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House at the Corner
What is it that makes the House-at-the-Corner different from any other house in the world? The Farrell family lives there - five children and their father and mother.
Life in the House-at-the-Corner is much like any other place, until waspish Aunt Grace comes to stay. She is very sharp-tongued with a habit of interfering in other people's affairs - particularly the children's.
Adventures soon start to happen thick and fast and life in the house is never the same again!
Life in the House-at-the-Corner is much like any other place, until waspish Aunt Grace comes to stay. She is very sharp-tongued with a habit of interfering in other people's affairs - particularly the children's.
Adventures soon start to happen thick and fast and life in the house is never the same again!
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
8 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,227 books6,387 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
April 11, 2017
Bookish, unattractive, nerdy youngster with whose only skill is in writing steals a march over her more clever and attractive siblings. Need I explain any further why I loved this book?
October 7, 2013
When Aunt Grace comes to visit her nephew John who is a hard working surgeon she is surprised at the way his children have turned out; there is Pam the eldest, beautiful and very intelligent but conceited and so full of herself, Tony who is intelligent but mean and spiteful spends his time playing tricks on his school master, Lizzie talented but without any spunk a scapegoat for her older siblings and the twins David and Delia who love the garden and work so very hard to learn everything they possibly can from the gardener Frost but wrapped up in their own world.
The Mother thinks of her older two children as brilliant and excuses their bad behaviour as only some besotted mothers can, ignoring Lizzie as mediocre and the twins as babies.
But things sometimes do not work out as we want them to, the Father meets with a terrible accident which could leave him incapacitated for a long time to come.
The grit and determination with which every member of the family works to turn things around is simply amazing. Simple things but everything done with a lot of hard work, determination to change and be a part of the family, down to earth sound common sense with no frills is what works for the Farrell family.
Although a lot has been said about Enid Blyton, her books speak of a lot of excellent values, applicable not only to children but to any adult. This one particularly was an eye opener.
The Mother thinks of her older two children as brilliant and excuses their bad behaviour as only some besotted mothers can, ignoring Lizzie as mediocre and the twins as babies.
But things sometimes do not work out as we want them to, the Father meets with a terrible accident which could leave him incapacitated for a long time to come.
The grit and determination with which every member of the family works to turn things around is simply amazing. Simple things but everything done with a lot of hard work, determination to change and be a part of the family, down to earth sound common sense with no frills is what works for the Farrell family.
Although a lot has been said about Enid Blyton, her books speak of a lot of excellent values, applicable not only to children but to any adult. This one particularly was an eye opener.
December 30, 2012
The House at the Corner will feel familiar to anyone who's read a few of Blyton's family or school stories. In it we meet a group of siblings each with a gift: one ambitious and clever; one popular and amusing; a self-deprecating writer; and two twins solemnly dedicated to gardening and nature. Blyton sets them up, knocks them down, and we see who rights themselves.
The over-arching moral of the story is a good and valuable one: a gift is worthless if you don't put it to work. The children who are serious about their talents and use them for the good of the family pull through, and the ones that don't learn a harsh lesson but become, as you might expect, a Better Person for it.
As with a few of Blyton's moral tales, a few elements have dated so awkwardly that I wouldn't give this book to a child I liked. The fact that the shy little girl turns out to be beautiful all along after she gets rid of her 'ugly' glasses and braces is a wholly unnecessary touch. The unusual focus (for Blyton) on the power of prayer makes things a bit trite. And the handling of the clever, ambitious, career focused girl, who gets scornfully put in her place and taught the value of 'True Woman's Work', makes for pretty grim reading for anyone who loves independence.
The over-arching moral of the story is a good and valuable one: a gift is worthless if you don't put it to work. The children who are serious about their talents and use them for the good of the family pull through, and the ones that don't learn a harsh lesson but become, as you might expect, a Better Person for it.
