Blyton, Enid Mary (1897–1968)

English writer of children's books. She used her abilities as a trained teacher of young children and a journalist, coupled with her ability to think like a child, to produce books at all levels which, though criticized for their predictability and lack of characterization, and more recently for social, racial, and sexual stereotyping, satisfy the reader's need for security. Her best-selling series were, the Famous Five series, the ‘Secret Seven’, and ‘Noddy’.

In 1951 she had 31 different titles published, and ten years after her death she was the fourth most translated author in the world. In 1996 Trocadero plc, a British property and leisure company, paid £14.25m for the residual copyrights in over 700 of her books.