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3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Peter, Janet, Colin, Jack, George, Pam, and Barbara are all part of a special club - the Secret Seven! - complete with passwords and badges. No one else (except Scamper the golden spaniel) is allowed - and especially not Jack's intrusive sister Susie. But somehow the Seven keep finding themselves involved in exciting and dangerous adventures!
Review
Secret Seven books are among the earliest I remember reading by myself, though I recall reading Little Bear with my mother before that, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle around the same time. In any case, I was taken with this little club of children having adventures. We didn't have all the books – I didn't realize until recently that there were so many (15); I think we had more like two or three: The Secret Seven (#01), Good Work Secret Seven (#06), and another, though I'm not sure which.
The kids had fun, were kind to animals (which I identified with), and were generous (which I may not have). Yet even at the time I recall thinking that Peter – the leader – was a bit of a martinet. In fact, on adult reading, he's an insufferable prig, and I wonder why the other children put up with him – especially his sister Janet, whom he orders around like a servant. And the family do have servants – cook, gardener, farmhands – which perhaps accounts for some of the determined ‘do-gooding' they do – frequently solving the problems of the lower class with wisdom, money, and very little consultation.
The kids as a group are also, frankly, very mean to Jack's sister Susie. They all recognize how clever she is, and her role is largely as a foil for the team, but they still seem unnecessarily cruel much of the time – which, I suppose adds to the verisimilitude. Girls as a whole are also clearly a lesser set. Aside from Janet and Susie, the other girls are more giggly and dim than fully fleshed. And, just about every adventure, there's some portion in which the girls cannot participate, because it's too hard, dangerous, dark, late at night, etc. All the girls (except Susie) usually do about is pout and wish they were boys.
Some of this comes with the time in which the books were written, of course. It's a little irritating, but to be taken with a pinch of salt. And the adventures themselves are fun, exciting, and pretty harmless. There are plenty of good, light-handed lessons about listening to adults, being generous, being careful, etc. And things work out well in the end. Blyton occasionally steps slightly into the frame as narrator, and it works well. Peter is annoying, Janet is kind and earnest, Scamper the dog is playful, and it's a world and age where parents are always helpful and considerate. Blyton isn't great at continuity, and she does recycle at least one theme of dog stealing, but overall, it's relatively harmless fun for children, probably best offered with some guidance about equality.
Note: this amalgamated review covers the 15 main books of the series, but not the short stories.
