Is the "Famous Five" series by Enid Blyton well known in USA?

[Dingo_Triplesix]

Hello,

this question goes out to the US residents here:

I'm thinking of writing a story loosely based on Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(novel_series)). But that would only work if most readers know the reference. In Germany, these books are very well known. What is the situation in the USA?

Thanks a lot!
Dingo

 

[ElectricBlue]

Assuming you are thinking of an erotic take on the canon, don't even think about submitting it to Lit, because it would breach the fundamental policy rule: no fan-fic where the original characters are under eighteen.

The Famous Five were all young teenagers (maybe some were even younger, I don't know). If you are considering erotica in this story, you need to take it somewhere else, and not discuss it here.

 

[NotWise]

Hello,

this question goes out to the US residents here:

I'm thinking of writing a story loosely based on Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(novel_series)). But that would only work if most readers know the reference. In Germany, these books are very well known. What is the situation in the USA?

Thanks a lot!
Dingo

As a child, I read everything the public library had by Enid Blyton. I loved them. The locations were interesting to me, and some of the ideas were charmingly quaint -- even to a nine-year-old. The stories were dated at the time. By now they might be just historic curiosities that few people can connect to.

 

[NotWise]

Assuming you are thinking of an erotic take on the canon, don't even think about submitting it to Lit, because it would breach the fundamental policy rule: no fan-fic where the original characters are under eighteen.

The Famous Five were all young teenagers (maybe some were even younger, I don't know). If you are considering erotica in this story, you need to take it somewhere else, and not discuss it here.

"Loosely based on" doesn't sound to me like fan fiction.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

.....

 

[ElectricBlue]

"Loosely based on" doesn't sound to me like fan fiction.

"Loosely based on" on an erotica site? Let's wait and see, shall we?

 

[Lovecraft_lore2]

Hello,

this question goes out to the US residents here:

I'm thinking of writing a story loosely based on Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(novel_series)). But that would only work if most readers know the reference. In Germany, these books are very well known. What is the situation in the USA?

Thanks a lot!
Dingo

Completely unknown to me. It looks like it was the European Hardy Boys.

 

[ishtat]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(novel_series[/url])).
Dingo

You will have to age them all by 10 years. George as a dyke is plausible, Julian will be your Gay character, and Dick is clearly a given for Lit. Anne is boring - always was, and whatever you do, leave Timmy out: Lit will not allow him at all.

 

[ChloeTzang]

You will have to age them all by 10 years. George as a dyke is plausible, Julian will be your Gay character, and Dick is clearly a given for Lit. Anne is boring - always was, and whatever you do, leave Timmy out: Lit will not allow him at all.

Oh yeah, George has potential. The seduction of Anne by George would be totally classic.

I have a few Enid Blyton books but they're not exactly well known here. To jolly hockeysticks, and so velly English upper middle class. Mine go back years, my dad got them for me from somewhere. I have seen a few in used book stores, but I don;t think they'd be very well known, and except for oddballs like me (I have a huge Biggles collection, and every Swallows and Amazons book written, plus a collection of elderly Rupert Bear Annuals), I doubt there'd be anyone under 50 who's ever heard of her here.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

Oh yeah, George has potential. The seduction of Anne by George would be totally classic.

I have a few Enid Blyton books but they're not exactly well known here. To jolly hockeysticks, and so velly English upper middle class. Mine go back years, my dad got them for me from somewhere. I have seen a few in used book stores, but I don;t think they'd be very well known, and except for oddballs like me (I have a huge Biggles collection, and every Swallows and Amazons book written, plus a collection of elderly Rupert Bear Annuals), I doubt there'd be anyone under 50 who's ever heard of her here.

Hubby has a very dog-eared 1950's collection of twelve or so 'Swallows' books that belonged to his older brothers, the original Johnathon Cape editions, and newer, Red Fox editions he bought hoping that one day his daughter or now grandson will read them. There's a smattering of Famous Five books there, but even Will, with his ability to be deprecating of his own background and upbringing finds them far too 'what-ho, lashings of ginger beer!' middle class-centric to read comfortably, the class snobbery and casual racism that filters through everything Enid Blyton wrote jars him.

 

[colddiesel]

finds them far too 'what-ho, lashings of ginger beer!' middle class-centric to read comfortably, the class snobbery and casual racism that filters through everything Enid Blyton wrote jars him.

