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[News] Enid Blyton, classed as xenophobic.



Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
13,799
Almería
No not outraged, just amazed at how people from an earlier time, are brought into todays social media society, so they can tut quite loudly in a polite sort of way.
I did read the article :)

They're not removing her plaque though. They're not even adding info to it. All they've done is update their website.

I wouldn't have even heard about it if you hadn't brought it into social media.
 








AmexRuislip

Trainee Spy 🕵️‍♂️
Feb 2, 2014
33,827
Ruislip
They're not removing her plaque though. They're not even adding info to it. All they've done is update their website.

I wouldn't have even heard about it if you hadn't brought it into social media.

You got me there :), but this is NSC, ore than social media.
 


zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
21,842
Sussex, by the sea
I have a 1930s Rupert the Bear annual in which Rupert visits N***** Island, and brings home a c*** who preferred to sleep in the barn than in a bed in the house. :eek:

I have a load of 30's Babar books . . .a French Lady shacked up with an Elephant in Paris before marrying his cousin.

Actually, that's perfectly normal for Royals. move along.
 




zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
21,842
Sussex, by the sea
..that's white.

Books like hers, although they represent a period in time perpetuated a certain mindset. One that is unacceptable now so no, they shouldn't be available children to read for pleasure.

Only for displeasure? :glare:
 


el punal

Well-known member
My granddaughter is reading the ‘Famous Five’ books, she’s nine by the way, and loves them. Who is going to explain to her that George (Georgina) is a girl who would rather be a boy is a bit more complicated than the innocent tomboy impression given in the book?

Yep, the world has gone totally and utterly fruitcake bonkers. :mad:
 


Knocky's Nose

Mon nez est en Valenciennes..
May 7, 2017
4,137
Eastbourne
If we judged all historical figures by the morals of today, then there would be no great people in history left.

This.

However, I vote we exhume Enid Blyton and make her stand trial for her crimes.. That should keep people happy. Once found guilty, we could re-bury her within the prison courtyard walls for a set period. :hilton:
 




Zebedee

Anyone seen Florence?
Jul 8, 2003
8,000
Hangleton
The extent to which political correctness is pervading everything in this country is now reaching ridiculous levels. Is anyone else getting heartily sick and tired of it?
 


Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
70,314
I have a load of 30's Babar books . . .a French Lady shacked up with an Elephant in Paris before marrying his cousin.

Actually, that's perfectly normal for Royals. move along.

Would that be Babar the allegory to French imperialist colonization? ??? BURN those books! :flameboun
 










Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,238
Faversham
Afternoon :D

It just got on my goat, thats all :)

I think you're reading too much into it old pal, or possible too little :wink:

If I posted a pic of my Rupert annual on NSC I suspect I'd get a life ban, and yet the little Nutwood tinker and his originator are lauded, with a street in Canterbury named after her! The writer and illustrator on the dubious volume I own was Fred Bestall, whose reputation is untarnished.

So, I suspect that the blind eye of 'all a long time ago' was not turned on our Enid, even in the 60s, as others have pointed out, because "Blyton's work became increasingly controversial among literary critics, teachers and parents from the 1950s onwards, because of the alleged unchallenging nature of her writing and the themes of her books, particularly the Noddy series. Some libraries and schools banned her works, which the BBC had refused to broadcast from the 1930s until the 1950s, because they were perceived to lack literary merit. Her books have been criticised as being elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic and at odds with the more progressive environment emerging in post-Second World War Britain, but they have continued to be best-sellers since her death in 1968"

It also may be the case that as her treatment of her husband suggests, she was a nasty piece of work: "Blyton's marriage to Pollock became troubled for years, and according to Crowe's memoir, Blyton began a series of affairs, including a lesbian relationship with one of the children's nannies. In 1941 Blyton met Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters, a London surgeon with whom she began a serious affair. Pollock discovered the liaison, and threatened to initiate divorce proceedings against Blyton. Fearing that exposure of her adultery would ruin her public image, it was ultimately agreed that Blyton would instead file for divorce against Pollock. According to Crowe's memoir, Blyton promised that if he admitted to infidelity she would allow him parental access to their daughters; but after the divorce he was forbidden to contact them, and Blyton ensured he was subsequently unable to find work in publishing. Pollock, having married Crowe on 26 October 1943, eventually resumed his heavy drinking and was forced to petition for bankruptcy in 1950"

