Episode image for Enid

Duration: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Illuminating and surprising drama telling the story of arguably the most popular children's storyteller of all, Enid Blyton.

It reveals how Blyton became the writer who would capture more youthful imaginations than anyone else, following her career from ambitious, driven and as yet unpublished young woman to household name and moral guardian, while glimpsing her own childhood - a dark time, far from the carefree, happy idyll portrayed in her books.

Through marriages and children, the roles of Enid the wife (to Hugh and then Kenneth) and mother are portrayed, ones she struggled to fulfil while balancing them with her extraordinary output.

The film also uncovers a strong and resourceful woman; a woman who never really grew up; a woman who rewrote the endings of many chapters of her real life, sometimes with cruel and hurtful results; and a woman whose legacy has often been criticised but whose success cannot be argued with, who gave children the stories they wanted.

Last on

Mon 23 May 2011 01:35 BBC Four

  • Women We Loved

    Women We Loved

    This film was part of Women We Loved - a season of three major dramas on BBC Four about the careers of British female icons Margot Fonteyn, Gracie Fields and Enid Blyton.

    Find out about the other films shown in Women We Loved
  • Photo: Enid Blyton with her daughters

    Photo: Enid Blyton with her daughters

    Enid Blyton (Helena Bonham Carter) pictured with daughters Gillian (Sinead Michael) and Imogen (Ramona Marquez).

  • Photo: Enid's picnic

    Photo: Enid's picnic

    Enid Blyton (Helena Bonham Carter) stages an indoor picnic for some young readers.

  • BBC Archive: Enid Blyton - The woman behind the stories

    Discover the reasons for Enid Blyton's success, and explore the difficult life of this prolific storyteller, in a collection of recordings from the BBC archives - which feature the author herself, her family and friends, as well as her critics.

    Visit Enid Blyton - The woman behind the stories on the BBC Archive
  • BBC Archive: Blyton and the BBC

    Read letters from Enid Blyton herself, and view internal BBC documents, as part of a collection which tells the story of the writer's battles with the corporation and how her determination to broadcast on the BBC was rebuffed.

    Visit the Blyton and the BBC collection on the BBC Archive

Credits

Enid Blyton
Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Pollock
Matthew Macfadyen
Kenneth Waters
Denis Lawson
Dorothy
Claire Rushbrook
Hanly Blyton
Joseph Millson
Imogen
Ramona Marquez
Gillian
Sinead Michael
Theresa Blyton
Pooky Quesnel
Thomas Blyton
Philip Wright
Enid (aged 19)
Lisa Diveney
Enid (aged 12)
Alexandra Brain
Hanly Blyton (aged 8)
Samuel Hilton
Carey Blyton (aged 4)
James Warner
Maid Maggie
Eileen O'Higgins
Mrs Waters
Gabrielle Reidy
BBC Interviewer
Douglas Reith
Dr Beresford
Nicholas Lumley
Betty
Claire Carrie
Army Officer
Travis Oliver
Librarian
Toby Manley
Chauffeur
Harry Taylor
Child at party
Sion Davies
Child at party
Isabella Blake-Thomas
Director
James Hawes
Producer
Lee Morris
Writer
Lindsay Shapero

Broadcasts

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.