The Worlds of Enid Blyton

Enid Mary was born in London on August 11th 1897. She was the eldest of three children and spent her childhood with her brothers in Kent, Southern England. She is thought to be an introverted child who spent many hours lost in both her own world and those created in the books of others. It was probably this love of reading that inspired her to write down the stories in her head.

It was always thought that Enid would become a musician though that was to change when she entered a writing competition in her early teen years. She won the competition. Around this time the family unit broke down and her father left to start a life with another woman.

In 1916 she decided to go into the teaching profession, much to the surprise of her family. She undertook training at Ipswich High School, which allowed her to be a kindergarten teacher. From this point she lost virtually all contact with her family.

While completing her studies her first published work appeared in Nash's magazine. In all they were to publish three of Enid's poems and firmly set her on the road to being an accomplished author with more than 700 titles across a wide range of genres.

Following the successful completion of her studies, Enid began teaching in Bickleyn in 1919. She then became a governess for a family of four children. While she was teaching she continued to submit entries to a variety journals and magazines. The author that we all know had her first book, Child Whispers, published in 1922.

Throughout the next few years she continued to write childrens stories. She married Hugh Pollock in 1924, he was an editor with her publishing company. During these years her writing is done primarily for journals, though she did have some of her own books published.

In 1931 and 1935 Enid gave birth to daughters, Gillian and Imogen. Many of the short stories that she wrote during this time eventually became the basis for some of her most loved books. Between 1938 and 1942 Enid was able to have a large number of titles, such as The Enchanted Wood and The Children of Cherry Tree Farm, published.

Late in 1942 Enid's marriage to Hugh came to an end and a year later she re-married. Kenneth Waters was a doctor whom she had met prior to her divorce. Enid was to write over a hundred titles in the following ten years. Enid began to suffer from ill health in 1958, though she continued to write and be publlished. Her final book was published in 1965. In 1967 Kenneth passed away and was followed a year later by Enid.

She has left a lasting legacy, and 40 years after her death her work is still loved by children and adults alike.