Famous Five Art Nostalgia – Summer Special (2/3): Camping
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Be it in a tent, a caravan or even a cave, on a mountain ⛰️, on the moor 🍃 or by a lake 🏞️, how better to enjoy nature than camping 🏕️? And once night falls 🌜, come gather around the campfire 🔥 before bundling up in a cosy sleeping bag 😴!
Simone Baudouin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1955
Click for more!
Simone Baudouin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1955
Simone Baudouin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1955
Simone Baudouin, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1957
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1957
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1957
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1957
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1957
Simone Baudouin, #10 Five On A Hike Together, 1958
Jeanne Hives, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1962
Jeanne Hives, #16 Five Go To Billycock Hill, 1962
Jean Sidobre, #21 Five Are Together Again, 1973
Jean Sidobre, #05 Five Go Off In A Caravan, 1976
Jean Sidobre, #05 Five Go Off In A Caravan, 1976
Jean Sidobre, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1977
Jean Sidobre, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1977
Jean Sidobre, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1977
Claude Pascal, #LC21 Les Cinq jouent serré, 1980
Claude Pascal, #LC21 Les Cinq jouent serré, 1980
Umberto Nonna, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1981
Umberto Nonna, #15 Five On A Secret Trail, 1981
Jeann Sidobre, #16 Five Go To Billycock Hill, 1983
Annie-Claude Martin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1984
Anne Bozellec, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1991
Anne Bozellec, #LC01 Les Cinq sont les plus forts, 1997
Philippe Munch and Jame’s Prunier, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 2000
Frédéric Rébéna, #LC21 Les Cinq jouent serré, 2014
Famous Five Art Nostalgia – Character Portrait: Julian [François]
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Character profile (adapted from Wikipedia):
Julian is the oldest of the Five, cousin to George and elder brother to Dick and Anne. He is tall, strong and intelligent as well as caring, responsible and kind. His cleverness and reliability are often noted by Aunt Fanny. He is the leader of the group and is very protective towards Anne and sometimes, to her frustration, towards George. Twelve years old at the start of the series, Julian is the most mature of the group but, although well-meaning, his manner can at times come over as overbearing, pompous or priggish.
In Claude Voilier’s continuation series ‘Les Cinq’, Julian can often be found correcting Dick for his colloquialisms or cheeky barbs. Despite being the voice of caution, he can rarely stop his headstrong cousin George from acting recklessly.
Eileen A. Soper, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1949
Click below for more portraits from every illustrator I could find!
(in chronological order)
Simone Baudouin, #06 Five On Kirrin Island Again, 1955
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1957
Aldo de Amicis, #12 Five Go Down To The Sea, 1959
Jeanne Hives, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1962
Jeanne Hives, #19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, 1963
Jeanne Hives, #20 Five Have A Mystery To Solve, 1966
Jeanne Hives, #15 Five On A Secret Trail, 1968
Jeanne Hives, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1969
Jean Sidobre, #LC07 Les Cinq contre le Masque Noir, 1974
Jean Sidobre, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1977
Jean Sidobre, #15 Five On A Secret Trail, 1977
Claude Pascal, #LC14 Les Cinq vendent la peau de l’ours, 1977
Jean Sidobre, #18 Five On Finniston Farm, 1979
Claude Pascal, #LC20 Les Cinq jouent serré, 1980
Umberto Nonna, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1981
Umberto Nonna, #18 Five On Finniston Farm, 1981
Buci, #LC21 Les Cinq contre les fantômes, 1981
Annie-Claude Martin, #LC24 Les Cinq contre le loup-garou, 1985
Yves Beaujard, #18 Five On Finniston Farm, 1988
Anne Bozellec, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1991
Paul Gillon, #07 Five Go Off To Camp, 1991
Philippe Munch and Jame’s Prunier, #16 Five Go To Billycock Hill, 1999
Frédéric Rébéna, #LC05 Les Cinq à la télévision, 2011
Auren, #09 Five Fall Into Adventure, 2019
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And as a bonus, here is probably my favourite scene featuring Julian when, in #03 Five Run Away Together, he masterfully faces off the Sticks who would have denied the Five their meal. Enjoy!
