Mr Tumpy's Caravan
1 Mar 2011
SEVEN STORIES UNCOVERS A MR TUMPY MYSTERY
Seven Stories, the national gallery and archive for children’s books in Newcastle upon Tyne, has uncovered an exciting new find in the recently acquired Enid Blyton archive. Mr Tumpy’s Caravan is a full novel manuscript, 180 A4 pages long and containing very little in terms of notes or annotations. It is believed to be an unpublished Enid Blyton manuscript.
View Mr Tumpy's Caravan manuscript.
Hannah Green, Seven Stories archivist, made the discovery in December 2010 but was unsure of its origins and so began conversations with Tony Summerfield, head of the Enid Blyton Society and a leading expert on the author. Hannah explains: “When I came to catalogue it, I wanted to compare the typescript to the published book, which we'd assumed was the picture strip book Mr Tumpy and His Caravan, to establish the relationship between the two. Mr Tumpy and His Caravan, it’s out of print and quite rare, so I sent copies of a few typescript pages to Tony Summerfield to see if he could help. Tony is an expert in Blyton’s published works and knows the published picture strip book very well, however when he replied with great excitement to say that the typescript was nothing like the published book, it became clear that we had something new and pretty special in the archive.”
The novel is a fantasy adventure, with Mr Tumpy and his friends Muffin and Puffin and Bun-Dorg the dog getting carried off by a walking caravan, visiting various strange and magical lands before ultimately vanquishing a dog-headed dragon and being rewarded by a beautiful princess. When Seven Stories first purchased the typescripts they assumed, owing to the similarities in the titles, that it was an early draft of the picture strip book Mr Tumpy and His Caravan, published in 1949.
Hannah added: “We think our typescript was written some time in the mid-1930s – it was certainly written before 1938, as it gives Blyton’s address as Old Thatch, a house the family moved from in 1938. That makes it quite an early piece of writing by Blyton, a little bit experimental and perhaps not as confident and accomplished as her later works. It is a fascinating insight into the development of Blyton’s creative talent. We don’t know why it wasn’t published, whether she didn’t like it or a publisher rejected it, but it is a fantastic find and we’re very excited about it!”
Seven Stories holds the largest public collection of Enid Blyton material after successfully purchasing typescripts for nine of Enid Blyton’s best known novels, including three Famous Five titles, Last Term at Malory Towers, Look Out Secret Seven, two novels from her Adventure series, and two of her Mystery books, at auction in September 2010. Seven Stories also has typescripts for several Noddy stories and plays, and a number of other short stories.
In a career spanning five decades, Enid Blyton (1897-1968) produced an astonishing 700+ books and some 4,500 short stories. Despite this huge output, very few of Blyton’s original typescripts appear to have survived. The material at auction was from the estate of the late Gillian Baverstock, Enid Blyton’s elder daughter, who died in June 2007. The 66 lots included seventeen typescripts, and a large number of books, periodicals, and other Blyton-related items, some of them owned by Gillian Baverstock during her childhood, others collected by her later on.
Kate Edwards, Chief Executive explains the importance of the purchase: “This Enid Blyton archive was in danger of being lost to the nation. Our mission is to save and celebrate Britain’s literature for children and we are grateful that we were able to act quickly to purchase it on the nation’s behalf. Enid Blyton’s storytelling has touched the lives of millions of children in the UK and around the world, and it is right that her work should be a placed in our national children’s literature Collection, where it will be protected, celebrated and shared with our young audiences. The fact that already we have uncovered a previously unpublished Blyton story is exciting and demonstrates how archives can help us to understand an author’s creative life.”
Seven Stories plans to showcase the Enid Blyton collection in an exhibition planned for 2012, and for those who can’t wait that long they have behind the scenes tours on March 10, April 14 and May 12. Alternatively, interested parties can visit the collection, based at a separate site in Gateshead by appointment only. To make an enquiry contact collections@sevenstories.org.uk
Seven Stories fundraised to enable it to bid for these items at auction. Grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the MLA/V&A Purchase Fund as well as donations from generous supporters of the charity’s work made the purchases possible. To donate to Seven Stories click here.
This rare Blyton collection enhances the national significance of the Seven Stories’ archive of British children’s literature, which spans from the 1930s to the present day.
To follow Hannah as she uncovers the Enid Blyton archive visit her blog:
http://blytonsevenstories.wordpress.com/
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:
Kathryn Row, Marketing and Communications Manager
Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books
E: Kathryn.row@sevenstories.org.uk
T: 0845 271 0777 ext 704
Mr Tumpy's Caravan original manuscripts.
Images are reproduced with the kind permission of Chorion Rights Limited. ENID BLYTON ® is a registered trade mark of Chorion Rights Limited. All rights reserved.