As with a few of Blyton's moral tales, a few elements have dated so awkwardly that I wouldn't give this book to a child I liked. The fact that the shy little girl turns out to be beautiful all along after she gets rid of her 'ugly' glasses and braces is a wholly unnecessary touch. The unusual focus (for Blyton) on the power of prayer makes things a bit trite. And the handling of the clever, ambitious, career focused girl, who gets scornfully put in her place and taught the value of 'True Woman's Work', makes for pretty grim reading for anyone who loves independence.
July 10, 2011
Lovely to find an Enid Blyton that I hadn't read before, and that was right up my alley as well! Lovely story of a year or so in the life of a family whose aunt comes to stay, and we get to watch a lot of changes in the children. Of course the two 'bad' ones get a dreadful comeuppance each - but then as is to be expected, they mend their ways and in the end are rewarded. I was most fond of the young twins, Delia and David, who end the tale by going off to Whyteleafe School - the school that the The Naughtiest Girl went to! Nice little link there :D
January 4, 2021
Rereading this charming story about a would be writer and her family, made me feel young again... I know that it probably sound strange that I should read children and youth stories at the beginning of each new year - yet, it is kind of magical!
Not only does it make me feel closer to my children and grand children (especially s some of them live quite far away) but it also makes me recover all the hopeful and merry outlook I had when I was young.
We do carry our child inside throughout our entire life, and it is not so bad to make contact with it from time to time.
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 4 January 2021.
Not only does it make me feel closer to my children and grand children (especially s some of them live quite far away) but it also makes me recover all the hopeful and merry outlook I had when I was young.
We do carry our child inside throughout our entire life, and it is not so bad to make contact with it from time to time.
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 4 January 2021.
August 3, 2015
What amazed me about this book was how there's a member in the family that anyone reading can relate to, in terms of personality and attitude. I personally connected instantly with the shy but kinder daughter. She was so much more interested in the Aunt Grace visiting the family, and was the only one who went to get her at the train station upon arrival. Enid Blyton's depiction of a family going through ups and downs is excellently delivered in "House at the Corner," and I recommend that you read this book if you haven't cause trust me, you're definitely missing out.
March 28, 2017
This was an Enid Blyton I hadn't heard of before - let alone read. And it's really quite good. It's got a bit more actual peril and wrongdoing in it than I remember from a lot of her stories, but it's a really good, pacey read. I enjoyed it - and think that it has lots of themes in it that are interesting for children to consider, even if the world has moved on a bit since it was written.
April 16, 2025
U read this book to by daughter at bed time over a few days, a chapter or two per night. She usually slept half way to the chapter, but I read on till the end as I just had to continue. This remains one of the most beautiful books I’ve read, I frequently had a lump in my throat. You should overlook the dated expectation of girls as home carers first and focus on the real emphasis of the story. It’s about families sticking together, it’s about children realising their responsibilities and standing up to them, it’s about respecting one another and standing up for one another.. and most of all, it’s about loving and caring for your parents, your family. There are many beautiful passages in the book, and it’s a book I room definitely go back to when I need a lift! One of the very very best of Enid Blyton.
April 29, 2013
Keluarga Farrel memiliki 5 orang anak yang cerdas dan ceria; Pam, Tony, Lizzie, David dan Delia. Hanya saja Pam dan Tony memiliki karakter yang kurang baik. Mereka berdua memang cerdas, namun sifatnya sangatlah angkuh dan tukang pamer. Suatu ketika salah satu bibi di keluarga mereka, Bibi Grace datang berkunjung. Sebagian anggota keluarga merasa senang dan sebagian lagi merasa tidak senang karena Bibi Grace adalah orang yang sangat cerewet dan senang mengatur. Namun dibalik sikapnya seperti itu Bibi Grace memiliki sifat dan tujuan yang mulia.