Eileen A. Soper, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1944
Simone Baudouin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1955
Jean Sidobre, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1976
Annie-Claude Martin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1984
Famous Five Art Nostalgia – Character Portrait: Anne [Annie]
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Character profile (adapted from Wikipedia):
Anne is the youngest in the group, and generally takes care of the domestic duties during the Five's various camping holidays. As the youngest (ten years old in the first book of the series), she is more likely than the others to be frightened, and does not really enjoy the adventures as much as her brothers and her cousin. She sometimes lets her tongue run away with her, but ultimately she is as brave and resourceful as the others. She likes doing the domestic things such as planning, organising and preparing meals, and keeping where they are staying clean and tidy, be it a cave, house, tent or caravan. In Smuggler's Top it is suggested she is claustrophobic, as she is frightened of enclosed spaces, which remind her of bad dreams. But the adventures invariably lead the Five into tunnels, down wells, and into dungeons and other enclosed spaces, demonstrating how brave she really is.
Anne keeps the same general characterisation in Claude Voilier’s continuation series ‘Les Cinq’, although she occasionally insists that her brothers and cousin take part in household-y chores.
Eileen A. Soper, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1944
Click below for more portraits from every illustrator I could find!
(in chronological order)
Simone Baudouin, #02 Five Go Adventuring Again, 1955
Simone Baudouin, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1955
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off to Camp, 1957
Paul Durand, #07 Five Go Off to Camp, 1957
Aldo de Amicis, #12 Five Go Down To The Sea, 1959
Jeanne Hives, #13 Five Go To Mystery Moor, 1961
Jeanne Hives, #19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, 1963
Jeanne Hives, #19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, 1963
Jeanne Hives, #20 Five Have A Mystery To Solve, 1966
Jeanne Hives, #08 Five Get Into Trouble, 1969
Jean Sidobre, #19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, 1975
Jean Sidobre, #10 Five On A Hike Together, 1976
Claude Pascal, #LC14 Les Cinq vendent la peau de l’ours, 1977
Claude Pascal, #LC14 Les Cinq vendent la peau de l’ours, 1977
Claude Pascal, #LC19 Les Cinq en croisière, 1980
Buci, #LC21 Les Cinq contre les fantômes, 1981
Umberto Nonna, #15 Five On A Secret Trail, 1981
Jean Sidobre, #14 Five Have Plenty Of Fun, 1983
Annie-Claude Martin, #LC22 Les Cinq en Amazonie, 1983
Yves Beaujard, #21 Five Are Together Again, 1988
Anne Bozellec, #03 Five Run Away Together, 1991
Paul Gillon, #16 Five Go To Billycock Hill, 1994
Philippe Munch and Jame’s Prunier, #16 Five Go To Billycock Hill, 1999
Philippe Munch and Jame’s Prunier, #20 Five Have A Mystery To Solve, 2001
Frédéric Rébéna, #05 Five Go Off In A Caravan, 2010
Auren, #LC03 Le marquis appelle les Cinq / Les Cinq mènent l’enquête, 2022
Famous Five Art Nostalgia – Character Portraits: Aunt Fanny [Tante Cécile]
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Character profile (adapted from Wikipedia):
Aunt Fanny is George's mother, and aunt to Julian, Dick and Anne. She is married to Uncle Quentin, and is, through most of Blyton's Famous Five novels, the principal maternal figure in the lives of the children. She is a very kind and easy-going woman, and shows considerable patience with her husband over his short temper and absent-mindedness.
In Claude Voilier’s continuation series ‘Les Cinq’, Aunt Fanny remains ever supportive of her husband, daughter, niece and nephews, but also takes on some hobbies such as antiquing, leading the children to some of their adventures.
Eileen A. Soper, #01 Five On A Treasure Island, 1942
Click below for more portraits from every illustrator I could find!
(in chronological order)
Eileen A. Soper, #14 Five Have Plenty Of Fun, 1955
Simone Baudouin, #02 Five Go Adventuring Again, 1955
Simone Baudouin, #06 Five On Kirrin Island Again, 1956
Jeanne Hives, #14 Five Have Plenty Of Fun, 1961
Jean Sidobre, #11 Five Have A Wonderful Time Together, 1974
Jean Sidobre, #19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks, 1975
Jean Sidobre, #09 Five Fall Into Adventure, 1975
Claude Pascal, #LC20 Les Cinq jouent serré, 1980
Umberto Nonna, #06 Five On Kirrin Island Again, 1981
When I started this series of posts a few months ago, I only had the vaguest idea about the various editions of the Famous Five books that existed over the years in France. The most well-known editions are those from the “Bibliothèque Rose” collection from publisher Hachette – ask anyone on the street (born in the last millennium) and it is probably what they have in mind. But through my searches on the second-hand market – both physical and online – I discovered several additional publications, and even the “Bibliothèque Rose” collection itself saw several variations over the years, giving us a plethora of cover art and inside illustrations to enjoy. Read on to get an overview of the publishing history of the Famous Five books in France (and French-speaking Switzerland)!
