Today is the 80th anniversary of the beloved author Enid Blyton. It has been celebrated by a grotesque cover of her work, and the interior has been changed, her words censored, not only do the readers get a different angle on what the story is, the words are not the same. What is the point of reading an older author’s work if things are changed? Enid would be spinning in her grave if she knew all her arduous work had been defiled.
Here are some comments from Facebook….
Jan MullberryI thought this was a good deal until I remembered text had been changed. And then I look at the covers. They don’t represent kids of today or of yesterday like the originals. They represent cartoon characters. As a child, I’d look at those covers, and I had a picture in my head of boys and girls like me. How can you do that with these? You are supposed to be reading about real people, that’s what attracts kids or teenagers. How can you find common ground with cartoon characters? As for the supposedly offensive terms and names used, when I was a child, their names were just names, like my friends. There was no hidden agenda. Just like terms used. I was interested in the story and read it as fast as I could. I wasn’t questioning or picking fault with what was written. Kids don’t do that unless they’ve been brought up to not experience a real childhood. It seems to me these decisions have been made by stiff adults that have probably never immersed themselves in that world. Enid wrote such great books because she was part of that world. I honestly don’t think she’d agree with the changes. Because people that have passed will be looking down and thinking what a mad snowflake world, we live in. It’s a shame something so innocent has now been tainted and put in the same category as slave master statues. Shame on the decision-makers. And if you think names like Dick and Fanny are offensive then that says more about you than the kids that wouldn’t bat an eyelid, like I didn’t. Go woke, go broke as they say. I haven’t turned into a racist either, quite the opposite.
A very well put argument I should say… Thanks jan.
Also, a most excellent article here… https://returntokirrincom.wordpress.com/blyton-in-a-woke-era/?fbclid=IwAR3E8kB6fwV-8Pr5N4GLfNERWXX-OeDf5M8sRPKfTwSDYtTTJstLO_Iu80Q
Soon books will be banned, literature censored! As this man puts it perfectly, via the New York times
Re “Politics Fuels Surge in Calls for Book Bans” (front page, Jan. 31):I am amazed that all of the people in a frenzy to ban books have overlooked a book that is in most public libraries, and features fratricide, incest, adultery, murder, drunkenness, slavery, bestiality, baby killing, torture, parents killing their own children, and soldiers slaughtering defenseless women and children. It’s almost guaranteed to give children, and even adults, nightmares. If you haven’t guessed by now, it’s called the Bible.
Steve Fox
Columbia, Md.
We should not tamper with literature than has been written, we should never ban books, we should learn from them. We are not stupid and we have no need to be molly coddled by these types who wish us to read what they want us to read.
I say read them, and then read some more.
Viva Le BOOKS!!!
Julan62 
Celia
August 12, 2022 at 9:56 am
I quite agree! No one should mess with books that have already been written! The Enid Blyton people should be ashamed of themselves.
Jenny
August 12, 2022 at 10:24 am
I get so sick of the woolly sock brigade censoring books that were written in another time and era, don’t we just grow and learn?
Dick Ranger
August 12, 2022 at 10:34 am
Seriously what the crapping hell is wrong with people these days???? leave our beloved books alone. I have read them all originals, and I have not become a racist or bigot…They were just stories.
Missy Farnham
August 12, 2022 at 10:38 am
Shall we now change the words of Shakespeare? rewrite the bible? now that would ruffle some feathers! The simple answer is to leave well alone. If the author has deceased, then they cannot be changed. We should learn, not to change, burn, or ban works.
Missy Farnham
August 12, 2022 at 10:49 am
I agree, some people need to get off this damn boat! LOL
JH
August 12, 2022 at 11:15 am
It is totally irresponsible of Enid Blyton Wallers to change ANYTHING she has written. Books were written in the time and language in which Enid wrote them. To change it is irresponsible and should not have tampered with her words They are not original works..just a bastardisation of what was. So sad. Books are a stepping stone through history.
Gerrald D
August 12, 2022 at 11:59 am
What are the effects of censorship?
These results imply that coarse censorship can have long-range consequences by cutting off opportunities for exploration and by-chance encounters with information, and can suppress consumption of political information that people may not know they demand.
Gerrald D
August 12, 2022 at 12:15 pm
How does censorship affect literature?
Censorship effects readers from seeing things from a different perspective and different from the way they think. It limits what readers are exposed to. ALL of this is very negative for readers. Writers are negatively impacted by censorship because it can be constricting and controlling.
Neil T Hancock
August 12, 2022 at 12:58 pm
When we ban or censor books, we compromise children’s education and development. Books “foster development physically, socially, and emotionally,” says Ash Beckham, an LGBTQ+ advocate, activist, and leadership and diversity speaker. “Books can give children a glimpse of the world far beyond the one they actually see every day.
Ted
August 12, 2022 at 1:04 pm
Ray Bradbury’s novel imagines a world where books are banned- and possessing, let alone reading them, is forbidden.The protagonist, Montag, is a fireman responsible for destroying what remains. The story raises the question: how can you preserve your mind in a society where free will, self-expression and curiosity are under fire? Iseult Gillespi…
Harry W
August 13, 2022 at 9:18 am
The minute we start on this path, it will be like getting permission to actually read a book in the first place!
Gerrald D
August 13, 2022 at 9:23 am
Is it ever okay to censor a book?
It is never acceptable to ban a book. Period. There is no reason to ban a book. Some books may be too explicit or disturbing for young children, but generally, they will not even choose such a book.
June Horton
August 13, 2022 at 9:53 am
well, put!
Gerrald D
August 13, 2022 at 10:58 am
What is lost when we censor literature?
Writers are negatively impacted by censorship because it can be constricting and controlling. It limits and controls their creativity. It can prevent the writer from having his views, thoughts and ideas being available to readers. It prevents writers from expressing what they want to, the way they want to.
Samantha Jannus
August 17, 2022 at 8:02 am
It would be best to get copies of all the originals before they are all burned.
David W
October 31, 2022 at 4:04 pm
Text should never be changed ever..except when a translation occurs.
Julan62
November 1, 2022 at 8:11 am
True.
Celine D
December 8, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Wow!!! We should never change anything
Drake Finch
December 8, 2022 at 5:54 pm
Bloody hell!
Stevie
January 25, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Holy shit!!!! Never should change the text of someone’s work..feck!
Julan62
January 25, 2023 at 6:15 pm
True
Karl M
February 4, 2023 at 6:44 pm
Bloody hell!