It seems, in a most unexpected discovery, that Enid Blyton (1897–1968) – doyen of children’s writers in the mid-20th century and naturally long since castigated for her political incorrectness – was way ahead of the curve when it came to understanding the tearing of society apart by compelling everyone to join in the madness to be the same and using Stasi-like police as enforcers.
Perhaps living in a time of totalitarian dictatorships had helped hone her satirical take? I sat down the other day to read one of her books to my grandchildren. I plucked The Magic Faraway Tree off the shelf, a book first published in 1943, and started reading.
For those of you who don’t remember the book, the Magic Faraway Tree has a series of clouds that take their place at the top of the tree. The children in the stories climb the tree and go up into whichever magical land has appeared that day. In the chapter I started on, Topsy-Turvy Land has arrived. If that already sounds familiar, you’re not wrong.
In Topsy-Turvy Land a spell has been cast and everything is turned upside down. The children look around in amazement but settle down to eat. It’s all horribly familiar.