So long as the op does not try an update of Blyton's series of the "Three Little Gollywogs" (1954), which she thoughtfully named 'Golly, Woggie and Nigger.'

The publishers re-named them on re-publication in 1972 'Golly, Sooty, and Sammy.' So sensitive! rolleyes:

 

[SimonDoom]

I've never heard of the author or these books. They're children's books, featuring children, as far as I can tell, so any stories based on them would, I think, violate the underage rule. The Site, from what I understand, also has a rule that you cannot "age up" characters who are children in a work like that for purposes of your story to get around the underage rule.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

So long as the op does not try an update of Blyton's series of the "Three Little Gollywogs" (1954), which she thoughtfully named 'Golly, Woggie and Nigger.'

The publishers re-named them on re-publication in 1972 'Golly, Sooty, and Sammy.' So sensitive! rolleyes:

Ay-yi-yee! I remember reading of people in Britain being prosecuted recently for 'hate crimes' for sticking Gollywog dolls in their window, which I get; Gollywogs are today extremely offensive 'Blackface' caricature dolls, although they weren't in their heyday, the 1900's - 1950's; even Robinson's, the UK jam and marmalade maker only took the gollywog logo off their jam-jars fairly recently, I think late 80's. Even Steiff, the luxury bear maker jumped on the Gollywog bandwagon, making one that was covered in hair and looked like a gorilla; doesn't stop it being worth around £10,000...

See more, Ferris State University Jim Crow Museum
https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/j...arly Steiff dolls,like a wooly haired gorilla.

 

[Handley_Page]

Hello,

this question goes out to the US residents here:

I'm thinking of writing a story loosely based on Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(novel_series)). But that would only work if most readers know the reference. In Germany, these books are very well known. What is the situation in the USA?

Thanks a lot!
Dingo

I strongly advise that you make sure the characters are well over 18.
Did you see those sarcastic stories like 5 do Brexit ?

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

I strongly advise that you make sure the characters are well over 18.
Did you see those sarcastic stories like 5 do Brexit ?

They were brilliant; '5 go mad in Dorset', '5 go mad on Mescalin', and the new one, '5 go to Rehab'; Ade Edmundson, Dawn French, Robbie Coltrane, Ronald Allen, and Jennifer Saunders were just faultless.

And Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups?

Five On Brexit Island, Five Escape Brexit island, Five Give Up The Booze, Five Go Gluten Free, Five At The Office Christmas Party, Five Lose Dad in The Garden Centre, Five Go On A Strategy Away-Day, Five Get Beach-Body Ready, Five Go Parenting, Five go Bump In The Night

 

[Bramblethorn]

You will have to age them all by 10 years. George as a dyke is plausible, Julian will be your Gay character, and Dick is clearly a given for Lit. Anne is boring - always was, and whatever you do, leave Timmy out: Lit will not allow him at all.

Lit won't allow any of them, if Laurel recognises the source material.

We do not publish celeb/fanfic stories in which the characters are artificially aged - that is, under 18 years old in reality or in the source material, but made to be over 18 for the story.

All characters must be 18 years of age or older at some point in the story, movie, television show, video game, manga, or anime upon which your story is based.

George seems more like a trans guy than a lesbian. Dresses in male clothes, goes by a male name, and very clearly wants to be accepted as male. "I'm George. I shall only answer if you call me George. I hate being a girl. I won't be."

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Never heard of them. By the time I could read, I was way past children's books. My first read was a Readers Digest story about Travis McGee by John D. McDonald. Then I got into Sci-Fi. Heinlein, Reynolds, Asimov, etc.

Skipped right on past those juvenile reads.

 

[Dingo_Triplesix]

Ok, thanks for your answers. I dropped the idea, as the prerequisites seem not fulfilled.

Just for discussion sake here my plotline. I am aware of the rule, that you can´t bring in minor celebs, even if they grew older.

This would have been my solution:

Four orphans who don't know each other at the beginning (Julian (20), Richard (19), Georgina (19) and Anne (18)) meet at the invitation of a dubious foundation. The foundation has promised them a scholarship, in exchange for which they must attend a two-week seminar in a small coastal town in southern England. The director of the foundation calls himself Quentin, and he asks them to look after his dog Tim.

Of course, the four heroes realize that somehow the structure of "The Famous Five" is being recreated here, but why? And what role do they play? So this is basically a mystery plot.

They are taken to a small island off the coast for a few days, where they have to solve tasks and receive clues. All the clues point to the "Famous Five" books.

During this time, the four develop relationships, including erotic ones. They are, after all, "ordinary strangers" to each other, so why not flirt? This is the build-up phase of erotic tension.

Eventually they find out that Quentin is the unknown father of them all. Quentin is a millionaire and went crazy at a young age. Because the "Five Friends" books represent one of his few positive childhood memories, he decided to recreate that over a period of 20 years. He fathered four children with two different women, gave them to matching families as supposed orphans so that their character development matched the book characters as closely as possible, and has now brought them together. For him, this is the fulfillment of all his dreams. For everyone else, a nightmare of manipulation.

The four are naturally horrified. In the end, they confront their father with the fact that they have incest sex as a foursome and thus drive him finally mad...

Ok, pretty dark, admitted.

Do you think this would pass as an "incest groupsex"? I think it´s not even "celebs", because the protagonists are NOT the figures from the book.

 

[NotWise]

Ok, thanks for your answers. I dropped the idea, as the prerequisites seem not fulfilled.

I don't think your story would trigger a celebrity problem, but it does have a category problem. It could go into group sex, for instance, but readers there might react badly to the late reveal of incest. Readers in I/T would probably drop out before they got to the late reveal and, if they lasted that long, find accidental incest to be uninspiring.

 

[Dingo_Triplesix]

I don't think your story would trigger a celebrity problem, but it does have a category problem. It could go into group sex, for instance, but readers there might react badly to the late reveal of incest. Readers in I/T would probably drop out before they got to the late reveal and, if they lasted that long, find accidental incest to be uninspiring.

Yeah, I realized these problems. The story could not have hoped for good ratings.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Yeah, I realized these problems. The story could not have hoped for good ratings.

Still, the overall concept is sound. Just file it away and have a look every now and then.

I had a Geek Day story that had a great concept, but just wouldn't work practically. It's now coming together nicely.

Maybe a side reference to the five, or those other meddling kids...

 

[8letters]

Ok, thanks for your answers. I dropped the idea, as the prerequisites seem not fulfilled.

Just for discussion sake here my plotline. I am aware of the rule, that you can´t bring in minor celebs, even if they grew older.

This would have been my solution:

Four orphans who don't know each other at the beginning (Julian (20), Richard (19), Georgina (19) and Anne (18)) meet at the invitation of a dubious foundation. The foundation has promised them a scholarship, in exchange for which they must attend a two-week seminar in a small coastal town in southern England. The director of the foundation calls himself Quentin, and he asks them to look after his dog Tim.

Of course, the four heroes realize that somehow the structure of "The Famous Five" is being recreated here, but why? And what role do they play? So this is basically a mystery plot.

They are taken to a small island off the coast for a few days, where they have to solve tasks and receive clues. All the clues point to the "Famous Five" books.

During this time, the four develop relationships, including erotic ones. They are, after all, "ordinary strangers" to each other, so why not flirt? This is the build-up phase of erotic tension.

Eventually they find out that Quentin is the unknown father of them all. Quentin is a millionaire and went crazy at a young age. Because the "Five Friends" books represent one of his few positive childhood memories, he decided to recreate that over a period of 20 years. He fathered four children with two different women, gave them to matching families as supposed orphans so that their character development matched the book characters as closely as possible, and has now brought them together. For him, this is the fulfillment of all his dreams. For everyone else, a nightmare of manipulation.

The four are naturally horrified. In the end, they confront their father with the fact that they have incest sex as a foursome and thus drive him finally mad...

Ok, pretty dark, admitted.

Do you think this would pass as an "incest groupsex"? I think it´s not even "celebs", because the protagonists are NOT the figures from the book.

I think this story could work quite well as a long I/T story. The group would suspect early on that Julian and Richard are brothers because (1) they look so much like brothers and/or (2) they have a key distinctive attribute that it is exactly the same, like the same odd foot. George suggests that they get genetically tested at the same site she used, and Anne might as well get tested as well. By the time they get the test results back, they've all been sexually intimate. The results cause them a lot of distress. They research Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA). They try to go back to being just friends, but struggle with their attraction towards each other. Eventually, they say, "The hell with it! Let's fuck!"

When they meet Quentin, he reveals his dastardly plan. They are all pissed at being used as toys in someone's crazy scheme. They tell him that his plan was a perfect GSA experiment, and he's responsible for them being incestuous lovers. Quentin is shocked. Sensing a way of getting back, the four detail graphically the sex they are having. Anne begins giving a demonstration of how much she loves sucking her brothers' cocks. Quentin has a heart attack and keels over dead. The four inherit his fortune and live happily ever after.

My story "My European Summer Vacation" has a long beginning where the two main characters don't know they are half-siblings. There's enough hints that they are related and the fact that the story is in I/T that readers aren't surprised when the half-brother figures out they have the same mom. That story is in the I/T HoF.

If you want help with the plotting of the story, I'd be glad to do so.

 

[SimonDoom]

"We do not publish celeb/fanfic stories in which the characters are artificially aged - that is, under 18 years old in reality or in the source material, but made to be over 18 for the story.

All characters must be 18 years of age or older at some point in the story, movie, television show, video game, manga, or anime upon which your story is based."

That's the published rule at this Site, as Bramblethorn cited above. I'm surprised that so many authors are counseling that the story will fly if the characters in the OP's story are over 18. The story WON'T fly. I'm not familiar with the source material but based on the way the OP describes it's clear that the proposed story very clearly violates the "no aging up under-18 source material for a fanfic story" rule. It's not going to work.

One of the things that frustrates, and, frankly, astonishes me the most about this Site is how opaque and difficult to find its content regulations continue to be. Given all the extraordinary amount of discussion and uncertainty and angst this issue causes, seemingly more than any other (except, possibly, anonymous voting and commenting), it seems odd that the Site refuses to do it. They're so familiar with the issue after all these years that presumably it would take them less than a few hours to draft a full and complete statement of the content regulation guidelines, put it on the Site, and then clearly link to that location from multiple different places. How hard could that be? It doesn't require significant site redesign or change in the site's functionality. Even a techno-dork like me knows that.

For instance, here are some of the still mind-boggling problems with how this Site deals with this issue:

1. Here's the link to the Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.literotica.com/faq/05235347.shtml.
Nowhere in this list does the question appear: What story content does Literotica prohibit? A new author could read this list and have no clue that there are ANY regulations.

2. Here's a link to the Written Guidelines page. https://www.literotica.com/subguide.shtml. This page also does not contain a complete statement of the content regulations. It refers to the no-bestiality rule, but that's it. It does not contain a clear statement of the no-underage rule, or other rules.

3. Here's the link to the fullest statement to date: https://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=175666. It's a post in a thread posted in the Editor's Forum, of all places, in 2003, not by Laurel, but by "KillerMuffin." You can navigate to it from the FAQ page IF you click on "My Story Has Been Rejected. What Now?" near the bottom of the page. But that's obviously unhelpful to someone who hasn't submitted a story yet, and, further, it's not linked to on the Guidelines page.

It baffles me that Literotica handles this issue in such an opaque and unhelpful way. It's my biggest complaint with the Site.

1. There should be a standalone page, that is clearly an official statement of the Site, that clearly and fully sets forth all content regulations.

2. That content regulation page should be prominently featured and linked to at multiple pages on the Site, including the Home Page, the FAQ page, the Writer's Guideline Page, the Literotica.com page, and the Stories page, at a minimum. There's no excuse for so much confusion on this issue. Laurel should post a new and clearly marked "sticky" thread to the Author's Hangout entitled something like "Statement of Site Content Regulations" which in turn links back to the complete statement.

My rant is done. For now, anyway.

 

[NotWise]

My rant is done. For now, anyway.

Dingo_triplesix already dropped the idea, so your rant might have been wasted.

That said, I don't see a problem with the rules if the story isn't written as fan fiction. It could go into I/T, probably with different character names, never mention the Blyton series, and just be a rather involved adventure story.

There'd be no need to mention the famous five, especially since the reference would be meaningless to most readers in the US.

 

[SimonDoom]

Dingo_triplesix already dropped the idea, so your rant might have been wasted.

That said, I don't see a problem with the rules if the story isn't written as fan fiction. It could go into I/T, probably with different character names, never mention the Blyton series, and just be a rather involved adventure story.

There'd be no need to mention the famous five, especially since the reference would be meaningless to most readers in the US.

Most rants here ARE wasted, I think, so I'm in good company at least. But threads have a way of surviving even when the OP says "never mind." If Laurel drops in and takes a look at what I wrote, that's the best I can hope for.

I agree with your comment -- if the fanfic aspect is dropped the basic idea is simply rewritten as an adult story, I don't see a problem.