Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy return to Kirrin Cottage for the Christmas holidays. As a result of being off school due to illnesses, Dick and Julian have a tutor, Mr. Roland, during the holidays in order to catch up with the work they missed. George's parents tell Mr. Roland to teach George also, since George has just passed her first term at boarding school and is behind her age level. One day during the holidays, the children visit Kirrin Farmhouse, and the owners allow George to show her cousins all around the farmhouse, and show them some of the old secret cubby-holes in the farmhouse. George asks Mrs Sanders if she can show her cousins the cupboard with the false back on it upstairs, but Mrs Sanders tells her she is cleaning the room as she has some guests staying with her. When searching in a hole in the wall, Dick finds a piece of paper, with instructions on it written in Latin. The four take it back to Kirrin Cottage and ask Mr. Roland what the instructions on the paper say, as he reads Latin. He tells them that it is something about a room facing east with eight wooden panels in it, and the panel must lead to somewhere! That night, George goes downstairs to see Timmy, as he was made to sleep outside because Mr. Roland didn't like dogs. George goes into her father's study to get the front door key, and finds Mr. Roland standing in the study. He tells George he heard a noise and came to investigate, but George finds it very suspicious and is determined to investigate with the others.
Characters
Uncle Quentin
Aunt Fanny
Georgina (George)
Julian
Dick
Anne
Timothy
Mr. Roland
Mr & Mrs Sanders
Mr Wilton
Mr Thomas
Joanna
The Famous Five is a series of children's adventure novels written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and George's dog Timmy.
The stories take place in the children's school holidays after they have returned from their respective boarding schools. Each time they meet they get caught up in an adventure, often involving criminals or lost treasure. Sometimes the scene is set close to George's family home at Kirrin Cottage in Dorset, such as the picturesque Kirrin Island, owned by George and her family in Kirrin Bay. George's own home and various other houses the children visit or stay in are hundreds of years old and often contain secret passages or smugglers' tunnels.
In some books the children go camping in the countryside, on a hike or holiday together elsewhere. The settings, however, are almost always rural and enable the children to discover the simple joys of cottages, islands, the English and Welsh countryside and sea shores, as well as an outdoor life of picnics, lemonade, bicycle trips and swimming.[a]
Blyton intended to write only six or eight books in the series, but owing to their high sales and immense commercial success she went on to write twenty-one full-length Famous Five novels, as well as a number of other series in similar style following groups of children discovering crime on holiday in the countryside.[1] By the end of 1953 more than six million copies had been sold. Today, more than two million copies of the books are sold each year, making them one of the biggest-selling series for children ever written, with sales totalling over a hundred million.[2] All the novels have been adapted for television, and several have been adapted as films in various countries.
Blyton's publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, first used the term "The Famous Five" in 1951, after nine books in the series had been published. Before this, the series was referred to as The 'Fives' Books.
Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy return to Kirrin Cottage for the Christmas holidays. As a result of being off school due to illnesses, Dick and Julian have a tutor, Mr. Roland, during the holidays in order to catch up with the work they missed. George's parents tell Mr. Roland to teach George also, since George has just passed her first term at boarding school and is behind her age level. One day during the holidays, the children visit Kirrin Farmhouse, and the owners allow George to show her cousins all around the farmhouse, and show them some of the old secret cubby-holes in the farmhouse. George asks Mrs Sanders if she can show her cousins the cupboard with the false back on it upstairs, but Mrs Sanders tells her she is cleaning the room as she has some guests staying with her. When searching in a hole in the wall, Dick finds a piece of paper, with instructions on it written in Latin. The four take it back to Kirrin Cottage and ask Mr. Roland what the instructions on the paper say, as he reads Latin. He tells them that it is something about a room facing east with eight wooden panels in it, and the panel must lead to somewhere! That night, George goes downstairs to see Timmy, as he was made to sleep outside because Mr. Roland didn't like dogs. George goes into her father's study to get the front door key, and finds Mr. Roland standing in the study. He tells George he heard a noise and came to investigate, but George finds it very suspicious and is determined to investigate with the others. Characters Uncle Quentin Aunt Fanny Georgina (George) Julian Dick Anne Timothy Mr. Roland Mr & Mrs Sanders Mr Wilton Mr Thomas Joanna The Famous Five is a series of children's adventure novels written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and George's dog Timmy. The stories take place in the children's school holidays after they have returned from their respective boarding schools. Each time they meet they get caught up in an adventure, often involving criminals or lost treasure. Sometimes the scene is set close to George's family home at Kirrin Cottage in Dorset, such as the picturesque Kirrin Island, owned by George and her family in Kirrin Bay. George's own home and various other houses the children visit or stay in are hundreds of years old and often contain secret passages or smugglers' tunnels. In some books the children go camping in the countryside, on a hike or holiday together elsewhere. The settings, however, are almost always rural and enable the children to discover the simple joys of cottages, islands, the English and Welsh countryside and sea shores, as well as an outdoor life of picnics, lemonade, bicycle trips and swimming.[a] Blyton intended to write only six or eight books in the series, but owing to their high sales and immense commercial success she went on to write twenty-one full-length Famous Five novels, as well as a number of other series in similar style following groups of children discovering crime on holiday in the countryside.[1] By the end of 1953 more than six million copies had been sold. Today, more than two million copies of the books are sold each year, making them one of the biggest-selling series for children ever written, with sales totalling over a hundred million.[2] All the novels have been adapted for television, and several have been adapted as films in various countries. Blyton's publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, first used the term "The Famous Five" in 1951, after nine books in the series had been published. Before this, the series was referred to as The 'Fives' Books.