Enid Blyton and the Mystery of Children's Literature

Blyton has captivated children worldwide for almost eighty years, but there has been very little serious critical attention paid to her. This book remedies this, looking particularly at her three most popular and well-known series, Noddy, the Famous Five and Malory Towers . It is the first study to draw extensively on the view of her readership, past and present, and to use a variety of critical approaches to show how adult criticism has consistently missed the secret of her appeal.

Autorentext

David Rudd is Professor of Children's Literature at the University of Bolton, UK. He has written extensively on Children's Literature, Education, Media and Film.

Inhalt
Introduction Theory and Methods: Literature, Discourse and the Constitution of the Child Person and Persona: The Construction of Blyton as Cultural Icon The Pied Piper Among the Critics Noddy : Discursive Threads and Intertextuality The Famous Five : From Discursive Threads to Cultural Readings Sexism or Subversion? Querying Gender Relations in the Famous Five and Malory Towers Golliwogs, Racism and Blyton: From Preferred Readings to Cultural Effects The Mystery Explained (I): Writer of (and on) The Oral Stage The Mystery Explained (II): Writer of Passage Conclusion: Is Blyton Bad for You? Notes References Appendices Index