The Secret of Moon Castle
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1953) [Armada, 1991]
![Book cover: “The Secret of Moon Castle” by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1953) [Armada, 1991]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Blyton_Secret-Moon-Castle.jpg)
Blyton’s ‘Secret’ series ends with a bit of a whimper. The villain is unambiguous and the mystery entails a nebulous mining scheme that, Scooby-Doo style, would have remained hidden if not for his trying to scare the kids off with manufactured spookery.
The Sea of Adventure
by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1948); audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)
Blyton mixes the formula just right in this fourth adventure, adding a real sense of peril to the usual holiday atmosphere. The girls make genuine contributions. Huffin and Puffin, with only one syllable between them, enter the pantheon of great support characters!
The Secret of Killimooin
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1943); ill. Eileen A. Soper (Armada, 1965)
Another memorable piece of wartime escapism, the children venturing this time to Prince Paul’s homeland. Peggy and Nora are sidelined (becoming nigh interchangeable) but, in mitigation, the hero and most competent person in the story proves to be the blind goatherd Beowald.
The Valley of Adventure
by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1947)
audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Hodder, 2018)
The Valley of Adventure proves memorable for its setting, its intrigue, and of course for Kiki the parrot. Judd’s audiobook reading continues to make the girls sound like wet dishrags, though in fact they show a bit more gumption this time around.
The Secret Mountain
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1941); ill. Dylan Roberts (Armada, 1965)
Writing during the Second World War, Blyton sends her young protagonists on an escapist and rather improbable African adventure. A book notable for its more-or-less non-condescending attitude towards the native boy Mafumu and a rare positive depiction of foreigners (Ranni and Pilescu).
The Castle of Adventure
by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1946)
audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Hodder, 2018)
Another jolly dose of supercilious British youngsters lording it over the world around them. (One wonders what is to become of Button the fox cub and the Gypsy girl Tassie.) Dinah and Lucy-Ann are particularly wet this book. Kiki remains a highlight.
The Island of Adventure
by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1944); audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)
Blyton spends far too long on the pre-adventure, holiday-atmosphere buildup. While the children are slow to cotton on, the danger does at last manifest (and with a harder edge). Memorable mostly for Kiki the parrot and Philip and Dinah’s bickering sibling relationship.
The Secret of Spiggy Holes
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1940) [reprinted Armada, 1965]
![Book cover: “The Secret of Spiggy Holes” by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1940) [reprinted Armada, 1965]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blyton_Secret-Spiggy-Holes.jpg)
Predating the Barney Mysteries but very much in keeping, distinguished only by the absence of any animal companion, and a return to the Secret Island (from the children’s previous adventure). The cover blurb anticipates reader fretfulness by giving away the entire plot.
Five Go to Mystery Moor
by Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton, 1953); audiobook read by Jan Francis (Bolinda, 2021)
The children’s classist (pitched as precocious) assumption of superiority remains off-putting, but the supporting characters are memorably drawn and the set-up pays off in a sudden breathless rush, transforming the meander into a boys’ own (and girls-as-boys’ own!) adventure with real stakes.
The Secret Island
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1938)
Blyton’s first full-length adventure novel is low on peril but pleasantly diverting, and more substantial than later efforts. Pitched at younger readers, it sees four children run away to fend for themselves on a bountiful island—memorably taking a cow with them!