The Naughtiest Girl

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

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:

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

  1. Blyton, Gillian, Introduction to ‘The Naughtiest Girl in the School’, Blyton, Enid, Hodder Children's Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0340917695
  2. "Naughtiest Girl – The train to Whyteleafe - Fatty says: It is pronounced White leaf.". EnidBlyton.net. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. Issue Archive | Books For Keeps

References

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