The French publisher, Hachette, was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as a bookshop and publishing company, first specialising in schoolbooks. In the 1850s, Louis Hachette opened several bookshops in railway stations and started to diversify his offer with serialised novels, travel books and magazines. In 1853, he signed a partnership with the Countess of Ségur (still famous to this day in the world of children’s literature) and subsequently founded the “Bibliothèque Rose” collection (lit. “pink library”) three years later, focused on books aimed to children aged 6-12. 150 years later, Hachette is now the first publishing company in France, and the “Bibliothèque Rose” collection still exists, although it has known many changes over the years.
The first Famous Five book was first published in France in 1955, under the simple title “Le Club des Cinq.” The French publisher did not follow the original English publishing order, and instead chose to publish in priority the books which, I assume, were deemed to garner most traction at the time. The first six books published in France have their original editions in a collection named “Ségur-Fleuriot” (thus named as an homage to two female writers whom Louis Hachette had been working with). These books were pocket-sized, with a hard cover, black-and-white illustrations, and a full-colour dust jacket.
“Ségur-Fleuriot” collection – From left to right:
#02 Five Go Adventuring Again / Le Club des Cinq (1955, ill. Simone Baudouin);
#03 Five Run Away Together / Le Club des Cinq contre-attaque (1955, ill. S. Baudouin);
#04 Five Go to Smuggler’s Top / Le Club des Cinq en vacances (1956, ill. S. Baudouin);
#06 Five Go On Kirrin Island Again / Le Club des Cinq joue et gagne (1956, ill. S. Baudouin);
#07 Five Go Off to Camp / Le Club des Cinq va camper (1957, ill. Paul Durand);
#08 Five Get into Trouble / Le Club des Cinq en péril (1957, ill. S. Baudouin).
(Note: The numbers starting with # correspond to the original English publishing order.)
From what I can gather – even if I find it odd because it doesn’t sound commercially sound – the next books benefitted from a double first edition: one in a collection called “Nouvelle Collection Ségur” with a soft cover, and the other in the above-mentioned “Bibliothèque Rose” with a hard cover. As far as I know, both these editions featured the same inside illustrations, although I have never seen a copy of a “Nouvelle Collection Ségur” book, so I cannot be absolutely sure of this. The red-coloured artwork featuring on the “Nouvelle Collection Ségur” covers were re-used (in black) on the inside title pages of the “Bibliothèque Rose” editions.
“Nouvelle Collection Ségur” – From left to right (in addition to the first six books which joined this collection at some point):
#10 Five on a Hike Together / Le Club des Cinq en randonnée (1958, ill. S. Baudouin);
#12 Five Go Down to the Sea / Le Club des Cinq au bord de la mer (1959, ill. Aldo de Amicis);
#09 Five Fall into Adventure / Le Club des Cinq et les gitans (1960, ill. Jeanne Hives);
#11 Five Have a Wonderful Time / Le Club des Cinq en roulotte (1960, ill. J. Hives);
#13 Five Go to Mystery Moor / La locomotive du Club des Cinq (1961, ill. J. Hives);
#14 Five Have Plenty of Fun / Enlèvement au Club des Cinq (1961, ill. J. Hives);
#16 Five Go to Billycock Hill / Le Club des Cinq et les papillons (1962, ill. J. Hives);
#01 Five on a Treasure Island / Le Club des Cinq et le trésor de l’île (1962, ill. J. Hives);
#18 Five on Finniston Farm / Le Club des Cinq et le coffre aux merveilles (1962, ill. J. Hives);
#19 Five Go To Demon’s Rocks / La boussole du Club des Cinq (1963, ill. J. Hives);
#17 Five Get into a Fix / Le Club des Cinq aux sports d’hiver (1964, ill. J. Hives);
#05 Five Go Off in a Caravan / Le Club des Cinq et les saltimbanques (1965, ill. J. Hives) [not featured];
#20 Five Have a Mystery to Solve / Le Club des Cinq et le vieux puits (1966, ill. J. Hives) [not featured];
#21 Five Are Together Again / Le Club des Cinq en embuscade (1967, ill. J. Hives).
If you count carefully, the 6 books from the “Ségur-Fleuriot” edition added to the 14 books from “Nouvelle Collection Ségur” make for a total of 20… out of 21 from the original English series! Where is the last book?? Well, the missing book (namely #15 Five on a Secret Trail / Le Club des Cinq se distingue) benefitted from a higher-end edition called “Idéal-Bibliothèque,” featuring a larger-size format, hard cover, better-quality paper, a dust jacket, and more numerous illustrations. A second book joined this upgraded edition a year later.