Suatu ketika kejadian tak terduga menimpa keluarga Farrel. Secara drastis kehidupan mereka berubah. Mereka berada dalam kondisi sulit yang tidak pernah mereka rasakan sebelumnya. Dan pada akhirnya semua anggota keluarga mencoba berubah dan bersikap lebih baik dan saling menolong.
Novel ini, merupakan novel tentang keluarga. Blyton menyampaikan bahwa keluarga yang indah adalah keluarga yang harmonis dan kompak, bukan keluarga yang hanya mengandalkan harta. Dan anak-anak yang baik adalah hasil dari didikan orang tua yang baik. Jika orang tuanya hanya merasa kasihan dan memanjakan anak-anaknya maka yang didapat adalah anak-anak yang manja dan tidak mandiri alias sangat mengandalkan orang lain. Dan seperti inilah yang dicerminkan dari sikap Bu Farrel yang selalu merasa tidak tega menyuruh Pam dan Tony bekerja. Hanya karena mereka menonjol dalam kepintaran IQ, maka bu Farrel merasa harus menjadikan mereka sebagai anak kesayangannya, sementara Lizzi dan si kembar David dan Delia ia lupakan.
Novel ini cocok dibaca oleh anak-anak berusia 8 tahun. Dalam novel ini anak-anak akan belajar mengenai pentingnya kekompakan dalam keluarga dan betapa menyenangkannya jika kita membantu orang tua, juga betapa buruknya bersikap seperti Pam yang angkuh dan Tony yang senang menjahati orang lain. :)
Suatu ketika kejadian tak terduga menimpa keluarga Farrel. Secara drastis kehidupan mereka berubah. Mereka berada dalam kondisi sulit yang tidak pernah mereka rasakan sebelumnya. Dan pada akhirnya semua anggota keluarga mencoba berubah dan bersikap lebih baik dan saling menolong.
Novel ini, merupakan novel tentang keluarga. Blyton menyampaikan bahwa keluarga yang indah adalah keluarga yang harmonis dan kompak, bukan keluarga yang hanya mengandalkan harta. Dan anak-anak yang baik adalah hasil dari didikan orang tua yang baik. Jika orang tuanya hanya merasa kasihan dan memanjakan anak-anaknya maka yang didapat adalah anak-anak yang manja dan tidak mandiri alias sangat mengandalkan orang lain. Dan seperti inilah yang dicerminkan dari sikap Bu Farrel yang selalu merasa tidak tega menyuruh Pam dan Tony bekerja. Hanya karena mereka menonjol dalam kepintaran IQ, maka bu Farrel merasa harus menjadikan mereka sebagai anak kesayangannya, sementara Lizzi dan si kembar David dan Delia ia lupakan.
Novel ini cocok dibaca oleh anak-anak berusia 8 tahun. Dalam novel ini anak-anak akan belajar mengenai pentingnya kekompakan dalam keluarga dan betapa menyenangkannya jika kita membantu orang tua, juga betapa buruknya bersikap seperti Pam yang angkuh dan Tony yang senang menjahati orang lain. :)
September 19, 2017
This is my first Enid Blyton book & I'm 24. :D
I have really enjoyed this. I'm not going to feel bad for not reading it before. Better late than never.
Whoever reading this book can relate the characters to them or with the people they know.
Like how each one us behave in a different manner & how everyone has a talent one way or the other.
I'm not that adjustable but I can relate myself to Lizzie(sorry.. Elizabeth) in some ways. Aunt Grace is like a God mother to the Farrell family.
It really is a wonderful children's novel. The book can make them understand the ups & downs in a family, how to treat/respect others, how a small motivation can change a person's life altogether and many other things.
I have really enjoyed this. I'm not going to feel bad for not reading it before. Better late than never.
Whoever reading this book can relate the characters to them or with the people they know.
Like how each one us behave in a different manner & how everyone has a talent one way or the other.
I'm not that adjustable but I can relate myself to Lizzie(sorry.. Elizabeth) in some ways. Aunt Grace is like a God mother to the Farrell family.
