Famous Five: 4: Five Go To Smuggler's Top: 70th Anniversary Edition: Book 4 (Famous Five 70th Anniversary)

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Both children and adults have no arc in this book. There is just a clumsy collage of scenes that look pathetic to the eye. The smugglers, the hosts, the victims of kidnapping, all of them seem to lug no pulse in them, and no brain activity whatsoever. Given that there seems to be two of the brightest minds in science under that sinister and lugubrious roof, God help us what lesser mortals act like in that murky and brownish grey universe.

Maybe Enid Blyton or one of her countless ghostwriters thought to borrow somewhat from gothic tales. Maybe she wanted to imitate Poe among all people. We will never know. Good. The less we know about the intricacies of this book the better. Which is why you see me not rehashing any part of the stories. I'm merely here to warn off would be readers to either avoid this book, or to lower their expectations to ankle level. Who reads Enid Blyton nowadays? I have a feeling that she is read mostly by adults, in a spirit of nostalgia. I doubt very much whether many of today's children choose to read about the Famous Five. Most will have the discernment to read exactly what they choose. Younger children of course will have their books chosen for them by adults. Some of these picture books may well be by Enid Blyton, who will be fondly remembered by their parents. After all, she wrote dozens of books and there are probably some in there which are free of this damaging potential influence. Your children love her? They are enthralled by her magic? Fine. But what I would say is PLEASE read the book yourself before letting your child read it. If it's inappropriate then discuss why. Put it in its historical context - discuss prejudice of all types, class distinctions etc. The central lesson of this book is that if you see a light out in the dark, then someone is up to no good. Generally smuggling. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-09-11 09:02:30 Boxid IA1928310 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier OK, not really... BUT HE COULD HAVE BEEN is my point. It turns out that this chap is extremely grumpy and lives at the top of an island (which I'm pretty sure is a thinly disguised St. Michael's Mount, complete with a causeway and everything) that turns out to be honeycombed with secret smugglers' tunnels. Guess who's still using the smugglers' tunnels? That's right: smugglers. Who could have possibly seen that coming?!Google "Enid Blyton racism" and you find lots of articles. Her home town is very divided as some regard her as an icon and others actually remember her as a "nasty piece of work" - a sexist, racist, antisemitic, snob. The sexism is flagrant in her books too. The girls are always "helping mother to cook the dinner" or doing some other little domestic task. Not the boys, of course. Het zal wel niemand echt verwonderen dat dit boek ook echt over - jawel - smokkelaars gaat en dat ook het hele mysterie daarom draait. Maar op het einde word je als lezer toch nog verrast en blijkt het net iets meer te zijn dan dat - en blijkt oom Quentin er voor iets tussen te zitten. Daarnaast gaat dit boek wel iets sneller van start dan anders - en het verhaal zelf begint trouwens ook met een ferme knal, een die je misschien niet meteen ziet aankomen. Now Uncle Quentin, who in book one was writing formulas in his secret books and brewing stuff in test tubes, seems to have morphed into a civil engineer and is collaborating with their new host, Mr Lenoir, to drain the swamp, in a literal rather than Trumpian, sense.

But overall this is easily the best book so far, and possibly the best in the series. Certainly it's the one I remember most. But there are others I have very fond memories of, so I'll wait before passing my vote! The Kirrin children plus dog are required to abandon Kirrin Cottage because a tree falls on the roof and messes up their bedrooms so they're are sent to Smuggler's Top on Castaway Hill whilst repairs are carried out. To obtain a reasonable image of their venue take a look at a picture of St. Michael's Mount in the Cornwall area or its counterpart in France — better still, hunt out the Bill Bartlett print of Rye in Sussex. The resemblance is pretty good. Smuggler's Top is continually shrouded in mist and the surrounding marsh is very threatening to anyone who steps off the tried and true paths so the four children plus dog are entering a fairly alien environment where they will be staying with a scientist friend of George's father — a Mr Lenoir. Timmy has caused many problems for his mistress in the past and yet another springs up: She's not allowed to have him at Smuggler's Top because Mr Lenoir despises dogs but that doesn't put George off. Typically, she decides to take him anyway but with the firm resolve that Timmy will be kept hidden from Mr Lenoir's view. Much excitement is generated with the concealment of Timmy and it's just as well there's a secret panel in Sooty's bedroom behind which the dog can be hidden. To help things along even further, a concealed trapdoor in Marybelle's room allows anyone whose game enough, to climb down a hole and end up in a tunnel which eventually comes out within the city precincts. That's very convenient because Timmy will need exercise but how will he get down the hole? That could be a problem; however the children never shy at any attempt to overcome the Odds. There's a really good dose of secret passages in the vicinity which according to Sooty are actually catacombs inside the hill where Smuggler's Top is situated.Enid", a recent award-winning film about the life of Enid Blyton, showed that her home life was very different from her public image. She was the queen of PR - and very driven. Her children hardly got to see her except in the company of a group of local children when she did public readings. Everyone's favourite auntie - including mine I have to say. I was a proud member of the "Famous Five Club"! The adventure starts off with the Five heading off to Kirrin Island for their much-loved, idyllic vacation. But a terrible gale puts a damper in plans when it uproots a massive ash tree straight onto Kirrin Cottage. A house badly in need of repairs, a guilty but easily irritable Uncle Quentin, four active children and one big, excitable dog…..poor Aunt Fanny is in a right mess. De Vijf op (de) Smokkelaarsrots (zelf behoor ik tot de lidwoordhebbende generatie trouwens) is het vierde boek van De Vijf en het eerste dat zich (bijna) volledig buiten Kirrin afspeelt. En ik ben er ook enthousiast over! Wat mij betreft combineert dit boek alle goede, belangrijke elementen die een goede kinderdetective moet hebben: goede en gevarieerde personages, spanning en onverwachte gebeurtenissen en een mysterieuze setting. Villagers come to gawk at the great tree lying across the roof of Kirrin Cottage. The children must spend the hols somewhere else!

This book has a consistently high rating when Favourites are discussed. Why? One reason might be the atmosphere. It's there in abundance and it can play on the emotions. For example, take a look at the inside cover (endpaper) illustration and you'll see George climbing down a wall by means of a rope-ladder and overlooking a vast expanse of marshlands and mysterious ships in the moonlight. There's a sense of true adventure when the setting is analysed. There's also quite a lot about George herself and Timmy so maybe that's another reason. George's temper, obstinacy, willfulness, and forceful character are traits that tend to pull the Kirrin Book Fanciers away from the sidelines. Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA19212 Openlibrary_edition Julian plays his part by asserting his authority now and again and thank goodness for his strength and Goodness to guide them all as they plunge deeper into the mystery and attempt to sort things out. P.S. - Bizarrely, this is the only book in the Famous Five series (which is twenty two books long) that doesn't have an unabridged version available on Audible. The book is on Audible, but only in the dreaded abridged format. I mean, seriously, who wants to read an abridged version of a book? I'm kind of disgusted that abridging books is even a thing, to be honest. Caves and tunnels are a staple of this series. Few, if any, of the 23 books don't go underground or through the walls at some point.Dat laatste heeft voor mij in dit verhaal altijd geprimeerd, en het is publiek geheim dat Enid Blyton de moeite heeft genomen om alles zo realistisch mogelijk te maken. Ze heeft zich namelijk gebaseerd op het stadje Rye, dat in het graafschap Kent ligt, vlak aan zee, op een heuvel die vroeger volledig omringd werd door moerassen - en nu nog voor een klein deel eraan grenst (het hele gebied daar, van Rye tot aan de Romney Marshes, was vroeger allemaal verraderlijk gebied). Rye stond ook bekend als smokkelaarsstadje. Ik ben er een paar keer geweest - de laatste keer een jaar of acht geleden, volgens mij - en ondertussen is de mist er allang weggetrokken, maar de situering als heuvel is natuurlijk nog altijd goed te zien. De hele sfeer die Blyton creëert, met mist, grotten en mysterieuze seinen, zit geweldig goed ineen. Still, they are highly entertaining and useful cultural history lesson (of a certain set of people). It’s weird reading them out loud with my American accent (but my son won’t even let me try to affect a British one), especially when they use British slang or manner of speaking. But I’m entertained by the dichotomy, even if my son doesn’t notice. Having witnessed signalling from the tower, the boys investigate. But then a figure comes down the stairs! Smuggler’s Top is an ancient house steeped in mystery. There are hidden passages behind panels, deep pits under ordinary floors that lead into a honeycomb of passages, some known and others where a clueless person could get lost in…forever.