Enid Blyton (1897–1968) was an English children's writer whose books have sold more than 600 million copies. She wrote on a wide range of topics, but is best remembered for her Noddy, Famous Five, and Secret Seven series. Her first book, Child Whispers (cover pictured), was published in 1922. Following the success of her early novels such as Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) and The Enchanted Wood (1939), Blyton went on to build a literary empire, sometimes producing fifty books a year. Her work became increasingly controversial from the 1950s onwards because of the alleged unchallenging nature of her writing and the themes of her books. Some libraries and schools banned her works, which the BBC had refused to broadcast from the 1930s until the 1950s because they were perceived to lack literary merit. Her books have been criticised as being elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic and at odds with the more liberal environment emerging in post-war Britain, but have continued to be bestsellers. The story of her life was dramatised in a 2009 BBC film, Enid, featuring Helena Bonham Carter; there have also been several adaptations of her books for stage, screen and television.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1314:
In the decisive battle in the First War of Scottish Independence, Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce defeated English troops under Edward II near Bannockburn, Scotland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bannockburn
1622:
Dutch–Portuguese War: An outnumbered Portuguese force repelled a Dutch attack in the Battle of Macau, the only major military engagement that was fought between two European powers on the Chinese mainland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Macau
1880:
"O Canada" (audio featured), today the national anthem of Canada, was first performed in Quebec City, Quebec, during a Saint-Jean- Baptiste Day banquet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada
1994:
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress based at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane County, Washington, crashed, killing all four crew members, and later providing a case study on the importance of compliance with safety regulations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash
2010:
After 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over three days, John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships in the longest match in tennis history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isner%E2%80%93Mahut_match_at_the_2010_Wimbledon_Championships
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
dead tree edition: (idiomatic, pejorative, humorous) Paper version of a publication that can be found online. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dead_tree_edition
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The soul may always say, whether occupied with temporal or spiritual things, "My sole occupation is love." Happy life! happy state! and happy the soul which has attained to it! --John of the Cross https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_of_the_Cross
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