The Naughtiest Girl
|
The Naughtiest Girl in the School The Naughtiest Girl Again The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor Here's the Naughtiest Girl! | |
| Author | Enid Blyton |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Published | 1940-1952 |
| No. of books | 4 (in the original series) |
The Naughtiest Girl was a series of novels written by Enid Blyton in the 1940s-1950s. Unusually, they are set at a progressive boarding school rather than a traditional one. The school, Whyteleafe, bears a striking resemblance to the independent Suffolk boarding school, Summerhill.[1] Anne Digby, author of the Trebizon series, has written some additional books in the series.
Characters
The main character is Elizabeth Allen, a very spoiled girl whose misbehaviour causes her governesses to leave. She is sent to Whyteleafe School - pronounced Whiteleaf[2] - and is determined to behave so badly that she will be expelled. But, in the middle of her first term, she discovers how lonely she was as an only child, and starts to behave. The second main character is her best friend Joan Townsend, who does her best to get Elizabeth to behave. Also, in the second book, The Naughtiest Girl Again, she makes two enemies (Robert Jones and Kathleen Peters) but then becomes great friends with them later on; while the third book The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor, is as much about fellow pupils Julian and Arabella as it is about her.
Books
- The Naughtiest Girl in the School (1940)
- The Naughtiest Girl Again (1942)
- The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor (1945)
- Here's the Naughtiest Girl! (1952)
Anne Digby continuation
The titles added by Anne Digby, at the invitation of the Enid Blyton copyright proprietors, were described as "seamless" by one reviewer in that they persuasively recreated the genuine publication and atmosphere but "with welcome touches of greenness and conservationism" [3] These are:
- The Naughtiest Girl Keeps a Secret (1999)
- The Naughtiest Girl Helps a Friend (1999)
- The Naughtiest Girl Saves the Day (2000)
- Well Done, the Naughtiest Girl! (2000)
- The Naughtiest Girl Wants to Win (2001)
- The Naughtiest Girl Marches On (2001)
All ten titles in both series remain in print.
Some characters include:
Joan- Elizabeth's best friend
Julian- Another close friend of Elizabeth
Miss Belle- Headmistress
Miss Ranger- Form Mistress
Miss Best- The other headmistress
Robert- Bully who becomes a friend of Elizabeth
Kathleen- Spiteful social outcast who becomes a friend of Elizabeth
Arabella- Girl even more spoilt than Elizabeth
Rosemary- Girl who follows Arabella everywhere
Footnotes
- ↑ Blyton, Gillian, Introduction to ‘The Naughtiest Girl in the School’, Blyton, Enid, Hodder Children's Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0340917695
- ↑ "Naughtiest Girl – The train to Whyteleafe - Fatty says: It is pronounced White leaf.". EnidBlyton.net. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ↑ Issue Archive | Books For Keeps