What do you think?
Rate this book
The Riddle Of The Rajah's Ruby
Rare book
176 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,133 books6,318 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 3, 2020
This is a standalone by Blyton published in 1960, though I think in a revised (?) version, it has been repackaged as part of a series, The Young Adventurers. I read the original version. Two children Pat and his sister Tessa come across a newspaper report one morning, describing a strange ruby (that of course, brings ill luck to any who have it) once the eye of an idol in India, which has now been inherited by two children, twins, David and Faith Gathergood. These it turns out were children they had met and befriended on a trip to Swanage the previous year. They decide to write to the children, who hope that they will meet again next holiday, but soon they receive another, more strange letter, sent in strange circumstances by the twins who claim they are being taken to a place called Brinking Hill for a holiday by their new governess. The old one left, frightened by the curse. Pat and Tessa who are once again to go Swanage find that this place is not very far from where they will be. Once there, they make their way to find Brinking Hill (which turns out to be Brinkin Hill), and find after some exploring that the twins are indeed there and being held prisoner by their governess who is hand-in-glove with the villains. The children come up with a plan to rescue their friends but not all goes as it should, and they find themselves in a spot of trouble.
This was a short, quick read, a typical adventure story from Blyton, perhaps slight different in a way, in the sense that one is plunged into the adventure right from the start, with not too much background or any build-up, and things are pretty action packed all through, with something or other taking place almost on every page, right until they escape the villains at the end. Still the children find the time to have enjoyable meals and paddle in the pond in the midst of it all. From the title itself, I did expect the book to have some stereotypical elements—the strange ruby had to be from a mysterious temple in India of course, and there would obviously be ‘villains’ from there out to recover it. And so it was, so not particularly PC in that way, but that of course, one didn’t expect it to be. But there are other little things, outright errors which were rather annoying. There is a temple on an island which the children find, which has idols and such, and then minarets! Why on earth would a temple have minarets? Even the illustrator (ok, he was may be being faithful to the description) has given this so-called temple very Mughal architectural characteristics—way off. There wasn’t also any explanation of who the villains actually were and why they wanted the ruby, which one does get some idea of in Blyton’s mysteries usually.
Quibbles aside, as a children’s adventure story it was a nice read—exciting, action-packed, and a good bit of fun. The children make mistakes of course when they are dealing with the ‘villains’ but still, they do a fairly decent job. As expected from Blyton, there is also lots of food! Nice read, and while I did enjoy it a fair bit, I didn’t as much as I had thought I would!
This was a short, quick read, a typical adventure story from Blyton, perhaps slight different in a way, in the sense that one is plunged into the adventure right from the start, with not too much background or any build-up, and things are pretty action packed all through, with something or other taking place almost on every page, right until they escape the villains at the end. Still the children find the time to have enjoyable meals and paddle in the pond in the midst of it all. From the title itself, I did expect the book to have some stereotypical elements—the strange ruby had to be from a mysterious temple in India of course, and there would obviously be ‘villains’ from there out to recover it. And so it was, so not particularly PC in that way, but that of course, one didn’t expect it to be. But there are other little things, outright errors which were rather annoying. There is a temple on an island which the children find, which has idols and such, and then minarets! Why on earth would a temple have minarets? Even the illustrator (ok, he was may be being faithful to the description) has given this so-called temple very Mughal architectural characteristics—way off. There wasn’t also any explanation of who the villains actually were and why they wanted the ruby, which one does get some idea of in Blyton’s mysteries usually.
Quibbles aside, as a children’s adventure story it was a nice read—exciting, action-packed, and a good bit of fun. The children make mistakes of course when they are dealing with the ‘villains’ but still, they do a fairly decent job. As expected from Blyton, there is also lots of food! Nice read, and while I did enjoy it a fair bit, I didn’t as much as I had thought I would!
February 1, 2016
this book is totally fabulous and wonderful, i really loved it and adored it, it was fantastic. it was full of mystery and adventures. absolutely amazing!!!
April 20, 2025
2.5 stars.
I wish goodreads had the half star option. because the last one was obviously better than this one.
it was fine enough but the sinister jokes at the "weird indians and their idol worship" though necessary for the plot didn't comfort me somehow😅😅
I wish goodreads had the half star option. because the last one was obviously better than this one.
it was fine enough but the sinister jokes at the "weird indians and their idol worship" though necessary for the plot didn't comfort me somehow😅😅
October 2, 2017
really good mystery book
i like the series
it is about nick and katie finding their friends sophie and david as they had been kidnapped for a red ruby
i like the series
it is about nick and katie finding their friends sophie and david as they had been kidnapped for a red ruby
June 20, 2021
Enid Blyton was my introduction to reading and I love her books and the vibe that they have. For that reason i award this book full stars because I had a great time reading this when I was little.
December 24, 2023
I think the first book was better and this one didn’t intrigue me as much.
September 6, 2021
Occasionally I reread a favourite Blyton, and today I decided on this one, which I don’t think I’ve read for over twenty years. It’s a lot shorter and a quicker read than I remembered, but I suppose it would be. 😁 It’s still a delightful adventure, though.
November 6, 2019
It is an amazing book, especially for children. It has a great adventure in it. No fantasy, a bit relatable. Personally, I enjoyed reading this book.
August 10, 2021
Another wholesome book written by Enid Blyton. Enjoyed it :))
August 25, 2023
A short mystery-adventure story, written in 1960 so a lot later than most of Blyton's most famous work. However this one follows a familiar template recognisable to anyone who loves the FAMOUS FIVE and SECRET SEVEN stories as much as I do. The story is about the disappearance of two children who turn out to have been kidnapped, and hinges on a quite unbelievable plot point: that a letter they throw out of a car window is picked up and successfully delivered to its recipient. The rest is a greatest-hits re-run of the usual Blyton ingredients, from camping in the countryside to visiting islands, infiltrating deserted houses, and thwarting villainous gangs. The villains' plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me - don't they already have the ruby in their possession at the outset? - but otherwise this is solid, if familiar, stuff.
Read
May 18, 2022My first book ever
June 14, 2024
Great read, the book which got me into reading but racist comments, A LOT OF THEM
June 18, 2017
Nothing new from Enid Blyton with this book
24 June 2012
This is one of Blyton's shorter novels, and while it was written much later in her life, there does not seem to be much difference from many of the other adventure stories of hers that I have read. In fact this book seems to be very much a shorter version of your average Famous Five adventure.
The story is about a brother and sister who in a previous story made friends with a couple of wealthy orphan twins (though this seems a little odd because orphan and wealth generally don't go together). Currently they are being looked after by their grandmother, however she died and they must now be looked after by a guardian. As they are wealthy it is very clear that an orphanage is out of the question. However, while they have inherited their family's wealth a part of that wealth ins an heirloom that is a cursed giant ruby that was brought back from India a long time ago.
Obviously thieves have decided they want the ruby so the kidnap the twins and hold them hostage and demand the ruby as a ransom (as thieves tend to do when they come across a get rich scheme, though in reality children are kidnapped for much more nefarious reasons). However the twins' friends are aware of the situation (they read the newspaper – obviously it is not the Daily Mail because it actually tells them something useful) and when they receive a note from them asking for help, they immediately set out on another adventure.
It is interesting that Blyton doesn't just work with one specific group of characters, like the Famous Five, but explores different groups of young detectives. However there was nothing really all that noticeable about these young detectives that made them stand out from any of the others (unlike the Five-Finder Outers). Instead they seem to be a little bland and have really no personality.
This story is pretty much the same as all of her other children detective stories (though Blyton only ever wrote children's stories). The kids stumble on a mystery and using their wits and cunning (as well as a lot of luck) they manage to outsmart the bad guys, alert the police to the situation, and in return solve the adventure and become heroes. She did write an awful lot of books, but usually when you have done so, the quality does begin to degrade and you end up repeating yourself ad infinitum.
24 June 2012
This is one of Blyton's shorter novels, and while it was written much later in her life, there does not seem to be much difference from many of the other adventure stories of hers that I have read. In fact this book seems to be very much a shorter version of your average Famous Five adventure.
The story is about a brother and sister who in a previous story made friends with a couple of wealthy orphan twins (though this seems a little odd because orphan and wealth generally don't go together). Currently they are being looked after by their grandmother, however she died and they must now be looked after by a guardian. As they are wealthy it is very clear that an orphanage is out of the question. However, while they have inherited their family's wealth a part of that wealth ins an heirloom that is a cursed giant ruby that was brought back from India a long time ago.
Obviously thieves have decided they want the ruby so the kidnap the twins and hold them hostage and demand the ruby as a ransom (as thieves tend to do when they come across a get rich scheme, though in reality children are kidnapped for much more nefarious reasons). However the twins' friends are aware of the situation (they read the newspaper – obviously it is not the Daily Mail because it actually tells them something useful) and when they receive a note from them asking for help, they immediately set out on another adventure.
It is interesting that Blyton doesn't just work with one specific group of characters, like the Famous Five, but explores different groups of young detectives. However there was nothing really all that noticeable about these young detectives that made them stand out from any of the others (unlike the Five-Finder Outers). Instead they seem to be a little bland and have really no personality.
This story is pretty much the same as all of her other children detective stories (though Blyton only ever wrote children's stories). The kids stumble on a mystery and using their wits and cunning (as well as a lot of luck) they manage to outsmart the bad guys, alert the police to the situation, and in return solve the adventure and become heroes. She did write an awful lot of books, but usually when you have done so, the quality does begin to degrade and you end up repeating yourself ad infinitum.
December 31, 2025
I have read this book and this book literally was one of the worst I've ever read by Enid Blyton, and my respect for her went down by a lot.
I now read more mature books but like to visit children's books and honestly, Enid Blyton writes masterfully. But this book was so bad.
One thing I would specify is that her writing style has not declined by any means. It is still amazing in aspects of writing, but the plot was strange if we say the least.
The protagonists Tessa and Pat (will say TP for convenience) soon find that their friends, Faith and David (will say FD for convenience) were kidnapped by some people to a place where no one goes. To be more specific, they are kept in a castle in Brinkin Hills.
Coincidentally, TP were going for holiday at that same place and they began to search for them and soon discovered them. But here things get messy.
We come to know that FD were kidnapped because they had inherited a ruby from their aunt, who passed away because of a 'so-called curse' of the ruby. That ruby belonged to an Indian, as in the country, not American Indians, from whom the ruby was stolen from. So we can know that some 'Indians' were abducting FD so that they can give them the ruby.
On that island there was a temple, which is not specified as any religious temple but by the descriptions we know it is a Hindu temple. After TP helps FD escape from the castle, they take shelter between the statues and they find the Indians were smuggling some things somewhere and the story continues.
My main issue is not the plot, it is the portrayal of Indians. As an Indian myself, how in this book Indians are portrayed makes me sick and disgusted. I know at that time Britishers controlled India, but is it right for authors to portray and show Indians as evil and bad?
Also, which tribe in India wears a turban? Who? IDK. Such stereotypes are disgusting.
Not only Indians, but also the idols and Gods were shown badly and it hurt more than the turbaned stereotypes because I agree there are good and bad in every part of the world. The Gods were described as "grinning ugly faces" which is so bad. The majestic figures of the Gods are made into a joke and TP and FD also comment rudely. There is no right for anyone to comment on someoned religion, clothes and Gods.
I Love Enid Blyton, but this book is disgusting, bad and I wished I never read it.
I now read more mature books but like to visit children's books and honestly, Enid Blyton writes masterfully. But this book was so bad.
One thing I would specify is that her writing style has not declined by any means. It is still amazing in aspects of writing, but the plot was strange if we say the least.
The protagonists Tessa and Pat (will say TP for convenience) soon find that their friends, Faith and David (will say FD for convenience) were kidnapped by some people to a place where no one goes. To be more specific, they are kept in a castle in Brinkin Hills.
Coincidentally, TP were going for holiday at that same place and they began to search for them and soon discovered them. But here things get messy.
We come to know that FD were kidnapped because they had inherited a ruby from their aunt, who passed away because of a 'so-called curse' of the ruby. That ruby belonged to an Indian, as in the country, not American Indians, from whom the ruby was stolen from. So we can know that some 'Indians' were abducting FD so that they can give them the ruby.
On that island there was a temple, which is not specified as any religious temple but by the descriptions we know it is a Hindu temple. After TP helps FD escape from the castle, they take shelter between the statues and they find the Indians were smuggling some things somewhere and the story continues.
My main issue is not the plot, it is the portrayal of Indians. As an Indian myself, how in this book Indians are portrayed makes me sick and disgusted. I know at that time Britishers controlled India, but is it right for authors to portray and show Indians as evil and bad?
Also, which tribe in India wears a turban? Who? IDK. Such stereotypes are disgusting.
Not only Indians, but also the idols and Gods were shown badly and it hurt more than the turbaned stereotypes because I agree there are good and bad in every part of the world. The Gods were described as "grinning ugly faces" which is so bad. The majestic figures of the Gods are made into a joke and TP and FD also comment rudely. There is no right for anyone to comment on someoned religion, clothes and Gods.
I Love Enid Blyton, but this book is disgusting, bad and I wished I never read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
An adventure of a brother-sister duo to save their friends who were kidnapped for the ransom of Rajah's ruby. A ruby which is believed to be the cause of ill-fate in the Gatherhood family. It was a wonderful journey where the duo saves the Gatherhood twins by camping near the kidnapping site.
When a peaceful holiday turns into a clandestine mission! A must read for all those interested in fiction and adventures...
When a peaceful holiday turns into a clandestine mission! A must read for all those interested in fiction and adventures...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2020
It's 2.5
I haven't finished it but I most certainly know what's gonna happen. Don't get me wrong, I love Enid Blyton but after reading many of her books all others are just cliché with change of name and slight change of plot. Nothing new.So yeah it was like I said, ok.
I haven't finished it but I most certainly know what's gonna happen. Don't get me wrong, I love Enid Blyton but after reading many of her books all others are just cliché with change of name and slight change of plot. Nothing new.So yeah it was like I said, ok.
January 13, 2016
awesome book. really liked it
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews