopper, the horse that can sit cross-legged. Of course I know that he's not a real horse! How could a real horse sit like that?"
"The funniest part is when Dick and Julian got into the Clopper costume and couldn't unzip it. They had to run around a bunch of people wearing that costume!"
Why do they call the theater people the "Barnies"? Isn't that the same as that purple dinosaur that I used to like when I was a baby? Oh OK, it's spelled differently. Barney is so babyish!"
"What?! Mr. Penruthlan is NOT the bad guy? Enid Blyton is so clever."
"Oh, so that's why Mr. Penruthlan is suddenly able to speak clearly --- he put on his dentures. What are "dentures"?"
"But I think the story is a bit too short. How come we don't hear anything more about those men who were in the tool shed? Who are they? I wish that Enid had explained that."
Read
September 30, 2014Reading Famous Five during lunch hour at work makes me remember my childhood. Everything is so cozy and familiar. But those gender roles, ugh, they annoy me so much now. I used to think that George was cool, but now I see she is the "boy" who is not quite as boyish and brave as the boys. I loved these books as a kid, but while I do get a certain sentimental enjoyment out of them now, I can't say I love them anymore. But formula fiction like this only addresses the child reader and therefore adult readers like me should leave the judging to their younger selves. But really, there should be new "Famous Fives" with updated gender roles. Probably/hopefully there are...
June 19, 2019
Definitely one I have read before, but one which I had completely forgotten about. This is a short story where the children go on another adventure and they end up getting involved with a troupe of performers, 'barnies', who are frequently travelling the area doing shows with horse puppets and more.
There is a mystery to solve when a mysterious light seems to be shining to tempt ships onto the rocks. There is also a smuggling situation and the five aren't quite sure what to believe and who is actually involved.
2.5*s overall.
There is a mystery to solve when a mysterious light seems to be shining to tempt ships onto the rocks. There is also a smuggling situation and the five aren't quite sure what to believe and who is actually involved.
2.5*s overall.
June 29, 2020
Aunque no es de mis libros favoritos de los cinco, siempre está bien marcharse unos días de vacaciones o excursión con esta pandilla y rememorar la infancia, esa infancia en la que a la vuelta de la esquina parecen estar esperando múltiples y emocionantes aventuras.
En este caso los niños que lo lean pueden aprender un poco sobre los llamados "naufragadores" que actuaban en las costas de Cornualles en los siglos XVIII y XIX. Es cierto que algunos detalles no han envejecido bien como el hecho de que en los momentos más arriesgados se recomiende a las chicas quedarse en casa, pero hay que tener en cuenta que este libro se escribió allá por los años 50. En cualquier caso, siempre está bien volver a la literatura de aventuras de Enid Blyton.
Sus libros se siguen reeditando hoy en día. Por algo será.
En este caso los niños que lo lean pueden aprender un poco sobre los llamados "naufragadores" que actuaban en las costas de Cornualles en los siglos XVIII y XIX. Es cierto que algunos detalles no han envejecido bien como el hecho de que en los momentos más arriesgados se recomiende a las chicas quedarse en casa, pero hay que tener en cuenta que este libro se escribió allá por los años 50. En cualquier caso, siempre está bien volver a la literatura de aventuras de Enid Blyton.
Sus libros se siguen reeditando hoy en día. Por algo será.
November 16, 2011
Another in the "Five series". By now, with the twelfth book we have come to expect a certain formula from these books. Four children with little supervision find out something mysterious, solve the mystery and get rewarded. There is excellent sounding food (Except the tongue, although I've never had it it still sounds gross)
They are staying at Tremannon farm this time around, and suspect someone of smuggling in good on stormy nights. Their prime suspect is their host, Mr Penruthlan who disappears at night and seems to lie to his with about where he goes.
They decide to do some exploring, and get trapped by the smugglers. Meanwhile, the Barnies who have been staying at the farm are out looking for them, and one of them might just prove to be the bad guy.
I love Enid Blyton, there has never been any doubt about that. This book was actually one of the later ones I managed to get a copy of, so it has never held the love that others in the series hold for me, but it is still an excellent book.
They are staying at Tremannon farm this time around, and suspect someone of smuggling in good on stormy nights. Their prime suspect is their host, Mr Penruthlan who disappears at night and seems to lie to his with about where he goes.
They decide to do some exploring, and get trapped by the smugglers. Meanwhile, the Barnies who have been staying at the farm are out looking for them, and one of them might just prove to be the bad guy.
I love Enid Blyton, there has never been any doubt about that. This book was actually one of the later ones I managed to get a copy of, so it has never held the love that others in the series hold for me, but it is still an excellent book.
March 6, 2018
Wonderful book!
Never imagined that those barnies would turn out to be the main villains.
