I always believed that the five’s attitude was justified but I couldn’t explain why. From this point of view, Julian’s put down, sharp attitude to the Sticks is justified, and their treatment of Edgar (who is about as pleasant as his mother is) makes more sense. However with this new idea – that the five are only reacting to Mrs Stick not fulfilling her contract towards them, to me sheds a different light on the matter.

I have met people before where this book seems to suggest to them that the Five can actually be quite nasty, and I suppose to a degree that’s true. In fact they were reacting to a deliberate action. The person who I was talking to suggested that the behaviour of the Famous Five from this point onwards was justified because Mrs Stick had a duty of care towards the Five that wasn’t being fulfilled, so their actions were completely justified. This is where my conversation becomes important. Now for a few days the Five have a rather nice time, in the summer sun, even though Aunt Fanny’s mystery illness puts a damper on the proceedings and her illness (which I always thought of as an appendicitis for some reason, because later it is mentioned that she has an operation and because I didn’t know the names for any other illnesses that required operations when I read the book the first time around, it sort of stuck!) causes great upset when she is taken away to hospital, and Uncle Quentin goes with her, leaving horrible old Mrs Stick in charge. She has a son Edgar who is no better, and dog, Tinker, that Timmy likes to chase and bite.

She is bad tempered and hates the children on sight. The jolly Joanna, who made her début in Five Go Adventuring Again, has gone off to look after her mother who had broken her leg, and Aunt Fanny has got a new temporary cook, the surly Mrs Stick.įrom the off, when Julian, Dick, and Anne arrive and we are introduced to Mrs Stick, we know she has to be a baddie. Now wait a moment, before you start exclaiming that it’s not possible and I shall explain!įive Run Away Together starts with George being on her own with Timothy during the holidays and her mother being ill. In the past people have suggested that the Famous Five behaved appallingly towards the Sticks and their dog however last week the person I was talking to suggested that the Five’s behaviour was totally justified. I recently had a conversation about this particular Enid Blyton novel and an interpretation of the story. First Edition Dust jacket picture by Eileen Soper

Five go to kirrin island