I read a lot of Enid Blyton books as a child and I was interested to read more about her. By all accounts she wasn't a natural mother, although she spent her life writing books for children and sending personal replies to their letters.
I've always thought that she would be a fascinating character to have at the hypothetical dinner party of famous people. I got the impression that she probably would have been a huge disappointment to meet in that sort of situation.

I really enjoyed this and read it in one sitting. As a lifelong Blyton fan, whose works contributed more towards me becoming a child bookworm than any other writer, this biography was not only interesting and informative, was a delicious, indulgent journey of nostalgia.

The tone of this book was really well balanced relating to all the controversy surrounding Blyton's personality and writing. I felt that Cohen attempts to write honestly about an imperfect woman whose love of childhood and sadness in her own youth created a flawed adult. But it also led to her astonishingly prolific and so beloved collection of escapist children's tales.

I particularly appreciated the author's handling of the literary criticism Blyton's writing has faced, whilst explaining clearly the arguments against the quality of her work you can sense the affection Cohen has herself for her books and she stays firm in the indisputable love children have always had for her stories. Who are adults to say what literary quality children should read anyway? Reading is reading is reading. I truly believe that enjoyment of reading in children transcends and snobbish literary impositions adults feel that misguidedly need to make.

But I digress. I thoroughly enjoyed this dip into Enid's world and continue to enjoy her legacy along with millions of others. A recommended read for anyone else who is a Blyton fan.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Of course this title grabbed my attention because as a child I read and reread many of Enid Blyton's books. I don't remember details of the books, but I remember loving them so much, that over 30 years later, I wanted to read them again. I especially loved the boarding school books, and desperately wanted to go to one myself.
Instead, I found this book, and eagerly devoured it the same way I read Blyton's books in the 80's.

I found this book fascinating to read, full of facts and insights that surprised me. As a child, I was unaware of the controversy surrounding the books, and I shared none of the critical views. To me they were amazing stories, and I was one of the loyal readers.

I highly recommend this book to both Blyton fans and critics, for its balanced and fair portrayal of a real Enid Blyton, a flawed person, molded by her environment, upbringing, education, experiences and parents. The book title says it all, this is The Real Enid Blyton.
Let her be who she was, and celebrate her achievements as a writer who inspired millions of kids to read.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy, which my honest review is based on.

This biography of Enid Blyton caught my eye on Netgalley. I grew up with Enid Blyton (who didn’t?) and I would go so far as to say she is responsible for me being a bookworm. She invented the pageturner for children, fostering a love of (and an addiction to) reading in so many children, myself included.

I read so many of her books - we had rakes of them at home and I borrowed more from the library. Some were handed down by cousins and I can still remember the musty smell of the yellowed, gossamer-thin pages. She wrote more than 750 books over the course of her life - has there ever been a more prolific author?

This short biography (ca 170 pages) explores her early life, her marriages and family, her career as a writer and the backlash she faced over later years, with allegations of racism, anti-Semitism and classism directed at her.

I found it really interesting as though I read reams of her books as a child, I knew very little about her. She was something of a feminist icon and a pioneer for working from home. Her family history and her detachment from her own children made for fascinating reading.

I wasn’t aware of how her books were roundly criticised by teachers for their absence of literary quality - that certainly isn’t my memory of her books! Blyton herself didn’t care - the opinion of children was all she valued.

The biography unfortunately is repetitive in places and littered with typos. It could do with a good edit.

It also could be retitled “in defence of Enid Blyton” as while it explores some of the controversial language in her books, it doesn’t really probe her motivations or how it was received in any great detail, merely putting it down to “it was of its time”. Perhaps that is so but I’d have like something a little more incisive than what was offered.

Despite all the controversy around Blyton, I have a soft spot for her books (as does the author Cohen clearly). She fed my hunger for reading and the fact that she was so prolific meant there was always another of her books to dive into when I finished one and was ready for another.

I’d recommend this one if you were a lover of her books as a child, but with the caveat that it’s not the best written biog you’ll ever read. 3.5/5 ⭐️

*Many thanks to @penswordbooks for the eARC via @netgalley. As always, this is an honest review. The Real Enid Blyton was published in October.*

The Real Enid Blyton by Nadia Cohen was far more in-depth than I had appreciated it would be. I assumed it would be a biography stitched together from secondary sources, but the author has used personal documents, including diary entries and letters between Enid and a therapist, which really do give a great deal of insight. Although, I must admit, at times it seemed a little too intense, I felt like I was spying on woman. For example, when insights are given about her miscarriage in her late forties.

I did enjoy this book, and it was very insightful into the life of Enid Blyton. A good read whether you're a fan of her books or not.

Enid Blyton's stories were a firm fixture of my childhood, so when I saw this biography , I knew I had to request it. My mum made it her personal mission to track down as many from Blyton's extensive catalogue as possible, in hardback no less. She would scourer several stores and markets trying to find me copies so I would have complete sets. One of my biggest reading regrets is not holding on to those books into my adult life.

The book details Blyton's history, both personally and professionally. Not knowing any details about one of my favourite authors as a child, it was a riveting read to learn more about her, her family and her work.

The Real Enid Blyton is a fairly balanced and realistic biography of the iconic and prolific children's author by Nadia Cohen. Originally released in 2018, this reformat and re-release from Pen & Sword is 168 pages and will be available in paperback format in late 2022. Most other formats are currently available now.

The book is a recitation of the facts of the author's well documented life, with a fair bit of additional well reasoned detail extrapolated from the circumstances surrounding her early life, the breakdown of her parents marriage, and her own relationships and infidelities.

Ms. Cohen writes well and readably. It's not an academically rigorous book, and it isn't annotated. The author hasn't included a bibliography or references, although the facts of Blyton's life are well documented. There are a number of black and white photos included in a gallery at the back of the book of the houses in which Enid lived and worked, and some personal items including editions of her work, and a black golliwog doll which seems appallingly racist given the current social climate.

Four stars. It's a serviceable biography of a phenomenally prolific and beloved children's author. Recommended for particularly engaged fans of the author's work, as well as biography and memoir readers. It would also be a good choice for public library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I was curious about this author as I read a lot about her. it's an interesting portrait of a contradictory and intriguing woman who was able to sell herself and hiding the real woman.
Interesting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Enid Blyton was definitely the author that got me into reading and she introduced me to some amazing books too. From a very young age when my mum used to read me bedtime stories, through to The Famous Five series and my all time favourite series, Malory Towers - I loved them all and still have some of my original copies today!!
Apparently though, Enid Blyton was not a very nice person and in this book the author takes us right from the beginning and straight to the end of Enid’s life and everything in between.
A very interesting life story……

Comprehensive catalogue of the life of Enid Blyton. Cohen has tracked down so much of every possible influence that could have been brought to bear on her over 800 published stories, plays and poems.. with a quite dispassionate style Blyton’s life is laid bare. Her avoidance of reality, her lack of mothering of her own children and her own complex love life are all carefully unpacked. For Blyton publication and her control of every aspect of publication was everything and her commitment to her readers unwavering. So sad that the died aged 71 with sever dementia. Cohen deals very effectively with the backlash, totally deserved, against her use of racism, sexism and snobbishness. It’s interesting to see how the attempted clean up had to be reversed some years later because the books weren’t seen as true to her style. I loved The Faraway Tree and the Secret Seven but I was amazed that they were part of such a huge output by one woman churning out 8000 words a day with an almost automatic style where she said she sat at her typewriter and the stories just ‘came to her’. Cohen is both the distant observer but also an admirer as a biographer, and it is an informative tour that she takes us on. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Enid Blyton had an incredible talent for making young children want to read. Teachers, librarians and others may criticise her books, but I’d pay more heed to their arguments if they had sold over 600 million books, as Blyton has. Enid Blyton’s attitudes were typical of the time: sadly xenophobic – and I think xenophobic is more accurate than racist as a general description of the behaviours depicted in her books. The villains are usually identified by being foreign or “not local” rather than their skin tone. In Noddy’s world, for example, they’re from the Wild Wood rather than Toytown.

