Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
Somtimes on this site I go back in time and delve into the past and get quite nostalgic. Do you remember reading the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton when you were young? There were six books in the series and they were about Darrell Rivers and her friends. At the age of 12, Darrell starts at a new school called Malory Towers, situated in Cornwall right by the sea. The series follows Darrell and her friends right from the First Form under the sharp eye of Miss Potts, through to the sixth form and Miss Oakes.
If you read them, you probably remember Darrell and her friends: sporty Sally, downright Alicia, musical Irene, arty Belinda, Jean who was very good at handling money, shy Mary-Lou, musical Mavis, horse mad Bill and so on. And we mustn’t forget Gwendoline Mary Lacey. In the fourth form, Darrell's sister Felicity joins here, so does Alicia's cousin June. And then of course there were the Malory Towers staff who saw the girls through their years at the school: first form teacher Miss Potts, nosey Miss Parker, horse-mad Miss Peters, scholarly Miss Williams, Miss James, Miss Oakes and of course Matron and Miss Grayling. Plus the French teachers, Madame Dupont and Madame Rougier.
The series were very popular and they first appeared after the Second World War; I often wondered how much escapism from the reality of rationing and life in post-war Britain they gave readers at the time. This is especially when you bear in mind the descriptions of food that Blyton weaves into the series, given that the country was still enduring rationing at the time. There's more information on the Enid Blyton Society's website, including illustrations from past books which really go back in time! Writer Pamela Gale wrote more Malory Towers books, with Darrell's sister Felicity and her friends making their way through the school, and you can also buy these from Foyles, too. What about the TV Series? |
![]() Malory Towers: Series One - 13 episodes | Malory Towers: Series Two - 13 episodes |