Enid Blayton

Enid Blyton was a British writer who worked in the genre of children's and young adult literature. She became one of the most successful children's writers of the 20th century.

She was born on 11 August 1897 in London, at 354 Lordship Lane, West Dulwich. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Carey Blyton (1870–1920), a cutlery salesman, and his wife Theresa Mary, née Harrison (1874–1950). There were also two younger sons, Hanly (born 1899) and Carey (born 1902), who were born after the family moved to the nearby suburb of Beckenham. From 1907 to 1915 Blyton attended St Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she did very well. She enjoyed both academic work and physical activity equally, although she disliked mathematics.

She was noted for several series of books intended for different age groups, with recurring main characters. These books were enormously successful in many parts of the world, with more than 400 million copies sold. By one estimate, Blyton is the fifth most popular author in the world: according to Index Translationum, UNESCO had recorded more than 3,400 translations of her books by 2007; in this respect she is surpassed only by Lenin, but exceeds Shakespeare.

One of the writer's best-known characters is Noddy, who appears in stories for very young children who are only learning to read. However, her main strength lay in novels in which children became involved in exciting adventures and unraveled intriguing mysteries with little or no help from adults. In this genre, especially popular were the series The Famous Five (consisting of 21 novels, 1942–1963; the main characters are four teenagers and a dog), Five Find-Outers and Dog (or The Five Snoopers and the Dog, according to other translations; consisting of 15 novels, 1943–1961, in which five children invariably outwit the local police in investigating complicated incidents), as well as The Secret Seven (15 novels, 1949–1963, in which seven children solve various mysteries).