One of the best mystery thriller I’ve read till now.
Never imagined that those barnies would turn out to be the main villains.
One of the best mystery thriller I’ve read till now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2023
I missed these books 🥹🥹
August 2, 2019
... reading with my 10 year old daughter...
Adorable. I've read these books as a child and now I'm reading them with my daughter. She loves them just as much as I do.
Adorable. I've read these books as a child and now I'm reading them with my daughter. She loves them just as much as I do.
September 29, 2021
รักในความเอ็นดูของเด็กๆ ที่มีต่อแยน
เล่มนี้ไม่ค่อยได้ผจญภัยอะไรมากมาย แต่สนุกเหมือนเดิม
เล่มนี้ไม่ค่อยได้ผจญภัยอะไรมากมาย แต่สนุกเหมือนเดิม
April 27, 2015
Discovering the foreign land of Cornwell
12 November 2012
It seems that by this book, which is the twelfth in the series, Blyton is settling into a rhythm. The Famous Five are not aging and each year is merging into this one never ending year that seems to have an endless amount of holidays (sort of like the Simpsons, except without the endless holidays). This is not all that surprising since the Famous Five are quite popular and obviously there was a demand for the books. Fortunately Harry Potter never turned out like this, but then again Harry Potter has a plot and all of the books were moving towards that end.
The story sees the Five travelling down to Cornwell, and we are suddenly confronted with the Cornish accents. It seems that we are being shown a foreign land which exists within the boundaries of England. Here outsiders are all referred to as foreigners and we are even being introduced to some of the odd ways that people talk. It also seems that the Five seem to have friends and relatives scattered all over England, as they are staying at a farm owned by somebody that somebody knows, and there always seems to be some sort of circus act that turn up as well.
The story behind this story is that there was a group over fifty years ago known as the Wreckers. During stormy nights they would light a lamp and lure ships to the rocks where they would crash, and then the Wreckers would make their way down to the cove and pick up all the cargo that have come to shore. The cargo would then be taken inland and sold on the black market. The false lighthouse was set up where nobody inland would be able to see it, unless they knew where to look.
It is also noticeable that we are introduced to boy name Yan. Basically nobody, but Timmy, like Yan, and for much of the book they are telling him to go away. The only member that seems to accept Yan as a decent person is Timmy, and we all know, at least all of us who have followed the books, that Timmy is not stupid. Okay, he has slipped up, such as with Ragamuffin Jo, but she turned out good in the end anyway. What put me off was that this group of children were actually so mean to Yan, despite the fact that Yan not only turned out to be good, but also saved them as well.
I wouldn't necessarily say that the books are getting boring, they are not. The adventures are still interesting, and they still captivate me as I read them. However, I do sit down and wonder at times whether I will even have the opportunity of sharing them with children of my own. The answer probably is unlikely, but then again, who knows what the future may bring.
12 November 2012
It seems that by this book, which is the twelfth in the series, Blyton is settling into a rhythm. The Famous Five are not aging and each year is merging into this one never ending year that seems to have an endless amount of holidays (sort of like the Simpsons, except without the endless holidays). This is not all that surprising since the Famous Five are quite popular and obviously there was a demand for the books. Fortunately Harry Potter never turned out like this, but then again Harry Potter has a plot and all of the books were moving towards that end.
The story sees the Five travelling down to Cornwell, and we are suddenly confronted with the Cornish accents. It seems that we are being shown a foreign land which exists within the boundaries of England. Here outsiders are all referred to as foreigners and we are even being introduced to some of the odd ways that people talk. It also seems that the Five seem to have friends and relatives scattered all over England, as they are staying at a farm owned by somebody that somebody knows, and there always seems to be some sort of circus act that turn up as well.
The story behind this story is that there was a group over fifty years ago known as the Wreckers. During stormy nights they would light a lamp and lure ships to the rocks where they would crash, and then the Wreckers would make their way down to the cove and pick up all the cargo that have come to shore. The cargo would then be taken inland and sold on the black market. The false lighthouse was set up where nobody inland would be able to see it, unless they knew where to look.
It is also noticeable that we are introduced to boy name Yan. Basically nobody, but Timmy, like Yan, and for much of the book they are telling him to go away. The only member that seems to accept Yan as a decent person is Timmy, and we all know, at least all of us who have followed the books, that Timmy is not stupid. Okay, he has slipped up, such as with Ragamuffin Jo, but she turned out good in the end anyway. What put me off was that this group of children were actually so mean to Yan, despite the fact that Yan not only turned out to be good, but also saved them as well.
I wouldn't necessarily say that the books are getting boring, they are not. The adventures are still interesting, and they still captivate me as I read them. However, I do sit down and wonder at times whether I will even have the opportunity of sharing them with children of my own. The answer probably is unlikely, but then again, who knows what the future may bring.
