Thursday, February 24, 2011

'Lost' Enid Blyton book unearthed

By Ian Youngs, Arts reporter, BBC News


An unpublished and previously unknown Enid Blyton novel is believed to have turned up in an archive of the late children's author's work.

Mr Tumpy's Caravan is a 180-page fantasy story about a magical caravan.
It was in a collection of manuscripts that was auctioned by the family of Blyton's eldest daughter in September.

"I think it's unique," said Tony Summerfield, head of the Enid Blyton Society. "I don't know of any full-length unpublished Blyton work."

The collection was bought by the Seven Stories children's book centre in Newcastle.

Blyton, who died in 1968, remains a children's favourite and a publishing phenomenon thanks to such characters as the Famous Five, the Secret Seven and Noddy.

An estimated 500 million copies of her books have been sold around the world, with updated and reprinted versions of her most popular stories still selling eight million copies a year.

Mr Tumpy's Caravan follows the adventures of a caravan with feet and a mind of its own.

More at BBC.

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