Here are some facts about the British children’s writer, Enid Blyton.
- Enid Blyton was born on 11th August 1897 in East Dulwich, London.
- Her father moved away when she was a child, and Enid Blyton had a difficult relationship with her mother. She didn’t attend either her mother’s or father’s funeral.
- Enid Blyton went to St Christopher’s School in Beckenham – she was head girl. She enjoyed most of the lessons, except maths.
- She went on to train as a teacher at Ipswich High School.
- Enid Blyton’s first published book was Child Whispers. It was a book of poetry and came out in 1922 She was still working as a teacher at this point, and wrote in her spare time.
- In August 1924, Enid Blyton married Major Hugh Alexander Pollock. He was the editor at the publishing house George Newnes, and he published some of Enid’s books.
- Enid Blyton was an incredibly prolific writer. She produced many children’s books and series, the most fomous of which are: The Famous Five series, The Adventure series, The Mystery series, The Secret Seven series, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Noddy books, The Malory Towers series and many, many more.
- Her books have sold more than 600 million copies.
- Enid Blyton sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Mary Pollock.
- Despite being a well-loved writer, it seems that Enid Blyton wasn’t a very pleasant person. She cheated on her husband, and when they were going through a divorce she tried to stop him seeing their children. Her daughter, Imogen, said Enid Blyton was “arrogant, insecure and pretentious”.
- Enid Blyton died on 28th November 1968. She was 71 years old. She was cremated and her ashes are held at Golders Green Crematorium.
- Enid Blyton wrote her books on a typewriter perched on her lap. She claimed that she didn’t plan her stories in advance, allowing her imagination to take her from the beginning of a book to the final scene. She was able to write 10,000 words of publishable story in one day!
What next? Learn more about other famous children’s writers.
