Enid Blyton, Five on a Treasure Island

Graeme Davis (University of Buckingham)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1942 - 1942

Places

United Kingdom (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature

Resources

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Enid Blyton’s

Five on a Treasure Island

is the first in a series of twenty-one novels for children featuring the “Famous Five”, the three siblings Julian, Dick and Anne, their cousin Georgina (called George), and George’s dog Timmy. First published in 1942, this is Enid Blyton’s most successful novel in her most successful series. It has been subject to exceptionally negative literary criticism, yet is one of the world’s best loved and most read books ever.

The title suggests a debt to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, though perhaps to the elements of this story which had entered popular culture rather than directly to the novel. Blyton conceived the series simply as “The Fives”; “Famous Five” is a publisher’s invention (when volume nine was published),

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2122 words

Citation: Davis, Graeme. "Five on a Treasure Island". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 September 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38970, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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