ENID BLYTON AND THE MYSTERY OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Written by David Rudd
Published by MacMillan Press
in 2000
ISBN: 0333747186
- Categorised in:
- CHILDRENS
- ENID BLYTON
- REFERENCE
- LITERARY CRITICISM
ENID BLYTON AND THE MYSTERY OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Written by David Rudd.
Stock no. 1330639
1st.
2000.
Hardback.
Very good condition in a very good dustwrapper.
Enid Blyton's work is probably better known that any other chldren's author worldwide but there has been relatively little serious attention paid to her. Negative criticism has been plentiful but this study suggests that previous critics have been misguided. It gives detailed readings of Noddy, the Famous Five and Malory Towers and proposes a new interpretation locating her in the oral tradition. It also unlocks the secret mechanism by which she entrances so many young children. Black boards with gilt titles to spine. 266 pages. ISBN: 0333747186. Spine and corners bumped. Contents fine. Dustwrapper is edge worn and faded to spine and spine edge of front panel.
Front cover
Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Texts
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Theory and Method: Literature, Discourse and the Constitution of the Child
- 3 Person and Persona: The Construction of Blyton as Cultural Icon
- 4 The Pied Piper among the critics
- 5 Noddy: Discursive Threads and Intertextuality
- 6 The Famous Five: From Discursive Threads to Cultural Readings
- 7 Sexism or Subversion? Querying Gender Relations in the Famous Five and Malory Towers
- 8 Golliwogs, Racism and Blyton: from Preferred Readings to Cultural Effects
- 9 The Mystery Explained (I): Write of (and on) the Oral Stage
- 10 The Mystery Explained (II): Write of Passages
- 11 Conclusion: Is Blyton Bad for You?
- Appendix I Questionnaires
- Appendix II Interviews
- Notes
- References
- Index