The Real Enid Blyton by Nadia Cohen lives up to the title. It shows us the woman behind the carefully tended “brand” image, as we would say today. Blyton relied upon a photographic memory (one of the early indications of the senile dementia that took her, aged 71, was her failing memory) and was a very shrewd businesswoman. However, her behaviour towards her mother, brothers, children and friends was cruel and callous. That was her way of protecting herself from the unpleasantness of reality: as Cohen writes, “she started to teach herself to become detached from the people closest to her” and “[…] if she did not openly admit to something then it never actually happened.” As Cohen points out, the strong moral and ethical codes she espoused in her novels were not codes that she followed personally.

The book takes us through Enid’s life, from her parents splitting up when she was 13; through her two marriages; and bringing up her two daughters. There’s a lot of information in the book but a few obvious mistakes do make me question the accuracy of it all. For example, Anthony Eden wasn’t Prime Minister during the war. Cohen also confuses The Secret Mountain with The Secret Island. And when she mentions “anti-aircraft bombs attacking London”, does she mean “anti-aircraft fire attacking the bombers” or “bombs dropping on London”? Cohen also writes about Anne of the Famous Five and then describes Aunt Fanny as “the other recurring female character”. What about the tomboy, George? She’s in more books than the aunt!

Overall, then, a very interesting book about a sadly flawed individual. But still an individual that engendered a love of reading in millions of children.

#TheRealEnidBlyton #NetGalley

Nadia Cohen The Real Enid Blyton Pen & Sword, Pen & Sword History.
30 Oct 2022.

Thank you, Net Galley and Pen & Sword, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I was pleased to receive this book for review, even though I am reasonably familiar with the story of this prolific writer who won children’s, if not adults’, hearts with her amazing output. Mysteries to be solved by children; magical and imaginative adventures in a wishing chair or faraway tree; school sagas; reinterpretation of bible and classical stories; and a host of appealing and unappealing toy characters whose behaviour covers a wide gamut of naughtiness, moral strength and comic moments were a source of great reading for many children.
Nadia Cohen’s story of Blyton’s writing, covering so many examples of the fiction, is an engaging read. It is here that one of the strengths of the biography lies. Too often the writer’s story seems to be told without much attention to the fiction written. Cohen deftly weaves the story of a writer with character flaws together with appealing insights into the work she produced.

Several questions are raised by the biography. It is really necessary to criticise Enid Blyton’s parenting? If she was the father of the biological children (one of whom has written a very negative account of her childhood, some of which is referred to in this book) would she be seen as neglectful because she got on with earning rather than parenting throughout her career? Again, whether mother or father, should there have been different expectations from her than other parents following the norm in the British class system in which children are seen for short periods by their parents? Is it sexism or something else that creates the emphasis on Blyton’s attitude toward her biological children in comparison with her attention to her child readers? Another question regards the status of Blyton’s writing. Is the distain shown by adults for the very work that their children loved, even encouraging non-readers to engage with books, valid or even useful? Does the racism, sexism and classism abundantly apparent in the books warrant their being taken off library shelves, and later, edited?

Cohen’s biography, while raising the problems, does not produce a finely thought-out analysis of them. Like other biographers of Blyton, she ignores the sexism implicit in criticising a working mother for her attention to earning rather than traditional mothering. It is possible that critics believe that the type of work which relied on fostering relationships with children was so much at odds with Blyton’s personal relationships it was almost hypocritical. Cohen could also conceivably suggest that analysis is others’ responsibility: hers is to bring to her readers a story of this prolific writer that covers her life, attitudes, work and fame. This Cohen does admirably.

