[arista]

[Now Enid Blyton is cancelled: Children's author's work
is 'racist, xenophobic and lacking literary
merit' says English Heritage in 're-appraisal' sparked
by Black Lives Matter protests
Enid Blyton has enchanted millions of young
readers with thousands of stories
Children's author has been linked to racism is
updated Blue Plaque information
English Heritage vowed to review all plaques
for links to 'contested' figures]

They have changed all the bad words




Back in 1962


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Heritage.html

[LeatherTrumpet]

English Heritage is a disgrace

[Tom4784]

English Heritage is a charity, not some sort of ruling authority that can change or alter books.

Another non-story aimed at gullible fragile people who scream 'Woke!' at shadows.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

English Heritage is a disgrace

It is a disgrace, and if it carries on people with stop sending them cash.

[arista]

Dezzy they changed all the Bad words
Updated the Text


She was a great writer

[Niamh.]

I read a lot of her books as a child, they were a bit sexist as far as I can remember but that was the era. I wouldn't have been giving any of them to my daughter to read when she a child though

[bitontheslide]

i read loads of enid blyton as a kid and i don't remember any of it, so it obviously had a lasting impact on me

[arista]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I read a lot of her books as a child, they were a bit sexist as far as I can remember but that was the era. I wouldn't have been giving any of them to my daughter to read when she a child though

Yes it was like that back then.


Racist Words now changed

[Oliver_W]

Ah they're fine. Or at least, Famous Five, Secret Seven, and Faraway Tree books were. I don't remember any "xenophobia" in them.

That said, I never cared for Noddy or her boarding school mysteries.

Also ... they don't have a lot of literary merit. They're fairly engaging and will spark imaginations, but they're not very well written.

The thing says the reclassification was sparked by BLM "protests" - did some of them actually moan about her books, or did the riots just make them look at old books in general?

[arista]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i read loads of enid blyton as a kid and i don't remember any of it, so it obviously had a lasting impact on me

You were reading Hi Fi Revoultion, maybe
as well.

Quadraphonic.

Now made onto SACD's 5.1 and 4.1, Hybrid discs
UK firm in Watford
Selling them for £12.99

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

English Heritage is a charity, not some sort of ruling authority that can change or alter books.

Another non-story aimed at gullible fragile people who scream 'Woke!' at shadows.

the " gullible fragile people" would appear to work for English Heritage

[arista]

[James]

I loved reading Enid Blyton books when I was young.

I don't remember anything that could be racist. I think those stereotypes were in Noddy books, and I don't think I read those.

[LeatherTrumpet]

I read tons of Enid Blyton as a kid, loved the famous five books and secret seven and all my kids had noddy books read to them.

[UserSince2005]

is there a statue somewhere i can go topple?

[arista]

Originally Posted by James

I loved reading Enid Blyton books when I was young.

I don't remember anything that could be racist. I think those stereotypes were in Noddy books, and I don't think I read those.

Yes She was a Great Writer

[arista]

Originally Posted by UserSince2005

is there a statue somewhere i can go topple?

No its a Blue Plate on a Building

[arista]

[Toy Soldier]

Assessing books - or any other creative media - in anything other than the context of the time they were written is pretty daft, let's face it.

However I do remember the books and I agree that they were competent, but not brilliant, writing... so it's not like they're "cancelling literary classics".

I also don't think there's anything hugely wrong with copyright holders altering older stories to make them more suitable for a modern audience, to be honest. Not when it's just pulpy adventure stories. Obviously we don't want revisionism of actual classics. They should however come along with education about historical context when read by teens (which of course, they usually are, and that's usually half the point of studying them).

[James]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Also ... they don't have a lot of literary merit. They're fairly engaging and will spark imaginations, but they're not very well written.

I remember being in an English class in the first or second year of secondary school, and a teacher telling a girl who said she read Enid Blyton books, something like, aren't you too old for that now.

[James]

I have fond memories of sitting on a branch of a tree reading reading one of the Adventure series books. I was trying to find the cover from the time.

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

the " gullible fragile people" would appear to work for English Heritage

The gullible fragile people are the people falling for this trash, time and time again. No wonder tabloid trash keeps spinning stories like this when there's so many ignorant people that will believe it because they feel like it backs up their irrational fears about 'woke' culture.

Again, English Heritage is a charity, it's not a ratings board, it doesn't have any power to affect these books at all so yeah, it would take an exceptionally fragile person to get upset over the idea of Enid Blyton being cancelled (but not really, because the story is pure spin).

[Ammi]

…so the blue plaque is being altered in line with what English Heritage had said they would do…?….isn’t that what was always said would be a compromise, to not ‘cancel’ history by removing statues etc but to present the correct historic information…?…I don’t understand why it would be an issue…?…if she was ‘cancelled’ then she was also ‘cancelled’ when it was felt that she wouldn’t be an appropriate person/figurehead to have on a coin a few years ago…or is it because it’s connected to what English Heritage pledged in appropriately amending any information and fully presenting ‘heritage’….

….no one is cancelling her work or that many people have enjoyed her work over time…

…as the one time Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen once said…’she indeed was some of the negative things that she’s been accused of but at the same time she enabled millions of children to enjoy stories…’….that hasn’t and won’t change, neither will any pleasure she’s created and inspired… so it seems like another manufactured outrage of the day…

[DouglasS]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

English Heritage is a disgrace

Literally


The woke brigade would stick their grand parents heads on a spike if they had a chance just because they were bought up in a different decade with different societal views - had they known the stuff they said/written in school…


Banning old films / old books / old songs or devaluing the artists work that were revolutionary because they were written in a different generation is just so dumb. Stuff being written and filmed right now that these woke people love right now will end up being cancelled in 50 years time also for being offensive in a way that is not yet known… maybe people who have said man or woman in songs/films - and then in 50 years this will be offensive and people like Kate Bush will be cancelled

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by DouglasS

Literally


The woke brigade would stick their grand parents heads on a spike if they had a chance just because they were bought up in a different decade with different societal views - had they known the stuff they said/written in school…


Banning old films / old books / old songs or devaluing the artists work that were revolutionary because they were written in a different generation is just so dumb. Stuff being written and filmed right now that these woke people love right now will end up being cancelled in 50 years time also for being offensive in a way that is not yet known… maybe people who have said man or woman in songs/films - and then in 50 years this will be offensive and people like Kate Bush will be cancelled

.

30 years from now I guarantee you things we found perfectly acceptable today will no longer be so