Another Meeting is held. John Terry asks for money to buy a new spade. He's the green-fingered boy who spends most of his time in the garden and he loves it. Through his industry the school enjoys green peas and other delights for their meals and he's granted 12/6d immediately (there you are — that's near enough to 70 pence for a garden spade). A class-cheat is reported. His name is Harry and his serious misdemeanour is handled by William who is the head boy and one of the judges. He enlists Mr. Johns' help as well. Elizabeth herself is reported and it's probably not all that surprising seeing that she's the Naughtiest Girl. An unexpected ally speaks up for her before she is punished by the school and then she storms out of the gym! We've talked about this for long enough, Joe' said his father. 'Now we'll see what a good slapping will do'. As Joe's mother fled up the path, the shed door was shut, and even the cat fled in panic, for Father's hand 'was very hard', and Joe yelled. Barbara Stoney tells us that, by 1928, Enid's brother Hanly was married to Floss and they had a baby daughter called Yvonne. Enid was trying to become pregnant herself at that time, unsuccessfully, and "She tried to satisfy her maternal yearnings by seeing as much as she could of her young niece, Yvonne..." So it seems that Enid and Hanly were in touch at that time. Later, Hanly and his wife had another child. 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. This reminds me, we are studying Boy - tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl in English literature, and I was amazed by the amount of spanking and caning the boys. This type of behavior is also there in some of his other works, but none of them have been dropped.

It's interesting that the Famous Five books are renowned for the sumptuous food the Five regularly eat, so you might think (if you weren't familiar with the books) that surely the Five must be eating really fine food - of the elaborate sort found in expensive restaurants, or featured in some of the television cooking shows. But really, when you look at the items in that list, most of them are really quite ordinary foods of the sort that most of us probably eat quite regularly - and it becomes clear that Enid Blyton has the ability to make quite ordinary things (food, and probably lots of other things too) seem quite exciting and wonderful. Richard is a sensitive boy who is brilliant at music. Once Richard and Elizabeth used to be enemies but becomes one of Elizabeth's best friends. he also plays a duet with Elizabeth at the end of term concert and whispers to Elizabeth "you're a good sort!" when Elizabeth decides to stay on at Whyteleafe School.

Enid Blyton is one of the worlds’ best-loved storytellers. Her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into more languages more often than any other children’s author. Well, this time Dad and I have planned to go to Scotland," said Mum. " Just the two of us! You're all old enough to look after yourselves now, and we thought you'd love the chance to have a holiday on your own! But now that you can't go to Polseath, I don't really know where to send you."

When Elizabeth Allen is chosen to be a school monitor, she's delighted. But she soon finds out just what a responsible job it is. The harder she tries, the worse she behaves! Will the naughtiest girl in the school EVER learn to be good? In book six, the school goes camping and the Naughtiest Girl means to be well-behaved. But horrible Arabella is sleeping in the very same tent and busy stirring up trouble for Elizabeth's best friend, Joan ... notes: The first dustwrapper had a blue line drawing on a white spine, which became a plain white spine in January 1942 @ 5/-. This was changed to a full colour spine in November 1951 @ 7/-) Elizabeth Allen is spoilt and selfish. When's she's sent away to boarding school she makes up her mind to be the naughtiest pupil there's ever been! But Elizabeth soon finds out that being bad isn't as simple as it seems ...Enid Blyton's very funny school series follows Elizabeth Allen as she is sent away to boarding school and makes up her mind to be the naughtiest pupil there's ever been. Hilarious reading alone or aloud for ages 7 and up.

Yet another meeting is held and as always, it's interesting to see what moans and groans have accumulated over the week. Tarra-Tarra! Elizabeth gets a splendid report. She is granted extra money to buy the sea music that she heard the music-master playing when she had run off by herself after the first school Meeting and she's thrilled but she still makes it known that she desires to leave at the end of the term. This is a complicated problem and is discussed by the school in her absence. Even Miss Belle and Miss Best, the wise head-mistresses, contribute and a solution is worked out. Part of Elizabeth's dilemma is due to the philosophy she holds that it is a sign of weakness to change one's mind! What a lot of trouble one avoids if one refuses to have anything to do with the common herd. To have no job, to devote ones life to literature, is the most wonderful thing in the world. - Cicero

He had been bad-tempered and rude all day, and was out in the shed when his mother appeared and told him to go and do something. He refused so she gave him a little push, and he was VERY rude to her. Infortunately for Joe, Nemesis in the shape of his father, came into the shed, having heard what Joe had said. Edit: One of Carey's sons (i.e. the son of Enid Blyton's nephew) posted on the forums a few months ago. His name is Daniel Blyton. I've just found the thread: Elizabeth begins to enjoy life at Whyteleafe, despite her best efforts to hate everything. She even makes friends with "the Mouse", Joan Townsend — though Joan feels that having the Bold Bad Girl as a friend is "rather like being friends with a thunderstorm! You never quite knew what Elizabeth was going to do next."

That said, I can't help thinking that Blyton went rather too far with her continual references to corporal punishment. In this first book in Enid Blyton’s hugely popular series, Elizabeth Allen is sent away to boarding school and makes up her mind to be the naughtiest pupil there’s ever been.

I noticed that a reference to spanking had been removed from my modern edition of Last Term at Malory Towers. It's not yet illegal here in the UK but it's definitely not PC I am considering producing a Famous Five Feast for the family (I might attempt to get half the foods in the list- all of them would take me until Christmas to eat ) Interesting that you went as far as looking up the phone numbers of Blytons, Redrachel. I don't think adults always realise how passionately children sometimes feel about things, or how seriously children will consider possibilities that most adults would just dismiss.