It really is a wonderful children's novel. The book can make them understand the ups & downs in a family, how to treat/respect others, how a small motivation can change a person's life altogether and many other things.
August 2, 2021
I bloomin’ love this book. I first read it when I was 8, and I have never stopped reading it. It has everything: the interfering, but kindly aunt who drops by on her relatives for an extended visit, parents who don’t play a massive role in the unfolding story, apart from daddy’s bit (no spoilers), and just enough Farrell children so that readers can choose the one with whom they most strongly identify.
For me, of course, it’s Elizabeth Farrell, but each child has appeal in one way or another, even the narcissistic egomaniac, Tony, and the self-absorbed and villainous Pamela, who both learn harsh lessons.
I love Blyton, and I will never be able to thank her enough for all the stories she gave me when I was a young reader.
For me, of course, it’s Elizabeth Farrell, but each child has appeal in one way or another, even the narcissistic egomaniac, Tony, and the self-absorbed and villainous Pamela, who both learn harsh lessons.
I love Blyton, and I will never be able to thank her enough for all the stories she gave me when I was a young reader.
September 8, 2021
A book full of family values, hard work and determination. The books reveals how each and every member of family try to turn the things around.
Read
March 30, 2020It's really an awesome book. This was the first English story book which I read with great interest. Although English is not my mother tongue when I read this I simply started loving English stories. Also just now I finished reading Enid Blyton's The Young Adventure and I recommend it to everyone.
#justamazing
#justamazing
September 13, 2020
I read this many yeas ago in paperback - with a vintage cover, since I inherited some "Blyton classics" - and always loved it. Delighted to find the Kindle version. The usual "Blyton family drama" story, with a family who aren't as united as they all think, and have to all pull together. Still as a enjoyable read
February 11, 2019
Very enjoyable family story. Enid always writes good wholesome family stories. This is about a family that after a tragedy, learns to pull together and keep their world together.
July 28, 2021
What a wonderful, heart touching story!
January 18, 2026
I liked this one and found it quite unlike any of the other Blytons I've read so far. The central character is the irresistable Aunt Grace, an outspoken old lady who brings her parrot in tow to stay at the Farrell family household. This house is a volatile one - the father is a kindly surgeon, the mother weak-willed and given to spoiling her kids. The eldest daughter is a brat with a huge head, the eldest son a practical joker, the middle child an "ugly duckling" too shy to be noticed, and the youngest twins nature lovers. What follows is one conflict after another, some of it surprisingly adult. There are pranks, discussions of home vs. work life for women, a car wreck, bloody accidents, comeuppances, humility, and of course an inevitably treacley happy ending to tie everything up. There's so much going on here that I couldn't put it down, and I'm willing to forgive the overdone moralising because it's just so entertaining.
May 19, 2022
It's unusual for Enid Blyton to have a Christian element in one of her stories. But she doesn't give any evidence of having any knowledge of true Christianity. It's an enjoyable book, but feminists would probably detest it for inferring that a woman's place is in the home. I wasn't too keen that she was so obsessed with a girl's looks and was so disparaging of braces and glasses as though these made a person look hideous - hardly a comforting message for many readers.
March 29, 2023
Generally, Enid Blyton is most famously associated with the Famous Five series. But I feel that her family stories do not get the popularity that they should be getting. It is an underrated book. Most likely you will find that you can correlate with at least a few members of the Farrell family; if not all.
An excellent book....
An excellent book....
December 15, 2021
Opinionated Aunt Grace moves into her family's House at the Corner and has fault to find with almost everyone, Proud Pam, Careless Tony, Shy Lizzie and the self-absorbed twins who only seem to care about each other. When tragedy strikes its she who must try and hold the struggling family together
Read
October 15, 2023Recently reread this and annoyingly didactic as it is, my heart still aches just as much for shy Lizzy (sorry, Elizabeth) who secretly writes as it did the first time I read this. Also, the Austrian cook is the first I ever heard of Austria!