Blyton’s own childhood is particularly well drawn, her relationships with her parents and siblings having lasting implications for the way in which Blyton managed her feelings throughout her lifetime. Cohen writes that her business acumen was immense, her work ethic amazing, and imagination wide ranging. Although the latter could be questioned by those who believe Blyton’s books to be formulaic, her readers thrived on the range of material she published. There seems to have been something for everyone – even the racism, sexism and classism seems to have been glossed over by avid child readers. Or perhaps they recognised the failings and decided to behave differently? We do not know, and neither do Blyton’s adult critics!

Nadia Cohen’s biography is an engrossing read, with a wealth of information and excellent attention to the writing Blyton produced. It is the latter that really lifts this particular biography above others. Readers will enjoy a further foray into their own favourites, the picture of Blyton at work, her various homes, her pets and garden providing a backdrop to this enjoyment. A flawed woman – undoubtably, and this is not glossed over. A phenomenon in children’s publishing – again undoubtably. Cohen gives readers a picture well worth reading.

I had no idea about the background of Enid Blyton’s Life so this was really interesting. There are so many books and articles online about the author but this one has clearly been thoroughly researched and written well. Overall I really enjoyed reading it, although shocking in many ways.

What A Surprise!

Enid Blyton was my favourite author and I loved all her books when I was growing up! To be honest as a child reading her stories, they were wonderful. From a child’s prospective they took you to another world and no matter what was going on in your life made you feel happy, the perfect get away! As a child I never looked into other aspects of her stories and how today they are not politically correct.

I’m not saying what she wrote at the time was perfect and I can now see how prejudice she was but as a child, you don’t look into these aspects, you read the stories and love the adventures and I think reading her story it does come across that she never got over her father leaving and it was so easy to write books for children when her mind set was always to please the younger generation and to give them magic in reading.

I enjoyed reading about her life which was quite a surprise to me. I would never have thought her character to be the way it was but who know what people are like behind closed doors!

I now know she wasn’t perfect and a lot of her stories have upset people but to me she is still one of my favourite authors who played a big part in my reading life whilst I was growing up.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A great insight into a fascinating person. I loved the personal details throughout and how the story flowed. A really well written account.

A treasured friend from my youth I devoured all her books.
This account of the two sides of Enid's nature, the public persona and her family life.
The ability to ignore and dismiss things she didn't like was astounding.
A peep behind the curtain that will keep you entertained.

Growing up, I was a huge fan of Enid Blyton. The Famous Five, Secret Seven, The Mallory Towers and St. Clare's being among my favourites. I don't think there will be many children who have not read a book of some description by Enid Blyton. Unfortunately, it has been said that Enid Blyton was, allegedly, not a very nice person. She was neither loving or caring in her roles as mother and wife. Nadia Cohen takes us from birth through to Enid's death. Although a great writer of children's books, she didn't have a good relationship with her own children. This is a good portrayal of Enid Blyton's life that's well balanced and shows some of her better points.

I would like to thank #Netgalley #PenandSword and the author #NadiaCohen for my ARC of #TheRealEnidBlyton in exchange for an honest review.













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I was like many many children a huge fan of Enid Blyton's books and i have her to thank for my love of reading all through my life.
I was thrilled to be able to read this book ( my thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my copy) and felt so sad to hear about the heartache she felt as a child.
I was also shocked to realise that her whole life was nothing like the sunny picture she painted in her story's.
This book was a real eye opener, sad but at the same time a well written read.

Like many children in Britain and other countries around the world, I grew up reading Enid Blyton. Although her books have attracted a lot of criticism for their outdated attitudes and a perceived lack of literary merit, I have lots of happy memories of solving crimes with the Five Find-Outers, going on adventures with the Famous Five and getting to know the girls of Malory Towers and St Clare’s. As a child, I never gave any thought to the author herself and what she may have been like as a wife, mother or friend, but I later became aware that she was allegedly not a very nice person and certainly not the loving, maternal figure her books would lead you to believe. She has been the subject of TV documentaries and a 2009 BBC drama starring Helena Bonham Carter as well as several biographies, including this one, The Real Enid Blyton, in which Nadia Cohen takes us through Enid’s life from birth to death and attempts to shed some light on the woman behind the stories.

Enid was born in East Dulwich, South London in 1897 and Cohen suggests that her character was shaped by the break-up of her parents’ marriage while she was in her early teens. Enid had a close, loving relationship with her father, Thomas Blyton, who instilled in her a love of reading, animals and nature, but she didn’t get on very well at all with her mother, Theresa. When Thomas left his wife for another woman, Theresa refused to agree to a divorce and insisted that his new living arrangements be kept secret in order to avoid bringing shame on the family. Enid was devastated and felt that her father had betrayed her by choosing someone else over her. As she grew into an adult, she would learn to detach herself from the people around her, ‘removing people from her life without a backward glance’, and would deal with anything unpleasant by simply pretending it hadn’t happened, things Cohen attributes to the emotional damage caused by her father’s departure.

Enid began to write after taking a teacher training course and working first as a teacher then as a private governess. She said, ‘It was the children themselves who taught me how to write. No adult can teach you that as they can.’ I was interested to read that early in her career she submitted an adult novel, The Caravan Goes On, to her agent but it was rejected and later reworked into her children’s book Mr Galliano’s Circus. If that novel had been accepted, I wonder whether she would have continued to write for adults rather than for children. However, that was not to be and apart from an adult play she wrote in the 1950s (which was also rejected), she concentrated on writing for the younger readers she understood so well. By the peak of her career in 1951, she produced thirty-seven books in that one year alone.

Despite Enid’s popularity with children she had never met, her own children seem to have felt neglected and unloved. Cohen provides plenty of evidence of this, sprinkling throughout the book quotes from Gillian and Imogen, Enid’s two daughters by her first husband, Hugh Pollock. Imogen described her mother as ‘arrogant, insecure and without a trace of maternal instinct. Her approach to life was childlike, and she could be spiteful, like a teenager’. Enid and Hugh divorced when the girls were still young children and she refused to let them have any further contact with their father – another example of cutting all her ties, but this time her children were made to suffer. Her second marriage, to the surgeon Kenneth Waters, was happier, but Enid’s relationship with Imogen in particular never improved. However, Cohen’s portrayal of Enid seems quite fair and balanced overall and she does acknowledge Enid’s good points, such as her energy, impressive work ethic and support for various charities.

Cohen also discusses some of the criticism directed at Enid’s work and the recent attempts of publishers to censor and ‘update’ her books, something I think many of us who were Blyton fans feel quite strongly about! It can’t be denied that her books did contain a lot of sexism, racism and snobbery, but some of the changes that were made just seem completely unnecessary. Even before these recent controversies, Enid’s books had been banned by some libraries and by the BBC (until the 1950s), because of her ‘over simplified writing’ and ‘undemanding plots’, with one critic accusing her of poisoning the reading ability of children and another claiming children would become addicted to her books and would never go on to read adult literature. Enid’s response to all of this was that she didn’t care about the opinion of anyone over the age of twelve!

I enjoyed this biography and found it interesting to get some insights into the life and career of a favourite childhood author, even if they weren't always positive ones!

My absolute all time favourite author from childhood - I remember being devastated in the 80s when I learned that she had died whilst being thrilled last year at seeing her typewriter in the Seven Stories children’s book museum.

This isn’t just a biography - it includes anecdotes and viewpoints from other parties at the times mentioned. Of course, Enid’s writing has been brought under scrutiny many times over the years but it was interesting to read that the BBC had banned her in her lifetime (she died in 1968) whilst also learning of a more recent renaissance of her work and how popular it remains today.

The facts of her career are indisputable - one of the most prolific and published children’s authors of all time. What was interesting to learn about was her childhood, including her father leaving the family home when she was young, but also about her subsequent estrangement from her mother and younger brothers. It was also telling to read the words of her daughters, leaving the reader in no doubt that whilst Enid was incredible with children that may not have included her own two. The book also details Enid’s two marriages and how any scandal was covered up at the time.

This was well worth a read - I feel I know more now about her as a person as well as an author. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.