Regarding Noddy :"Some librarians felt that Blyton's restricted use of language, a conscious product of her teaching background, was prejudicial to an appreciation of more literary qualities. In a scathing article published in Encounter in 1958, the journalist Colin Welch remarked that it was "hard to see how a diet of Miss Blyton could help with the 11-plus or even with the Cambridge English Tripos", but reserved his harshest criticism for Blyton's Noddy, describing him as an "unnaturally priggish ... sanctimonious ... witless, spiritless, snivelling, sneaking doll.""

I tried reading a Noddy book once when I was about 7 and thought it was boring rubbish, and that Noddy was clearly a ****.
 




m@goo

New member
Feb 20, 2020
1,056
The amount of white privilege here is shocking. Well, maybe not considering the site is mostly occupied by middle aged white men. The attitude of "it doesn't affect me so it's ok" is rife.
 




Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
50,238
Faversham
The extent to which political correctness is pervading everything in this country is now reaching ridiculous levels. Is anyone else getting heartily sick and tired of it?

:facepalm:
 


Klaas

I've changed this
Nov 1, 2017
2,567
The extent to which political correctness is pervading everything in this country is now reaching ridiculous levels. Is anyone else getting heartily sick and tired of it?

I'm getting heartily sick of people acting like it's pervading everything in this country.
 




nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
17,618
Gods country fortnightly
I demand a statement from the Minister of Culture and Flags..
 


AmexRuislip

Trainee Spy 🕵️‍♂️
Feb 2, 2014
33,827
Ruislip
I think you're reading too much into it old pal, or possible too little :wink:

If I posted a pic of my Rupert annual on NSC I suspect I'd get a life ban, and yet the little Nutwood tinker and his originator are lauded, with a street in Canterbury named after her! The writer and illustrator on the dubious volume I own was Fred Bestall, whose reputation is untarnished.

So, I suspect that the blind eye of 'all a long time ago' was not turned on our Enid, even in the 60s, as others have pointed out, because "Blyton's work became increasingly controversial among literary critics, teachers and parents from the 1950s onwards, because of the alleged unchallenging nature of her writing and the themes of her books, particularly the Noddy series. Some libraries and schools banned her works, which the BBC had refused to broadcast from the 1930s until the 1950s, because they were perceived to lack literary merit. Her books have been criticised as being elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic and at odds with the more progressive environment emerging in post-Second World War Britain, but they have continued to be best-sellers since her death in 1968"

It also may be the case that as her treatment of her husband suggests, she was a nasty piece of work: "Blyton's marriage to Pollock became troubled for years, and according to Crowe's memoir, Blyton began a series of affairs, including a lesbian relationship with one of the children's nannies. In 1941 Blyton met Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters, a London surgeon with whom she began a serious affair. Pollock discovered the liaison, and threatened to initiate divorce proceedings against Blyton. Fearing that exposure of her adultery would ruin her public image, it was ultimately agreed that Blyton would instead file for divorce against Pollock. According to Crowe's memoir, Blyton promised that if he admitted to infidelity she would allow him parental access to their daughters; but after the divorce he was forbidden to contact them, and Blyton ensured he was subsequently unable to find work in publishing. Pollock, having married Crowe on 26 October 1943, eventually resumed his heavy drinking and was forced to petition for bankruptcy in 1950"

Regarding Noddy :"Some librarians felt that Blyton's restricted use of language, a conscious product of her teaching background, was prejudicial to an appreciation of more literary qualities. In a scathing article published in Encounter in 1958, the journalist Colin Welch remarked that it was "hard to see how a diet of Miss Blyton could help with the 11-plus or even with the Cambridge English Tripos", but reserved his harshest criticism for Blyton's Noddy, describing him as an "unnaturally priggish ... sanctimonious ... witless, spiritless, snivelling, sneaking doll.""

I tried reading a Noddy book once when I was about 7 and thought it was boring rubbish, and that Noddy was clearly a ****.

Cheers Mike :lolol:

I didnt know about her private life stuff, more enlightened now :thumbsup:

Noddy, well that A N Other story :D
 


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