Five on Finniston Farm

Brief Summary by Poppy Hutchinson (from http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk): In this eighteenth Famous Five adventure, whilst spending the holidays at Finniston Farm, Julian, Dick, George, Anne and Timmy encounter a brazen and tiresome duo of American guests. They also discover that the dungeons of an old Castle remain under some of the land of Finniston Farm – but nobody knows where they are! Of course: the Famous Five are determined to find them, and uncover whatever is inside them, but they are not the only ones...


Random thoughts:

OK, people are going to complain about another set of "identical" twins (although it's actually just the second in the series). These ones always talked together in the beginning, when they were hostile, show more but didn't do so later on. We could talk about how a boy and a girl can't be identical twins in the genetic sense, although they can look quite similar, just like regular siblings can look similar, and more so since they are the same age. And another of Enid Blyton's favorite tropes: yet another girl who dresses like a boy. Anyway, the bottom line is that it doesn't bother me. Yes, it's corny and maybe done too often, but it contributes to the atmosphere of the books. I enjoyed the initial hostility of the twins and how they became friends later.

Having said that, and understanding the difficulties the farm was going through, once you decide to accept boarders you need to offer a good service. I mean, yes, Mr. Henning and Junior were unbearable, but the Five also received their share of hostility from the twins and even from their father ("more visitors?"). Then they became friends with the twins because they saw that they were willing to work and help with the farm work... and I know the Five did it willingly, but come on, paying boarders shouldn't have to do that to be welcomed.

Having said that, it was nice of the Five to be so helpful. We do not see them going on their own to do their usual exploring. Their holiday at the farm seems to consist of working, mostly. Maybe they did other things too, but they were not shown in the book since they were not related to the story.

Now let's talk about Junior. Thoroughly spoiled and irritating, I still liked the character. I mean that i enjoyed hating him. I liked the fact that, unlike other similar characters (like Edgar Stick in Run Away Together), Junior had agency in the story. He's not ineffectual, and his spying and the information he gets plays a major role. The reader of the audiobook made his voice very unpleasant (which is intended) and too loud (which bothered me in a bad way, since I use headphones). Like with Edgar, I did not mind the Five being mean to him, since he thoroughly deserved it (well, one could argue it was more his parent's fault, but whatever).

At some point, Anne thought that it was peculiar that someone had the name of the town as last name (Finniston). Right you are, Anne Kirrin!

There is no mention of myxomatosis. It fell prey to the modernization of the book, which is a pity, because I remember enjoying those references when I read it as a kid. Details like that give depth and a feeling of authenticity to the setting.

Thinking about edits to the book: at a couple of points the children mention that they like Americans in general, they just did not like these Americans in particular. That's quite fair, but I had to wonder if it was in the original or if it was added later so as not to offend.

I understand many people consider later books, included this one, as weaker than the first ones, but I have to say that I enjoyed this one a lot. It has some problems, mainly the fact that the adventure content is very light. The adventure this time is about as simple and light as in Go Adventuring Again (in fact, Finniston Farm is the shortest in the series going by length of the audiobook), but like in that book, there were other things surrounding the adventure that made me enjoy it.

Mainly, this book seemed to me genuine and heartfelt. Yes, it has the typical elements, secret passages, twins, snotty spoiled boy antagonist, children allies with unusual pets, but for all of that, I got the feeling that Blyton's heart was in it, that she cared about the exploitation of the rich history and relics of Britian, by people who had no genuine understanding or appreciation of it. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the farm and the fields (as old as the hills), and the character of the grumpy great-granddad, obsessed with preserving the family heritage. There was real intensity and feeling in it, and it made the book memorable when I read it as a child. I remembered the details of this one, while for some other books in the series I did not remember that much.

For once, the antagonists were not criminals. They were just unpleasant, rude and snooty. The consequence is that the children were never in any danger, except when they got accidentally trapped underground. On the other hand, that in itself was an original touch. I think it's the first in the series with no criminal antagonists. The adventure is very simple and straightforward, and also easy rather foreseeable, but since I enjoyed everything around it I did not mind. Other readers may be less understanding.

One could say that it's incredible that the children could find so quickly what no one had found for centuries, and one would be right, but it's the kind of thing we need to suspend disbelief about in order to enjoy the series. Yes, the children easily stumble into adventure wherever they go. Deal with it, because otherwise there would be no series.

The ending was really satisfactory for me, with everyone marveling at the treasure found, and great-grandpa waving the ancient sword, with fire in his eyes, feeling younger than he had felt in decades, and making Mr. Henning and company run away fearing for their integrity. Memorable stuff!


Coming next: Five Go to Demon's Rocks (1961) show less

Delightful read! I’ve read this multiple times over the years and it never gets old. Love the pursuit of castle ruins.

Cute :-)
What I found funny about this one is it reminded me of the castle adventure of the Adventure series :-) just different kids ... and still with a bird.

Adrianne

spannend,

Green

Novels/novelettes

Los Cinco pasan las vacaciones en Dorset, alojados en la Granja Finniston, regentada por Mr y Mrs Philpot y sus hijos, los gemelos Enrique y Enriqueta. La granja no pasa un buen momento económico, y se ven obligados a aceptar huéspedes a su pesar. Los chicos no son los únicos huéspedes, sino también está un americano, Mr Henning, que está ansioso por acaparar cuantas antigüedades pueda conseguir, y su aborrecible hijo Junior. Otro habitante de la granja es Jonathan Philpot, abuelo de los Philpot, que no se caracteriza precisamente por su diplomacia a la hora de hablar, y avergonzará en más de una ocasión a Mrs Philpot. Con la ayuda de Tim, Jorge enseña modales a Junior, y los chicos se ganan la simpatía de los gemelos.

Un show more anticuario, Mr Finniston, les cuenta la historia del Castillo de Finniston, que asaltado en siglo XII es arrasado,excepto los sótanos. Lord Finniston muere en el asalto, pero Lady Finniston y su familia consiguen escapar atravesando un túnel secreto. El anciano anticuario se pregunta como sería encontrar todo lo que había en esos sótanos.

Los chicos descubren una colina que presenta aspecto de posible localización del castillo, pero Junior se lo dice a su padre, que compra un permiso para excavar con buldozers. Los Cinco saben que el pasadizo secreto del castillo, enlazaba con la vieja capilla, que ahora se usa de almacén. Mientras Retaco, el perro de los gemelos persigue a Nariguda, la urraca, ésta se mete en una madrigera, regresando con un anillo con una piedra roja. Los chicos comienzan a excavar, encontrando un túnel que les lleva a los sótanos del castillo, donde encuentran armaduras, joyas y monedas. Al regresar encuentran que se ha hundido el techo, Tim los llevará por la dirección opuesta a la salida de la Capilla.

Enseñan el tesoro a los Philpot y al abuelo, y devuelven el cheque a Mr Henning. Cuando el americano esmpieza a protestar, el abuelo blandiendo la espada expulsa al americano y su hijo de la granja. show less