The magic of Enid Blyton

One of the first victims of literacy PC was Enid Blyton. She was deemed to be racist, middle class, facile and mind-dulling. The Americans even decided that for Noddy to share a bed with Big Ears indicated a gay relationship. Yet Blyton continued to be the 20th century's most successful (annual sales of €10m) and prolific (700 books) writers.

The reason for this is simple. Children love her books. They love the clarity of the prose, the speed of the narrative, the reliability of the codes of behaviour practised by characters and, above all, the sheer enjoyment of reading without stress. They are also totally unaware of any hidden agenda within the text.

Now a major sea-change in attitudes to Enid Blyton is occurring. The Daily Telegraph is giving away free audio books of her work. This encouraged me to reread The Famous Five Get into a Fix.

It is light years away from Philip Pullman, but not all that distant from Harry Potter, if you leave out the magic. It is a "jolly good" read, as the Famous Five solve the mysteries of a Welsh valley.

Welcome back, Enid Blyton. Let another generation of children be turned into book addicts.