September 21, 2008
Five Go Down To Sea was no great shakes from the adventure-mystery point of view… A strange light flashing in a ruined tower -late night wanderings -suspicious characters -getting locked up -escaping - AND -ultimately tying up all the loose ends.
I primarily liked this book for three characters:
Mrs.Penruthlan : the bustling, jolly l’il house-wife whose main aim in life was to cook and feed everyone who came under her motherly wings. So Blyton indulged her love for the good ol’English food to the hilt. There were glistening hams, tureens of new potatoes gleaming with melted butter, drop-scones, cherry tarts, lashings of hard-boiled eggs, pickles, sauces, trifles, jars of cold creamy milk and what have you!! One of my earliest memories of a comfort-phrase was “a larder crammed with food”!! *s-igh*
Mr.Penruthlan: The tall, magnificent farmer.....dark as a sunburnt Spaniard. Larger than life, he was an intimidating figure. His unique quirk was his inclination to speak in weird mono-syllables like Ah…Ock, thanks to his tendency to go without his set of false teeth! The Five couldn’t figure till the end if he was one of the bad guys or not.
Yan’s granddad: I liked the way Blyton gave a description of the old shepherd. It went:“He wasn’t very big, and he seemed shriveled up, like an apple stored too long. But there was still a sweetness in him, and the children liked him at once. His face had a thousand wrinkles that creased and ran into one another when he smiled. His shaggy eyebrows, curly beard and hair were all grey, as grey as the wooly coats of the sheep he had lived with all his life”.
And then ofcourse there was Clopper, the comical stage-horse who seemed to have a life of it’s own...the surly Guv’nor and the gay and happy bunch of performers…who all belonged to the almost-vaudevillian group called “The Barnies”.
Simple plot…interesting characters…and tables groaning under an assortment of delicious eats! Blyton at her predictable-best.
I primarily liked this book for three characters:
Mrs.Penruthlan : the bustling, jolly l’il house-wife whose main aim in life was to cook and feed everyone who came under her motherly wings. So Blyton indulged her love for the good ol’English food to the hilt. There were glistening hams, tureens of new potatoes gleaming with melted butter, drop-scones, cherry tarts, lashings of hard-boiled eggs, pickles, sauces, trifles, jars of cold creamy milk and what have you!! One of my earliest memories of a comfort-phrase was “a larder crammed with food”!! *s-igh*
Mr.Penruthlan: The tall, magnificent farmer.....dark as a sunburnt Spaniard. Larger than life, he was an intimidating figure. His unique quirk was his inclination to speak in weird mono-syllables like Ah…Ock, thanks to his tendency to go without his set of false teeth! The Five couldn’t figure till the end if he was one of the bad guys or not.
Yan’s granddad: I liked the way Blyton gave a description of the old shepherd. It went:“He wasn’t very big, and he seemed shriveled up, like an apple stored too long. But there was still a sweetness in him, and the children liked him at once. His face had a thousand wrinkles that creased and ran into one another when he smiled. His shaggy eyebrows, curly beard and hair were all grey, as grey as the wooly coats of the sheep he had lived with all his life”.
And then ofcourse there was Clopper, the comical stage-horse who seemed to have a life of it’s own...the surly Guv’nor and the gay and happy bunch of performers…who all belonged to the almost-vaudevillian group called “The Barnies”.
Simple plot…interesting characters…and tables groaning under an assortment of delicious eats! Blyton at her predictable-best.
April 5, 2024
In this instalment the five go down to Cornwall, once again without their parents, for a beach holiday. They stay on a farm and even though they are determined not to get involved in any mystery solving, they do of course. It involves mysterious lights leading boats to rocks in storms, tales of the old ‘Wreckers’, an urchin kid called Yan who doesn’t leave them alone, an old Grandad and a travelling theatre group whose leader turns out to be a drug dealer. I was a bit surprised at the mention of drugs honestly.
A fine instalment. Nothing too outlandish and the stage horse costume was pretty crazy and fun as an addition.
If you have made it this far in the series I’m sure there is nothing new I’ll be able to say at this point haha!
A fine instalment. Nothing too outlandish and the stage horse costume was pretty crazy and fun as an addition.
If you have made it this far in the series I’m sure there is nothing new I’ll be able to say at this point haha!
January 5, 2021
Fairly standard occurrence in this one - though this time it's not circus nor fair folk that rumble up in caravans it's travelling entertainers called the Barnies.
We have the jolly farmers wife to provide lashings of food and groaning tables. large men to be heroic, people who don't speak properly to provide entertainment and an extra child who is in need of improvement.
Mysterious lights and secret tunnels are a must in any good Blyton and she doesn't disappoint. I really appreciated the madcap pantomime horse costume.
We have the jolly farmers wife to provide lashings of food and groaning tables. large men to be heroic, people who don't speak properly to provide entertainment and an extra child who is in need of improvement.
Mysterious lights and secret tunnels are a must in any good Blyton and she doesn't disappoint. I really appreciated the madcap pantomime horse costume.
April 3, 2016
These books (Famous five) are hands down one of my favorite books from my childhood. All those adventures and mystery …and those sandwiches they always packed! aww, just the best! I would love to read one of these again. To bring back those memories..memories of first experiences with reading books.
February 21, 2011
Revisiting my all time favorite childhood series - I enjoyed them as an adult too - it was like taking a break from adulthood for a few hours :-D
May 15, 2021
Nice book. All of the Enid Blyton Famous Five book i've read, is always goes like this in the begining: Whenever the authour describe them to be mysterious i always suspect them and the famous five don't but in the end the person who we suspect we don't suspect that person anymore (Or forget about him/her). And at the end we're right for suspecting that person. It get me EVERYTIME!
February 22, 2023
Liburan sekolah tiba. Lima sekawan (Julian, Dcik, George, Anne dan si Anjing Timmy) akan melalukan perjalanan ke Tremannon Farm, daerah pesisir Cornwall. Daerah itu sepi dan tidak ada turis yang berkunjung. Mereka berjanji untuk menikmati liburannya dan tidak ingin berpetualang.. tetapi daerah itu menyimpan misteri yang sepertinya harus mereka pecahkan.
Di daerah itu, ada mercusuar palsu milik para pencoleng (perampok kapal) yang dahulu kala digunakan untuk menipu kapal-kapal agar terjebak dan karam supaya para pencoleng itu dapat mengambil segala yang dimiliki kapal. Akhir-akhir ini, mercusuar itu menyala lagi padahal kaum pencoleng sudah tidak ada sejak berpuluh-puluh tahun lalu. Apakah para pencoleng beraksi kembali?
Yang aku suka:
🔎 Penokohan yang sangat unik. Setiap tokoh punya ciri khasnya masing-masing.
🔎 Lima sekawan menjalani hari-hari di Tremannon dengan santai. Setiap kejadian terasa biasa saja. Tapi setelah mencapai plot twist, barulah seluruh kejadian itu terhubung.
🔎 Plot twist yang tidak tertebak. Aku ada beberapa tebakan yang mungkin terjadi. Tapi aku salah😂
Yang kurang aku suka:
🔎 Banyak bad words seperti b*doh, t*lol, dan sebagainya. Jadi menurutku tidak terlalu cocok untuk anak yang terlalu muda.
Di daerah itu, ada mercusuar palsu milik para pencoleng (perampok kapal) yang dahulu kala digunakan untuk menipu kapal-kapal agar terjebak dan karam supaya para pencoleng itu dapat mengambil segala yang dimiliki kapal. Akhir-akhir ini, mercusuar itu menyala lagi padahal kaum pencoleng sudah tidak ada sejak berpuluh-puluh tahun lalu. Apakah para pencoleng beraksi kembali?
Yang aku suka:
🔎 Penokohan yang sangat unik. Setiap tokoh punya ciri khasnya masing-masing.
🔎 Lima sekawan menjalani hari-hari di Tremannon dengan santai. Setiap kejadian terasa biasa saja. Tapi setelah mencapai plot twist, barulah seluruh kejadian itu terhubung.
🔎 Plot twist yang tidak tertebak. Aku ada beberapa tebakan yang mungkin terjadi. Tapi aku salah😂
Yang kurang aku suka:
🔎 Banyak bad words seperti b*doh, t*lol, dan sebagainya. Jadi menurutku tidak terlalu cocok untuk anak yang terlalu muda.
July 4, 2019
I think this is the first mystery of Enid Blyton I’ve read where the ending is left untied. Maybe it’s because I’m so tired I’ve missed something? Only one culprit was captured when it was obvious there were three culprits? Who were the other two? Who was the look-alike? Did I miss something?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2019
Yet another good adventure, this time of smugglers on the Cornish coast, although it was pretty obvious who the "baddie" was from the outset.
March 1, 2024
Bro really decided to have his teeth in for the last chapter and a half of the book and be unintelligible the rest of the time (wish that were me)
December 9, 2024
I think this is one of the better Famous Five books. It had me trying to figure out whodunit till the end.
July 7, 2025
This was a bit slow until right near the very end.
February 9, 2026
The famous five kids are so lucky that when they bully other kids they still come to their rescue. Me? I’d leave them
July 8, 2025
me ha gustado recordar mi infancia porque es un libro que leí hace muchos años.
January 14, 2020
Funny story ! Mr Penruthlan !
May 30, 2024
Aar. Ock. Iss. Ooh arr.
Yes, we’re going down to the sea. To Cornwall to be exact. Now, personally I like it when the Five hang out around Kirrin, and would have been happy if the majority of their adventures took place there, or in the surrounding area. Enid missed a trick in my opinion by not exploring further. We could have visited the town where the kids did their Christmas shopping in Go Adventuring Again, or trudged along the clifftops to find small, coastal communities full of baddies and other assorted ne’er do wells, plus more adventures on Kirrin Island, more of the Thomases at Kirrin Farm.
But that didn’t happen, hence this trip to Cornwall. Now, in spite of my moaning, this is one of my favourite Fives. One of the last good ones before the series cools off a bit. It’s atmospheric, memorable, has some great characters, a lovely location and lashings of adventure. I first read it, like all the others, back in the early 1970s, and certain scenes and moments have stuck with me ever since.
We start off with the children making a mad dash to Kirrin railway station. They are heading to Tremannon in deepest Cornwall and Dick has a puncture. They make it to the train on time and head off to pasty land. One rule they make en route is that they’re going to turn their backs on any sniff of adventure. As if that’s going to happen!
Like all the other books, Eileen Soper has created some superb images dotted throughout. Some very evocative ones. I’m reading the hardback edition and the picture on the hardboard frontispiece and back end is a beauty. Can you add images on here ?
I’ve been comparing the illustrations of the Five to those in Go Off In A Caravan, and the children look more like young adults in this. Julian and Dick, in particular, look like they’re in their early 20s. They’ve got the look of Prince Edward and - gulp - Prince Andrew about them to my eyes. I don’t recall the book actually specifying their ages here but there’s no way they’re 12, 13, 14. By my calculations Julian was 11 in the first book, so in this one he should be 17 maybe ? That could work. Except following that pattern means by the time we reach the last book, he would be mid 20s ? It’s too confusing and probably best to not dwell on.
Anyway, they arrive in one piece and meet their hosts, Mr and Mrs Penruthlan. All together - “By Tre, Pol and Pen, you will know the Cornishmen”. Although I lived in Cornwall for four years and I don’t think I once met anyone with those prefixes in their surnames. Mrs Penruthlan is your typical Blyton farmer’s wife: small, beaming, rosy cheeked and clearly got a baking habit. Her less than talkative husband is a beast of a man who is as “dark as a suntanned Spaniard”. He communicates with a selection of “Aars” and “Ocks” which his wife has no problem in understanding. Theirs is an idyllic life in Tremannon, although there’s clearly not much to do there in between looking after the farm as they have 7 children!
Our four settle down quickly, and enjoy themselves in the usual blazing sunshine, by exploring the farm, going to church, sleeping (One favourite passage has Dick dreaming that his foot has a puncture and he is unable to keep it inflated! What would Freud make of that ?), swimming, and meeting some of the locals. It goes without saying that they also indulge in their other favourite pastime: eating. Although Im not too keen on one particular lunch they have which is made up of “cold boiled beef and carrots with a dumpling each”. That sounds disgusting. Surely Mrs Penruthlan has the ability to heat up food ? Interestingly, there are a couple of instances in this story where Dick actually begs Mrs P NOT to prepare them any “high tea” as they really don’t have room to eat another dumpling. Now, thats a first.
We’re introduced to Yan. I met Nobby in the last book, and he was a typical EB grubby, feral lad. He was quite smart though. Unlike Yan who, let’s be honest, comes across as being a little bit “on the spectrum “. His lines have definitely been changed in reprints of this story. I read a 90s version a few years ago, and can remember thinking to myself “Im sure his conversation in the book I originally had was a lot more basic than this”. And I was right. He does talk a little bit, but a lot of his dialogue is made up of “Iss” and other contractions, with the occasional sentence.
Georgina is not a fan, and at times is really rude to the poor child. When Timmy takes to Yan and happily plays with him, George gets on her high horse and acts really mean-spirited towards him. Dick and Julian aren’t much better, although they do thaw a little as the story progresses. Just as well because Chekov’s Yan proves to be very resourceful later in the tale.
It is through Yan and his great-grandfather, the Penruthlan’s shepherd that the Five get to hear about the evil wreckers who shone beacon lights up on the cliffs. These lights tempted ships onto the rocks along the coast, and the wreckers would plunder the remains of the poor vessels. Grandad is adamant that he still sees a light burning up on the sinister tower along the nearby clifftop, which, no surprises, immediately gets Julian and Dick’s attention. So much for ignoring signs of adventuring.
My favourite part of the story follows with the boys creeping out of the farmhouse on a stormy, chilly evening on a mission to go and check out Grandad’s tower. However, they’re not the only people abroad on that blustery night. Even though we know its Mr Penruthlan who is wandering around in the dead of night, it is still a very creepy scene underlined by the wonderful illustrations on the front and back boards that I mentioned above.
The lads are suspicious of their host’s behaviour and vow to keep an eye on him and his activities.
Then the Barnies arrive. These are a group of travelling players,who tour around the countryside, staying in the farms they pass through, and entertaining the locals with their stagecraft: songs, a play, and best of all, the comedic antics of Clopper, the pantomime horse.
The Five are all over this like a rash, and pitch in and help Mrs Penruthlan, who appears to be making enough food to feed Devon and Dorset, let alone Cornwall. More mysterious activity though here when the boys catch Mr Penruthlan rummaging through the Barnie’s coat pockets and drawers. What is his game ? Julian seems to have an idea although I’m not sure if he verbalises it particularly well when he says “He’s got a kink !” Hmm. I think thats between Mr Penruthlan and his wife, Jules.
The show is a big success, and Clopper brings the house down. Apparently it is like “… a kind of concert party such as pierrots give at the beach…”. Why am I thinking about David Bowie and his Ashes To Ashes video ? Anyhow, even Grandad deigns to come to watch, although he says he has only really come for the scran. During the feast, Julian and Dick, who seem to be keeping out of Anne and Georgina’s way for the first half of the story, decide it’s time they tried out the Clopper costume for themselves. Hilarity ensues when they find themselves unable to undo the zip and get out of the thing. Thankfully, Mr Penruthlan is at hand to rescue the unfortunate boys. They were lucky that they weren’t caught by The Gov’nor (the baddy of the piece).
Next day the children leave Mrs Penruthlan to clear up the fallout from the banquet, and they head out to explore the mysterious tower that Grandad had pointed out to them a couple of days before. Yan tried to join them but is told in no uncertain terms to do one and is sent packing.
Clearly, someone is up to no good at this tower as there are patches of paraffin oil dotted around the place. Someone certainly has been lighting some kind of light from there.
The children have a classic Famous Five moment and find a hidden passage ! And not just a hidden passage, but a hidden passage that like so many hidden passages in these books has an exit in exactly the place where they are staying - in this case, in a barn on the farm.
But first, they have to get captured and locked up where they spend quite a few hours playing games, arguing and hoping someone will send out a search party. Who needs a search party though when you’ve got Yan ? Yes, this weeks ragamuffin has followed our friends and frees them from their prison and then takes them home via the legendary Wrecker’s Way. En route, they spot a motorboat out to sea and also see Mr Penruthlan creeping around clearly up to his neck with the smugglers.
The children return to Tremannon to find everyone out searching for them, and Mrs P pulling her hair out in shock. What happens next seems to raise a few eyebrows within the EB internet community: Julian explains to Mrs Penruthlan what has been happening under her very nose, also casually dropping in that they believe her husband is a criminal in league with the naughty smugglers.
Now, poor Mrs P has been at her wits end all evening. She was worried about the children and she was worried about her husband, who seems to have vanished into thin air. The last thing she needs is some posh boy telling her that her beloved Mr P is up to no good. So, she snaps and actually boxes Julian’s ears. Im not going to say that I did chuckle a bit at that point. Out of the 4 children Julian can come across as being an insufferable, patronising get at times, so it felt long overdue that someone finally take him to task. Its not very often that the Five get someone’s character as wrong as they do with Mr P. Turns out he is actually working with the local police and that they have been trying to bust this smuggler ring for years. Except its not even smugglers, but the very un-Fiveish drug trafficking!! Yep, that Guv’nor turns out to be a drug mule who stashes his goodies in poor old Clopper’s head. The shame ! Poor Sid and Mr Binks ditch Clopper like a hot potato and begin planning a new routine, this time involving a donkey. Lucky Ju and Dick are gifted the Clopper costume and no doubt they are soon amusing their friends Thompson Major and Minor back at Sandringham.
So, alls well that ends well. Like Run Away Together and Go Off In A Caravan, this is a Summer adventure. The new location adds some colour and there’s a great cast of characters. The adventure is a fairly gentle affair. The children don’t really get hugely involved with the drug smugglers, although the imprisonment bit doesn’t sound like fun.
I used to wonder what would happen to Yan. His Grandad was very elderly so would Yan take over looking after the sheep ? Who would look after Tremannon Farm when the Penruthlans passed away ? Their seven children don’t put in an appearance so Im presuming they’re not farmer types ? Ill never know.
Ill mark this a 5 star award. It kept me gripped throughout, was an enjoyable read and had lots of things going for it.
Next I’m going for a fab favourite, but not a favourite of mine - Five Go To Smugglers Top. Damn smugglers again ! I wasn’t going to bother reading that one, but I found it when I was rummaging around the other books so have pulled it out. See how I get on.
Ock.
Yes, we’re going down to the sea. To Cornwall to be exact. Now, personally I like it when the Five hang out around Kirrin, and would have been happy if the majority of their adventures took place there, or in the surrounding area. Enid missed a trick in my opinion by not exploring further. We could have visited the town where the kids did their Christmas shopping in Go Adventuring Again, or trudged along the clifftops to find small, coastal communities full of baddies and other assorted ne’er do wells, plus more adventures on Kirrin Island, more of the Thomases at Kirrin Farm.
But that didn’t happen, hence this trip to Cornwall. Now, in spite of my moaning, this is one of my favourite Fives. One of the last good ones before the series cools off a bit. It’s atmospheric, memorable, has some great characters, a lovely location and lashings of adventure. I first read it, like all the others, back in the early 1970s, and certain scenes and moments have stuck with me ever since.
We start off with the children making a mad dash to Kirrin railway station. They are heading to Tremannon in deepest Cornwall and Dick has a puncture. They make it to the train on time and head off to pasty land. One rule they make en route is that they’re going to turn their backs on any sniff of adventure. As if that’s going to happen!
Like all the other books, Eileen Soper has created some superb images dotted throughout. Some very evocative ones. I’m reading the hardback edition and the picture on the hardboard frontispiece and back end is a beauty. Can you add images on here ?
I’ve been comparing the illustrations of the Five to those in Go Off In A Caravan, and the children look more like young adults in this. Julian and Dick, in particular, look like they’re in their early 20s. They’ve got the look of Prince Edward and - gulp - Prince Andrew about them to my eyes. I don’t recall the book actually specifying their ages here but there’s no way they’re 12, 13, 14. By my calculations Julian was 11 in the first book, so in this one he should be 17 maybe ? That could work. Except following that pattern means by the time we reach the last book, he would be mid 20s ? It’s too confusing and probably best to not dwell on.
Anyway, they arrive in one piece and meet their hosts, Mr and Mrs Penruthlan. All together - “By Tre, Pol and Pen, you will know the Cornishmen”. Although I lived in Cornwall for four years and I don’t think I once met anyone with those prefixes in their surnames. Mrs Penruthlan is your typical Blyton farmer’s wife: small, beaming, rosy cheeked and clearly got a baking habit. Her less than talkative husband is a beast of a man who is as “dark as a suntanned Spaniard”. He communicates with a selection of “Aars” and “Ocks” which his wife has no problem in understanding. Theirs is an idyllic life in Tremannon, although there’s clearly not much to do there in between looking after the farm as they have 7 children!
Our four settle down quickly, and enjoy themselves in the usual blazing sunshine, by exploring the farm, going to church, sleeping (One favourite passage has Dick dreaming that his foot has a puncture and he is unable to keep it inflated! What would Freud make of that ?), swimming, and meeting some of the locals. It goes without saying that they also indulge in their other favourite pastime: eating. Although Im not too keen on one particular lunch they have which is made up of “cold boiled beef and carrots with a dumpling each”. That sounds disgusting. Surely Mrs Penruthlan has the ability to heat up food ? Interestingly, there are a couple of instances in this story where Dick actually begs Mrs P NOT to prepare them any “high tea” as they really don’t have room to eat another dumpling. Now, thats a first.
We’re introduced to Yan. I met Nobby in the last book, and he was a typical EB grubby, feral lad. He was quite smart though. Unlike Yan who, let’s be honest, comes across as being a little bit “on the spectrum “. His lines have definitely been changed in reprints of this story. I read a 90s version a few years ago, and can remember thinking to myself “Im sure his conversation in the book I originally had was a lot more basic than this”. And I was right. He does talk a little bit, but a lot of his dialogue is made up of “Iss” and other contractions, with the occasional sentence.
Georgina is not a fan, and at times is really rude to the poor child. When Timmy takes to Yan and happily plays with him, George gets on her high horse and acts really mean-spirited towards him. Dick and Julian aren’t much better, although they do thaw a little as the story progresses. Just as well because Chekov’s Yan proves to be very resourceful later in the tale.
It is through Yan and his great-grandfather, the Penruthlan’s shepherd that the Five get to hear about the evil wreckers who shone beacon lights up on the cliffs. These lights tempted ships onto the rocks along the coast, and the wreckers would plunder the remains of the poor vessels. Grandad is adamant that he still sees a light burning up on the sinister tower along the nearby clifftop, which, no surprises, immediately gets Julian and Dick’s attention. So much for ignoring signs of adventuring.
My favourite part of the story follows with the boys creeping out of the farmhouse on a stormy, chilly evening on a mission to go and check out Grandad’s tower. However, they’re not the only people abroad on that blustery night. Even though we know its Mr Penruthlan who is wandering around in the dead of night, it is still a very creepy scene underlined by the wonderful illustrations on the front and back boards that I mentioned above.
The lads are suspicious of their host’s behaviour and vow to keep an eye on him and his activities.
Then the Barnies arrive. These are a group of travelling players,who tour around the countryside, staying in the farms they pass through, and entertaining the locals with their stagecraft: songs, a play, and best of all, the comedic antics of Clopper, the pantomime horse.
The Five are all over this like a rash, and pitch in and help Mrs Penruthlan, who appears to be making enough food to feed Devon and Dorset, let alone Cornwall. More mysterious activity though here when the boys catch Mr Penruthlan rummaging through the Barnie’s coat pockets and drawers. What is his game ? Julian seems to have an idea although I’m not sure if he verbalises it particularly well when he says “He’s got a kink !” Hmm. I think thats between Mr Penruthlan and his wife, Jules.
The show is a big success, and Clopper brings the house down. Apparently it is like “… a kind of concert party such as pierrots give at the beach…”. Why am I thinking about David Bowie and his Ashes To Ashes video ? Anyhow, even Grandad deigns to come to watch, although he says he has only really come for the scran. During the feast, Julian and Dick, who seem to be keeping out of Anne and Georgina’s way for the first half of the story, decide it’s time they tried out the Clopper costume for themselves. Hilarity ensues when they find themselves unable to undo the zip and get out of the thing. Thankfully, Mr Penruthlan is at hand to rescue the unfortunate boys. They were lucky that they weren’t caught by The Gov’nor (the baddy of the piece).
Next day the children leave Mrs Penruthlan to clear up the fallout from the banquet, and they head out to explore the mysterious tower that Grandad had pointed out to them a couple of days before. Yan tried to join them but is told in no uncertain terms to do one and is sent packing.
Clearly, someone is up to no good at this tower as there are patches of paraffin oil dotted around the place. Someone certainly has been lighting some kind of light from there.
The children have a classic Famous Five moment and find a hidden passage ! And not just a hidden passage, but a hidden passage that like so many hidden passages in these books has an exit in exactly the place where they are staying - in this case, in a barn on the farm.
But first, they have to get captured and locked up where they spend quite a few hours playing games, arguing and hoping someone will send out a search party. Who needs a search party though when you’ve got Yan ? Yes, this weeks ragamuffin has followed our friends and frees them from their prison and then takes them home via the legendary Wrecker’s Way. En route, they spot a motorboat out to sea and also see Mr Penruthlan creeping around clearly up to his neck with the smugglers.
The children return to Tremannon to find everyone out searching for them, and Mrs P pulling her hair out in shock. What happens next seems to raise a few eyebrows within the EB internet community: Julian explains to Mrs Penruthlan what has been happening under her very nose, also casually dropping in that they believe her husband is a criminal in league with the naughty smugglers.
Now, poor Mrs P has been at her wits end all evening. She was worried about the children and she was worried about her husband, who seems to have vanished into thin air. The last thing she needs is some posh boy telling her that her beloved Mr P is up to no good. So, she snaps and actually boxes Julian’s ears. Im not going to say that I did chuckle a bit at that point. Out of the 4 children Julian can come across as being an insufferable, patronising get at times, so it felt long overdue that someone finally take him to task. Its not very often that the Five get someone’s character as wrong as they do with Mr P. Turns out he is actually working with the local police and that they have been trying to bust this smuggler ring for years. Except its not even smugglers, but the very un-Fiveish drug trafficking!! Yep, that Guv’nor turns out to be a drug mule who stashes his goodies in poor old Clopper’s head. The shame ! Poor Sid and Mr Binks ditch Clopper like a hot potato and begin planning a new routine, this time involving a donkey. Lucky Ju and Dick are gifted the Clopper costume and no doubt they are soon amusing their friends Thompson Major and Minor back at Sandringham.
So, alls well that ends well. Like Run Away Together and Go Off In A Caravan, this is a Summer adventure. The new location adds some colour and there’s a great cast of characters. The adventure is a fairly gentle affair. The children don’t really get hugely involved with the drug smugglers, although the imprisonment bit doesn’t sound like fun.
I used to wonder what would happen to Yan. His Grandad was very elderly so would Yan take over looking after the sheep ? Who would look after Tremannon Farm when the Penruthlans passed away ? Their seven children don’t put in an appearance so Im presuming they’re not farmer types ? Ill never know.
Ill mark this a 5 star award. It kept me gripped throughout, was an enjoyable read and had lots of things going for it.
Next I’m going for a fab favourite, but not a favourite of mine - Five Go To Smugglers Top. Damn smugglers again ! I wasn’t going to bother reading that one, but I found it when I was rummaging around the other books so have pulled it out. See how I get on.
Ock.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews