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ENID BLYTON CONTINUATION SERIES—MYSTERY/ADVENTURE: THE FAMOUS FIVE
(Last Updated: 12 April 2012)
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The Famous Five was possibly the longest series Enid Blyton ever wrote, with 21 novels in all. She had only intended it to contain six books, but children begged her for more, and she obliged. The first Famous Five book was published in 1942, and the last one (penned by Blyton, that is) in 1963. Perhaps it is not a particularly great surprise that this series has the most continuation novels—24 in French by Claude Voilier, and 21 in German by Sarah Bosse. There are also two other German Famous Five novels by Brigitte Blobel, written in the late 1970s. This page will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about these books, but were afraid to ask. It will be split between the French and German continuation novels, with comprehensive information about each. This will be followed by information about some English-language continuation series (i.e. written by English-speaking authors).
FRENCH FAMOUS FIVE NOVELS
These are probably among the best-known Blyton continuation novels due to the fact that many of them have been translated by Anthea Bell. But six never were, for whatever reason. The original French versions were written between 1971 and 1985. From 1971 to 1980 inclusively, two titles were released each year. But only one book was published in 1981, none at all in 1982 and one apiece in 1983, 1984 and 1985 before Voilier gave up on the series completely. They were initially published in hardback form by the Bibliothèque Rose, a division of French publishing giant Hachette. The hardback editions of the books do not have chapters, but on every second page, there is a small comic that sums up the main action on the opposite page of text. In the 1990s, the books were reissued in paperback. The paperback editions do have chapters, and the comics have been dispensed with. Instead, there are just a few black and white illustrations scattered throughout the books.
Anthea Bell’s 18 translations were published between 1981 and 1987. They were originally published by Knight, and there are four different cover formats for the Knight editions. In 1993 and 1994, they were published again by Hodder Children’s books. All the Knight editions have illustrations, many of which vaguely resemble the French comic-strip style in that they often have two or three panels. However, they are not nearly as frequent as the comics in the original French editions. The Hodder editions got rid of the illustrations completely. They also deleted the word “Famous” from the titles, so that they became The Five etc. There is only one cover format for the Hodder editions. Some early Hodder editions have the later Knight logo (silhouette of a knight reading, rather than the horse profile). They have the Hodder logo inside, but the Knight logo on the rear cover and spine. One such Knight/Hodder crossover edition, The Five and the Inca God, contains the following interesting statement on the copyright page: “The right of Claude Voilier to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.” What makes it interesting is that Claude Voilier is a woman, but has been mistaken for a man here!
In general, Claude Voilier’s Famous Five continuation novels are not held in especially high esteem by FF aficionados. Even in France, Blyton fans are not particularly fond of them. They are certainly very different from Blyton’s original works. For one thing, they are much faster-paced, and Voilier glosses over or completely overlooks certain aspects that Blyton paid a lot of attention to (such as the sumptuous feasts that the Five always seemed to eat). Another notable difference is that the Famous Five under Voilier become globetrotters, whereas in Blyton’s books, they never venture outside the United Kingdom (and only once do they leave England, when they visit Wales in Five Get Into a Fix). George also assumes the leading role in Voilier’s books, but under Blyton, Julian is very much in charge as the eldest boy of the group.
I think it is fair to say that Voilier’s Famous Five books do not stick very closely to the spirit of the originals. But nevertheless, they are not bad stories in their own right, and possibly would not be so heavily criticised if they were about different characters. When I was younger, I sometimes used to get a little irritated by the slow pace that many of Blyton’s FF books went at, and found the faster pace of Voilier’s books a somewhat refreshing change. I also enjoyed the international travel that the Five did in these books, and there are often interesting little facts inserted about the places they visit (perhaps this is Voilier the teacher coming through). Although out of print, second-hand copies of Voilier’s books (or at least, Anthea Bell’s translations of them), seem to sell quite well on sites like eBay, which would suggest that other people quite enjoy them too, notwithstanding the opprobrium that they attract from many Blyton followers. Although I fully understand the reasons why people dislike Voilier’s Famous Five books, I still like them and I know I’m not alone in this. So I would like to see the series completed in English. I could be wrong, but I think translations of the remaining six books would sell OK, even if they are never held in the esteem that Blyton’s originals are.
Anyway, there now follows a list of the Voilier titles in their original French order. But where applicable, I will also provide the English number, title and original publication date. Just for fun, I also provide literal translations of the titles, so you can see different the official English titles are in some cases.
French No.: 1 French Title: Les Cinq sont les plus forts (Literal translation: The Five are the Strongest) Year of First Publication in France: 1971 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds English No.: 2 Year of First Publication in English: 1981
French No.: 2 French Title: Les Cinq au bal des espions (Literal translation: The Five at the Spies’ Ball) Year of First Publication in France: 1971 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five in Fancy Dress English No.: 7 Year of First Publication in English: 1983
French No.: 3 French Title: Le Marquis appelle les Cinq (Literal translation: The Marquis Appeals to the Five) Year of First Publication in France: 1972 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Stately Homes Gang English No.: 1 Year of First Publication in English: 1981
French No.: 4 French Title: Les Cinq au cap des tempêtes (Literal translation: The Five at the Cape of Storms) Year of First Publication in France: 1972 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Missing Cheetah English No.: 3 Year of First Publication in English: 1981
French No.: 5 French Title: Les Cinq à la télévision (Literal translation: The Five on Television) Year of First Publication in France: 1973 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five Go on Television English No.: 4 Year of First Publication in English: 1981
French No.: 6 French Title: Les Cinq et les pirates du ciel (Literal translation: The Five and the Hijackers) Year of First Publication in France: 1973 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Hijackers English No.: 13 Year of First Publication in English: 1985
French No.: 7 French Title: Les Cinq contre le masque noir (Literal translation: The Five Versus the Black Mask) Year of First Publication in France: 1974 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five Versus the Black Mask English No.: 6 Year of First Publication in English: 1982
French No.: 8 French Title: Les Cinq et le galion d’or (Literal translation: The Five and the Golden Galleon) Year of First Publication in France: 1974 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Golden Galleon English No.: 5 Year of First Publication in English: 1982
French No.: 9 French Title: Les Cinq font de la brocante (Literal translation: The Five in the Antique Shop) Year of First Publication in France: 1975 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Inca God English No.: 9 Year of First Publication in English: 1984
French No.: 10 French Title: Les Cinq se mettent en quartre (Literal translation: The Five Become Four) Year of First Publication in France: 1975 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Pink Pearls English No.: 18 Year of First Publication in English: 1987
French No.: 11 French Title: Les Cinq dans la cité secrète (Literal translation: The Five in the Hidden City) Year of First Publication in France: 1976 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Secret of the Caves English No.: 12 Year of First Publication in English: 1984
French No.: 12 French Title: La fortune sourit aux Cinq (Literal translation: Fortune Smiles on the Five) Year of First Publication in France: 1976 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Cavalier’s Treasure English No.: 10 Year of First Publication in English: 1984
French No.: 13 French Title: Les Cinq et le rayon Z (Literal translation: The Five and the Z Ray) Year of First Publication in France: 1977 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Z-Rays English No.: 17 Year of First Publication in English: 1986
French No.: 14 French Title: Les Cinq vendent la peau de l’ours (Literal translation: The Five Sell the Bearskin) Year of First Publication in France: 1977 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Blue Bear Mystery English No.: 8 Year of First Publication in English: 1983
French No.: 15 French Title: Les Cinq aux rendez-vous du diable (Literal translation: The Five Have Encounters with the Devil) Year of First Publication in France: 1978 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five in Deadly Danger English No.: 15 Year of First Publication in English: 1985
French No.: 16 French Title: Du neuf pour les Cinq (Literal translation: Something New for the Five) Year of First Publication in France: 1978 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy English No.: 11 Year of First Publication in English: 1984
French No.: 17 French Title: Les Cinq cet le trésor de Roquépine (Literal translation: The Five and Roquépine’s Treasure) Year of First Publication in France: 1979 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Knight’s Treasure English No.: 16 Year of First Publication in English: 1986
French No.: 18 French Titles: Les Cinq et le diamant bleu (Literal translation: The Five and the Blue Diamond); Les Cinq et le rubis d’Akbar (Literal translation: The Five and the Ruby of Akbar) Year of First Publication in France: 1979 (the second title was used from 1980 onwards) Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Ruby of Akbar (not published officially) English No.: 19 (maybe one day!) Year of First Publication in English: N/A Remarks: This is the only book in the French series to have had two titles. Editions with the original title are hard to find and quite sought-after by some French collectors.
French No.: 19 French Title: Les Cinq jouent serré (Literal translation: The Five Play It Tight) Year of First Publication in France: 1980 Title of English Translation: The Famous Five and the Strange Scientist English No.: 14 Year of First Publication in English: 1985 Remarks: This book has a Three Investigators connection, in that the scientist (the real one, that is) comes from Varania, a fictitious East European country that was the setting for much of The Mystery of the Silver Spider by Robert Arthur, the eighth Three Investigators book. Voilier translated some of the Three Investigators books into French.
French No.: 20 French Title: Les Cinq en croisière (Literal translation: The Five on a Cruise) Year of First Publication in France: 1980 Title of English Translation: N/A English No.: N/A Year of First Publication in English: N/A
French No.: 21 French Title: Les Cinq contre les fantômes (Literal translation: The Five Versus the Ghosts) Year of First Publication in France: 1981 Title of English Translation: N/A English No.: N/A Year of First Publication in English: N/A
French No.: 22 French Title: Les Cinq en Amazonie (Literal translation: The Five in the Amazon) Year of First Publication in France: 1983 Title of English Translation: N/A English No.: N/A Year of First Publication in English: N/A
French No.: 23 French Title: Les Cinq et le trésor du pirate (Literal translation: The Five and the Pirate’s Treasure) Year of First Publication in France: 1984 Title of English Translation: N/A English No.: N/A Year of First Publication in English: N/A
French No.: 24 French Title: Les Cinq contre le loup-garou (Literal translation: The Five Versus the Werewolf) Year of First Publication in France: 1985 Title of English Translation: N/A English No.: N/A Year of First Publication in English: N/A
GERMAN FAMOUS FIVE NOVELS
These are much less well-known than the French Famous Five continuation novels, for the simple reason that none of them have ever been translated into English (although I have now done an unauthorised translation of the first one, which is available in the Files section of the Fans of Enid Blyton Yahoo group; note that you have to join the group to access this). There are two distinct sets of German Famous Five continuation novels. One set comprises just two books, written by Brigitte Blobel in the late 1970s. The other so far has 21 books with the possibility of more to come. This second set was started by Sarah Bosse in 2004. Further details of both groups of books are given below.
Books by Brigitte Blobel
The two books by Blobel purported to be “translations” of Enid Blyton Famous Five titles. Blobel was credited as the “translator”. The problem was, neither title that she “translated” actually existed in English! They were in fact her own original works. Consequently, her books were swiftly withdrawn from publication by German publisher Bertelsmann after Darrell Waters Ltd., which administered the copyrights of Enid Blyton’s works for many years until Chorion plc bought them, objected. So they are naturally pretty hard to find, and they are unlikely to ever be reprinted. It’s a shame, because they are apparently reasonably close to Blyton in style and spirit (at least, according to a commentator on one German site). But here now is the list of those titles:
No.: 1 Title: Fünf Freunde auf der verbotenen Insel (Literal translation: The Famous Five on the Forbidden Island) Year of First Publication: 1977 (by Bertelsmann) Note: An unofficial translation of this book is available in the Files section of the Fans of Enid Blyton Yahoo group.
No.: 2 Title: Fünf Freunde und der blaue Diamant (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Blue Diamond) Year of First Publication: 1979 (by Bertelsmann) Remarks: Although this title is the same as the 18th Claude Voilier Famous Five book (and even published in the same year as the latter!), it is not a translation of Voilier’s book. Now that I am fortunate enough to have a PDF copy, I can confirm that it involves the Famous Five going to France, whereas in Voilier’s book of the same title, they go to India. The stories are moreover completely different.
Books by Sarah Bosse
By contrast with the books by Brigitte Blobel, the more recent Famous Five books by Sarah Bosse are authorised by the current Enid Blyton copyright holders, Chorion plc. There are 25 titles so far (which now makes Bosse’s series longer than Blyton’s original one!). A 26th is due out in May 2012. The first 14 titles were illustrated by Silvia Christoph (who still does the covers), while Bernard Förth has illustrated the latest 11. The current German Famous Five publishers, CBJ-Verlag, number Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books in the original order of 1-21. But they assign the number 22 to the German translation of Five Have a Puzzling Time and Other Stories. Nos. 23-40 in the CBJ sequence are 18 Claude Voilier books, which have been translated from English rather than the original French. Consequently, their order is the same as in English. From 41 onwards are the new stories by Sarah Bosse, and here now is the full list:
No.: 41 Title: Fünf Freunde und das geheimnisvolle Schneemensch (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Mysterious Yeti) Year of First Publication: 2004
No.: 42 Title: Fünf Freunde und der rätselhafte Friedhof (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Mysterious Cemetery) Year of First Publication: 2004
No.: 43 Title: Fünf Freunde und der gefährliche Wassermann (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Dangerous Water Sprite) Year of First Publication: 2004
No.: 44 Title: Fünf Freunde und die geheimnisvolle Ruine (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Mysterious Ruins) Year of First Publication: 2005
No.: 45 Title: Fünf Freunde retten die Felseninsel (Literal translation: The Famous Five Save Kirrin Island) Year of First Publication: 2005
No.: 46 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Wahrsagerin (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Fortune-Teller) Year of First Publication: 2005
No.: 47 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Geheimnis am Fluss (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Secret on the River) Year of First Publication: 2006
No.: 48 Title: Fünf Freunde und ein schlimmer Verdacht (Literal translation: The Famous Five and a Bad Suspicion) Year of First Publication: 2006
No.: 49 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Seeungeheuer (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Sea Monster) Year of First Publication: 2006
No.: 50 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Fluch der Mumie (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Mummy’s Curse) Year of First Publication: 2007 Remarks: This is actually a special two-in-one volume to celebrate the so-called 50th Famous Five adventure. The first book is Fünf Freunde und der Fluch der Mumie, while the second is Fünf Freunde und der Schmuck des Pharaos (The Famous Five and the Jewels of the Pharaoh).
No.: 51 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Teufelsmoor (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Devil’s Moor) Year of First Publication: 2007
No.: 52 Title: Fünf Freunde im Gruselschloss (Literal translation: The Famous Five in a Spooky Castle) Year of First Publication: 2007
No.: 53 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Hexenring (Literal translation: The Famous Five and the Magic Ring) Year of First Publication: 2008
No.: 54 Title: Fünf Freunde auf hoher See (Literal Translation: The Famous Five on the High Seas) Year of First Publication: 2008
No.: 55 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Schildkrötengeheimnis (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Secret of the Tortoise) Year of First Publication: 2008
No.: 56 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Rätzel der feinen Dame (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Mystery of the High-Class Lady) Year of First Publication: 2008
No.: 57 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Sonnengott (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Sun God) Year of First Publication: 2009
No.: 58 Title: Fünf Freunde und die falsche Prinzessin (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Fake Princess) Year of First Publication: 2009
No.: 59 Title: Fünf Freunde jagen den rätselhaften Einbrecher (Literal Translation: The Famous Five Chase the Mysterious Burglar) Year of First Publication: 2009
No.: 60 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Spuk um Mitternacht (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Midnight Phantom) Year of First Publication: 2010
No.: 61 Title: Fünf Freunde suchen Piratenschatz (Literal Translation: The Famous Five Search for Pirate Treasure) Year of First Publication: 2010
No.: 62 Title: Fünf Freunde im Orient-Express (Literal Translation: The Famous Five on the Orient Express) Year of First Publication: 2012
No.: 63 Title: Fünf Freunde und das Geisterschiff (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Ghost Ship) Year of First Publication: 2012
No.: 64 Title: Fünf Freunde jagen den Vampir (Literal Translation: The Famous Five Hunt the Vampire) Year of First Publication: 2012
No.: 65 Title: Fünf Freunde und der Fluch der Wikinger (Literal Translation: The Famous Five and the Vikings’ Curse) Year of First Publication: 2012
JUST GEORGE SERIES BY SUE WELFORD
Worthy of mention is the “spinoff” series of Famous Five prequels written by Sue Welford. Only George and Timmy are featured in this series. We find out how George first meets Timmy, when she first starts cutting her hair and wanting to be a boy, and so on. But she and Timmy manage to have a few adventures along the way. Hodder published all six books in the series in the year 2000. However, they are now out of print and quite difficult to find. The first title seems to be the easiest to obtain. The whole series is as follows:
No.: 1 Title: George, Timmy and the Haunted Cave
No.: 2 Title: George, Timmy and the Curious Treasure
No.: 3 Title: George, Timmy and the Footprint in the Sand
No.: 4 Title: George, Timmy and the Secret in the Cellar
No.: 5 Title: George, Timmy and the Stranger in the Storm
No.: 6 Title: George, Timmy and the Lighthouse Mystery
And just published last year by Hodder Children’s Books was the following compilation (in a rather similar style to The Famous Five’s Survival Guide—see under One-Off Famous Five Books):
Title: Adventures with George and Timmy Subtitle: “Stories and facts for adventurers” Year of First Publication: 2009 Remarks: This book contains the first three novels (although they have different titles—Timmy, the Fearless Puppy, A Curious Treasure and The Footprint in the Sand respectively). Between each novel, there is an activity section related to the preceding novel.
THE FAMOUS 5 ON THE CASE
This series of “Case Files” is based on the new Disney Channel cartoon series, which features the offspring of the original Famous Five: Dylan, Jo, Max, Allie and … Timmy (at least the dog has the same name!). It is published by Hodder Children’s books, and there are two books per volume, which are in a “flipper” format (when you reach the end of one story, you flip the book over and start on the other). Incredibly, authorship of these books is attributed to Enid Blyton! (It’s amazing the output she’s still generating from beyond the grave!) The name of the real author or authors is unknown—or perhaps they’re just too embarrassed to be associated with it. While Enid Blyton sometimes dreamed up some pretty forgettable titles, I’ll warrant she would be horrified at some of the ones below!
Case No.: 1 Title: The Case of the Fudgie Fry Pirates Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 2 Title: The Case of the Plant That Could Eat Your House Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 3 Title: The Case of the Impolite, Snarly Thing Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 4 Title: The Case of the Sticks and their Tricks Year of First Publication: 2008 Special Note: Yes, they are the Sticks from Five Run Away Together, and the original George also features (in fact, she is kidnapped by her old enemies—this story at least sounds decent!)
Case No.: 5 Title: The Case of the Plot to Pull the Plug Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 6 Title: The Case of the Thief Who Drinks from the Toilet Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 7 Title: The Case of the Hot-Air Ba Boom! Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 8 Title: The Case of the Stinky Smell Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 9 Title: The Case of the Defective Detective Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 10 Title: The Case of Allie’s Really Bad Singing Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 11 Title: The Case of the Medieval Meathead Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 12 Title: The Case of the Messy Mucked Up Masterpiece Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 13 Title: The Case of the Guy Who Makes You Act Like a Chicken Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 14 Title: The Case of the Felon with Frosty Fingers Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 15 Title: The Case of the Bogus Banknotes Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 16 Title: The Case of Eight Arms and No Fingerprints Year of First Publication: 2008
Case No.: 17 Title: The Case of the Flowers That Make Your Body All Wobbly Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 18 Title: The Case of the Guy Who Looks Pretty Good for a 2000 Year Old Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 19 Title: The Case of the Gobbling Goop Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 20 Title: The Case of the Surfer Dude Who’s Truly Rude Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 21 Title: The Case of the Cactus, the Coot and the Cowboy Boot Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 22 Title: The Case of the Seal Who Gets All Up in Your Face Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 23 Title: The Case of the Snow, the Glow and the Oh No! Year of First Publication: 2009
Case No.: 24 Title: The Case of the Fish that Flew the Coop Year of First Publication: 2009
ONE-OFF FAMOUS FIVE BOOKS
Title: The Famous Five Diary Author: Mary Danby First Published: 1988, in paperback by Knight Books Remarks: For more information and a picture of the cover, please visit this page on the Enid Blyton Society Web site.
Title: The Famous Five Adventure File Author: Unknown First Published: 1998, in paperback (I think!) by Dorling Kindersley Remarks: I don’t know anything much about this. To see a picture of the cover (and glean a tiny bit more information), please go to this page on the Enid Blyton Society Web site.
Title: The Famous Five’s Survival Guide Author: Unknown First Published: 2008, in hardback by Hodder Children’s Books Remarks: This book includes a new Famous Five continuation story (purportedly the only mystery they didn’t solve) as well as a host of useful tips and tricks and information essential to any would-be adventurer or mystery-solver! Currently in print and widely available.
Explore More in This Section:
Adventure Series Continuation Novels
Adventurous Four/Secret Series Continuation Novels
Barney Mysteries Continuation Novels
Secret Seven Continuation Novels
Back to Overview of Enid Blyton Continuation Series
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