February 20, 2024
I read this book today to relive my life as a 9 yr old and I don't regret it, this book is beyond adorable and very emotional and beautiful too. I can only recommend reading this even if it's no high literature!
January 2, 2025
A solid childrens story that follows a family through the drama of the father receiving a bad injury. The story dives into the immature temperaments of each of the children and shows how they grow through the challenges they experience.
October 3, 2019
A nice story about a family with some lessons to learn.
September 22, 2020
i think the books is ok but there are no much adventures in it. and the title of the story doesnt match with the plots of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Currently Reading
July 22, 2021I like Enid Blyton books
March 11, 2022
Stunning
June 29, 2025
it's fun to read how they solve their problems and family care
February 21, 2015
One of the best books by Enid Blyton, seriouslyy.. kalo kalian belon pernah baca, buruaaaann cari di toko buku terdekat, walau gua ngga yakin masih ada yang jual versi terjemahannya, hihihi..
Terjemahannya berjudul "Rumah di Ujung Jalan", ahahaha.. literal bangets yaa, abis rumahnya emang di ujung jalan seeh :p
Tapii kalo mo nyari versi English, if you're lucky, di Kino masih suka ada kok nih buku.
Ini cerita tentang sebuah keluarga yang mempunyai 5 orang anak kalo ngga salah inget.
Si sulung itu cantiks and otaknya encer tapi tingkahnya menyebalkan and sering bangets merendahkan orang lain.
Si anak kedua, Elisabeth yang sering dipanggil Lizzie, ketutup ama si Pam yang anak sulung karena dari segi fisik kalah cakeps terus otaknya biasa2 aja walau dia amat sangat menonjol dalam hal mengarang.
Anak ketiga, si Tony, berwajah tampan and berotak cerdas, sayangnya dia lebih sering menggunakan otaknya buat bikin keonaran di kelas, hal mana membuatnya populer di kalangan temen2nya yang dapat tontonan gratis tapii bikin jengkel para guru and kepala sekolah.
Anggota terakhir itu si anak kembar yang cintaa bangets ama tanaman.
The good thing about this story adalahh..
Mereka semua mendapat pelajaran kehidupan ^o^
Si nakal and si sombong kena batunya, huehehehe..
And si 'plain' Lizzie finally got her chance to bloom!
And si kembar berhasil membuktikan bahwa they're not babies anymore, yihaa..
Ada yang udah pernah baca?
Terjemahannya berjudul "Rumah di Ujung Jalan", ahahaha.. literal bangets yaa, abis rumahnya emang di ujung jalan seeh :p
Tapii kalo mo nyari versi English, if you're lucky, di Kino masih suka ada kok nih buku.
Ini cerita tentang sebuah keluarga yang mempunyai 5 orang anak kalo ngga salah inget.
Si sulung itu cantiks and otaknya encer tapi tingkahnya menyebalkan and sering bangets merendahkan orang lain.
Si anak kedua, Elisabeth yang sering dipanggil Lizzie, ketutup ama si Pam yang anak sulung karena dari segi fisik kalah cakeps terus otaknya biasa2 aja walau dia amat sangat menonjol dalam hal mengarang.
Anak ketiga, si Tony, berwajah tampan and berotak cerdas, sayangnya dia lebih sering menggunakan otaknya buat bikin keonaran di kelas, hal mana membuatnya populer di kalangan temen2nya yang dapat tontonan gratis tapii bikin jengkel para guru and kepala sekolah.
Anggota terakhir itu si anak kembar yang cintaa bangets ama tanaman.
The good thing about this story adalahh..
Mereka semua mendapat pelajaran kehidupan ^o^
Si nakal and si sombong kena batunya, huehehehe..
And si 'plain' Lizzie finally got her chance to bloom!
And si kembar berhasil membuktikan bahwa they're not babies anymore, yihaa..
Ada yang udah pernah baca?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews