Blyton, Enid Mary

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Blyton, Enid Mary (1897–1968). Children's author. Born in East Dulwich (London), Blyton trained as a kindergarten teacher. Her first books, collections of poems in Child Whispers and stories in The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies, were published in 1922 and 1924. She edited a number of publications such as Sunny Stories and the Enid Blyton Magazine. Her wide range of books included a popular series of school stories beginning with The Naughtiest Girl in the School (1940) and the well-known ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’ adventures. Noddy and his Toyland friends became television personalities reproduced in numerous commercial products. A prolific writer, widely translated, her work has been severely criticized for its limited style, moral attitudes, and for perceived racist, sexist, and snobbish elements in the middle-class, privileged world of her stories, which nevertheless have been popular with children.

Audrey MacDonald

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