The Second Form at St. Clare's (1944)

When I started this I had just finished watching a biography of Enid Blyton that portrayed her along the popular lines of a narcissistic, self-centred person who ended by being a thoroughly nasty character through her own unwillingness to face reality. I'm sure that there was a little of that involved, but I don't like to think that she was as absolutely and thoroughly nasty as they portrayed her in this version. At any rate, it did make for some strange reading of "Second form" until the book managed to carry me past the images from the biography.

Once again I loved the crystal clear images so effortlessly created, which transported me into the world of the boarding school. Blyton is a master of economically depicting scene, character and mood with striking vividness, and every time I read one of her titles I realise anew how it was that I first came to view text as a transportation device rather than simply as an intellectual exercise. I had a lot of fun reading this one. ( )

Children's