By Sue Roe
I remember as a child, on my visits to Park Library on Duke Street, Sheffield, being captivated by child detectives – Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and the Famous Five and Secret Seven of Enid Blyton (1897-1968). Yet I have yet to meet anyone who remembers the other group of child detectives: the Five Find-Outers and a Dog. They were led initially by Larry but from the third book by ‘Fatty’: Frederick Algernon Trotteville, an only child with very relaxed parents and lots of pocket money for cakes and other treats which he shares with the others in the group. These are: Larry, his sister Daisy, Pip and his younger sister Bets, and Buster, Fatty’s Scottie dog, who eats biscuits with potted meat and nips the ankles of the local plodding policeman, Mr Goon.
All except Bets attend boarding school so the adventures happen in the school holidays. The children hunt for clues (or ‘glues’ as Bets calls them) and talk to witnesses. Fatty specialises in disguises: he has wigs, grease paints, false teeth, cheek pads which he uses to gain information and to outwit Mr Goon. The books very much reflect a particular mid-twentieth century village society with cooks, maids and valets, tramps, gypsies and fairground folk. There is an undercurrent of class difference: Fatty’s mother plays golf and bridge; Mr Goon’s nephew, Ern, who becomes an unofficial member of the group, eats with the cook, not with the other children.
The stories were set in the fictitious village of Peterswood, based on Bourne End, near Marlow in Buckinghamshire. At the start of the series Larry was 13; Fatty, Daisy and Pip were 12, and Bets was eight. There were 15 adventures in total, published between 1943 and 1961, with titles like The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage (1943), The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat (1944) and The Mystery of the Vanished Prince (1951).
I remember being fascinated by their adventures and especially by Fatty’s exploits – the disguises and deductions, his ability to ‘throw his voice’ at crucial points in the plot! He makes the series special and, for me, more interesting than Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, whose adventures had the advantage of more exciting venues like Kirrin Island and Smuggler’s Top.
I would be very interested to know if anyone else is familiar with them. Please leave a comment if you remember Fatty and his friends.
You can read more of Sue’s reading journey here.
Remember them well. Even when I read them in the seventies the way they treated the police man Mr Goon made me uncomfortable. I was particularly find of the Adventurous Four books although I can now remember little about them.
Thanks for your comment. Enjoyable as Enid Blyton was in childhood, her reputation has suffered over the years, as is often said. When I read your comment, I thought I’d never heard of the Adventurous Four and had to look them up, but then, coincidentally, I found a list of books I’d read when I was 11 or 12, and sure enough, there was The Adventurous Four Again. I don’t remember it at all.
I am sure there were spies involved but I can remember no more. Enid Blyton is very much of her time and I don’t think I would recommend them to any of my grandchildren to read but I wouldn’t be the reader I am today without them – I owe her a lot
Agreed. And yes, spies and more. If you want to look them up for old times’ sake try this. http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/adventurous-four.php