‘There was something else out on the sea by the rocks – something dark that seemed to lurch out of the waves . . . What could it be?’ Julian, Dick and Anne are spending the holidays with their tomboy cousin George and her dog, Timothy. One day, George takes them to explore nearby Kirrin Island, with its rocky little coast and old ruined castle on the top. Over on the island, they make a thrilling discovery, which leads them deep into the dungeons of Kirrin Castle on a dangerous adventure. Who – and what – will they find there? 

Paperback |192 pages

Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books – This Edition – (19th March, 1997)

I have fond memories of these books but I never managed to read the whole series. I’ve wanted to own the complete set – which I now do. I tell you, it’s impossible to read this in anything other than a posh British accent!

Very easy, even if some of the language is dated.

It’s interesting because the character of George is written like a tomboy of the 1940s, but reading in 2020, she came across as more of a transgender character than a tomboy and I found it interesting that the writing style of 1942 had taken on a new meaning in 2020. Of course, this is just my opinion and something I thought of while reading.

Easy to visualise, easy to imagine.

It’s interesting, I don’t know if I expected more from the book or if my memories are different from what is actually in the book. There was an absence of excitement which I remember from reading as a kid and I did find myself bored on three occasions while reading. However, this brought back so many memories and made me smily giddily while reading. There is an effortless charm to the way Enid Blyton writes that makes her works as wonderful now as they were when first written.

I enjoyed this as much as someone can enjoy a 192 page book. It was very interesting reading it from an adult perspective and I found that I understood the story more as an adult than I had as a child. Of course, you can’t replicate the feelings you had reading as a child while you are an adult, but it was fun to go back and revisit something that I had such strong memories for. As I have the complete boxset of books, it’ll be interesting to read the series and see if my opinion of the books changes or stays the same.