2. Adventure and the picnic!
Enid Blyton often wrote over fifty books a year during her career, therefore it is no mean feat choosing the novels I would like to focus on here. But let us start with those which are fixed in my memory most strongly. The Island of Adventure was the first novel in the Adventure Island series by Enid Blyton. Published in 1944 The Island of Adventure show Jack and his sister Lucy-Ann visiting their new friends Philip and Dinah at their ‘Craggy-Tops' home in rural England. Blyton's trademark setting of children liberated from any parental presence and roaming the English countryside is prevalent in this story. As Hunt argues: "Blyton writes uncompromisingly for a single audience, not winking over the children's shoulder at other adults for approbation" (38), and this was certainly the allure Blyton's stories held for me as a child. To read a story where children engage in adventure and excitement with a complete absence of parental authority was liberating in itself; Blyton's style of addressing the child reader so directly heightened the sense that one was along for the adventurous ride! The fact that all the adventures in this series take place during the school holidays, when the children return home from their boarding schools, only adds to a child's excitement; the infinite possibilities laid bare when unshackled from school's restraints and set free for exploration. For me, Blyton so expertly identified the essence of childhood adventure through her stories that they ingrained themselves in my memory. It is this relationship to ‘childish' memories which provide my nostalgic return to Blyton and reading which so dominated my early years. As Rudd argues: "(‘childish things') hold a central place in the adult mind, a nostalgic fantasy area that is sacred and closely guarded" (4).
Written and published during World War II, The Island of Adventure illustrates austerity through its use of food. At a time when rationing was ubiquitous and when wholesome, (often homegrown) foods were the staple diet for many, the food in this story certainly reflects this: "vegetables were got from a small allotment" (Blyton, 51). When the adventure takes the children into ‘the cellars' it is here that they find hidden foodstuffs: "Golly, this is quite an adventure, there are boxes of stores over there. Tins of food and stuff" (65). Wartime living would have required storing of long-life foods to ensure a family’s survival but Blyton succeeds in presenting this serious fact in such a way that children only find adventure and excitement. From a child’s perspective, coming across such hidden stores of food is synonymous with the finding of secret treasure! Blyton’s presentation of this food exemplifies the adversity of war-time living but rather than noting items of food in a matter-of-fact manner, Blyton uses it to conjure an aesthetic to the time period in which she writes. Her literary style successfully illuminates adventure through descriptions of even the most basic foodstuffs; war-time austerity certainly prevailed in 1944 but Blyton triumphantly challenges this hardship by ascribing inspiration and imagination to the children’s engagement with the food they uncover.
As the children continue their exploration of the island, a picnic must take place. Eaten out in the open sea air: "they sat down to enjoy the sandwiches chocolate and fruit" (94). Their rigorous investigation of the open countryside renders them famished and: "they finished up every crumb of the lunch" (95). If we look again at how Blyton manipulates the meaning of food in her novels, the obligatory picnic (which she has become so famous for), reinforces the positivity she ascribes to wartime reality. Not only does she encourage imagination through her portrayal of food, she accentuates this by her use of setting where the food is consumed. ‘Craggy-Tops’ and its roaming, rural landscape whisk the children (and therefore the reader) far away from inner-city war zones and immerses them in countryside, sea-air and freedom. By having the children picnic with their “boiled eggs and sandwiches” in this environment, Blyton has solidified their removal from war-time existence and ensconced them in a haven far away. How much nicer do those boiled eggs taste because of this!
The wholesome heartiness of this picture-perfect scene: adventure and exercise followed by the al fresco feast eaten with gusto on the craggy rocks, epitomise childhood for me. Do real-life picnics ever really mirror Blyton's? I think not. Where are the wasps in her stories for example? But the innocence and romance of how she chooses to exemplify outdoor eating only serve to heighten my desire to imitate picnics ‘Blyton style'. I still attempt to provide those picnics for my children to this day. It's all part of the magic.
Hunt, Peter, Children's Literature, (38)
Rudd, David, Enid Blyton and the Mystery of Children's Adventure, (4)
Blyton, Enid, The Island Adventure, (51,65, 94, 95)
Written and published during World War II, The Island of Adventure illustrates austerity through its use of food. At a time when rationing was ubiquitous and when wholesome, (often homegrown) foods were the staple diet for many, the food in this story certainly reflects this: "vegetables were got from a small allotment" (Blyton, 51). When the adventure takes the children into ‘the cellars' it is here that they find hidden foodstuffs: "Golly, this is quite an adventure, there are boxes of stores over there. Tins of food and stuff" (65). Wartime living would have required storing of long-life foods to ensure a family’s survival but Blyton succeeds in presenting this serious fact in such a way that children only find adventure and excitement. From a child’s perspective, coming across such hidden stores of food is synonymous with the finding of secret treasure! Blyton’s presentation of this food exemplifies the adversity of war-time living but rather than noting items of food in a matter-of-fact manner, Blyton uses it to conjure an aesthetic to the time period in which she writes. Her literary style successfully illuminates adventure through descriptions of even the most basic foodstuffs; war-time austerity certainly prevailed in 1944 but Blyton triumphantly challenges this hardship by ascribing inspiration and imagination to the children’s engagement with the food they uncover.
As the children continue their exploration of the island, a picnic must take place. Eaten out in the open sea air: "they sat down to enjoy the sandwiches chocolate and fruit" (94). Their rigorous investigation of the open countryside renders them famished and: "they finished up every crumb of the lunch" (95). If we look again at how Blyton manipulates the meaning of food in her novels, the obligatory picnic (which she has become so famous for), reinforces the positivity she ascribes to wartime reality. Not only does she encourage imagination through her portrayal of food, she accentuates this by her use of setting where the food is consumed. ‘Craggy-Tops’ and its roaming, rural landscape whisk the children (and therefore the reader) far away from inner-city war zones and immerses them in countryside, sea-air and freedom. By having the children picnic with their “boiled eggs and sandwiches” in this environment, Blyton has solidified their removal from war-time existence and ensconced them in a haven far away. How much nicer do those boiled eggs taste because of this!
The wholesome heartiness of this picture-perfect scene: adventure and exercise followed by the al fresco feast eaten with gusto on the craggy rocks, epitomise childhood for me. Do real-life picnics ever really mirror Blyton's? I think not. Where are the wasps in her stories for example? But the innocence and romance of how she chooses to exemplify outdoor eating only serve to heighten my desire to imitate picnics ‘Blyton style'. I still attempt to provide those picnics for my children to this day. It's all part of the magic.
Hunt, Peter, Children's Literature, (38)
Rudd, David, Enid Blyton and the Mystery of Children's Adventure, (4)
Blyton, Enid, The Island Adventure, (51,65, 94, 95)
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