“Idéal-Bibliothèque” collection:
#15 Five on a Secret Trail / Le Club des Cinq se distingue (1961, ill. J. Hives);
#08 Five Get into Trouble / Le Club des Cinq en péril (1962, ill. J. Hives).
The “Bibliothèque Rose” editions, featuring hard covers, 4 to 6 full-page colour art, and several black and white illustrations, are the most well-known to this day.
“Bibliothèque Rose” original editions from 1958 to 1967, featuring artwork from the four original illustrators
(Note: Covers sorted according to the original English publication order, as it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact French publishing order due to the many re-editions.)
The series became wildly popular and benefitted from several re-editions, some of them with new cover art produced by the then-current illustrator, Jeanne Hives.
Some “Bibliothèque Rose” re-editions from 1965-1969, featuring new cover art by Jeanne Hives
The 1970s saw a renewal of the “Bibliothèque Rose” collection with the arrival of illustrator Jean Sidobre who, over the next 15 years, produced numerous covers for all 21 books and, in time, produced the full set of inside illustrations. In these newer editions though, the number of full-page colour illustrations was reduced to four due to economic constraints.
Various cover art by Jean Sidobre from 1971 to 1985
(Note: The third cover for '#03 Five Run Away Together / Le Club des Cinq contre-attaque' is not from Sidobre but from another illustrator, called Annie-Claude Martin.)
Back in the early 1970s, thanks to the series’ popularity, some of the books were published in a larger size format featuring several more colour illustrations and some black and white ones. These editions were respectively called “Galaxie” and “Vermeille” and were both illustrated by Jean Sidobre. Some of the art is the same as in “Bibliothèque Rose” above, and some is new. You will notice that the two books from the “Galaxie” edition are also part of the “Vermeille” edition; my guess is that they started these upgraded editions as “Galaxie”, but for some reason decided that “Vermeille” was better, and so they fitted the first two books into the developing new collection – as far as I can figure out, the contents of these two books are the same under “Galaxie” and “Vermeille”, the only difference being the cover art.
“Galaxie” collection:
#02 Five Go Adventuring Again / Le Club des Cinq (1971, ill. J. Sidobre);
#21 Five Are Together Again / Le Club des Cinq en embuscade (1972, ill. J. Sidobre).
“Vermeille” collection:
#18 Five on Finniston Farm / Le Club des Cinq et le coffre aux merveilles (1973, ill. J. Sidobre);
#21 Five Are Together Again / Le Club des Cinq en embuscade (1974, ill. J. Sidobre);
#02 Five Go Adventuring Again / Le Club des Cinq (1974, ill. J. Sidobre);
#01 Five on a Treasure Island / Le Club des Cinq et le trésor de l’île (1975, ill. J. Sidobre);
#17 Five Get into a Fix / Le Club des Cinq aux sports d’hiver (1975, ill. J. Sidobre);
#09 Five Fall into Adventure / Le Club des Cinq et les gitans (1975, ill. J. Sidobre);
#04 Five Go to Smuggler’s Top / Le Club des Cinq en vacances (1975, ill. J. Sidobre).
The 1980s saw a drop in “Bibliothèque Rose” sales as kids were moving from books to TV and video games. To boost sales, the publisher made several changes to the look and format of the books, and the original text was sometimes abridged.
In 1988, as sales continued to fall, and to save money, Hachette changed its “Bibliothèque Rose” hardbacks to a softcover pocket format. The inside colour illustrations disappeared and the black and white ones decreased in number (re-using former art from Sidobre). On the upside, these editions saw a series of new cover art from a different illustrator, Yves Beaujard, whose art style on these covers is very similar to Sidobre’s, which leads me to think that this was a requirement from the publisher who wanted a certain consistency between Beaujard’s cover art and Sidobre’s inside illustrations.
From 1988 to 1992, the whole series benefitted from new cover art by Yves Beaujard (with the exception of ‘Le Club des Cinq au bord de la mer’ and ‘Le Club des Cinq et les papillons’, which re-used former art from Jean Sidobre)
(Note: As far as I know, ‘#03 Five Run Away Together / Le Club des Cinq contre-attaque’ was never included in this edition.)
In the 1990s, a series of new cover art was produced by Paul Gillon, with the same general layout as the previous edition. The inside black and white illustrations are either former art by Sidobre or new art by Anne Bozellec.
Cover art by Paul Gillon from 1991-98
In 2000, Hachette celebrated the new millennium with a new style for its “Bibliothèque Rose” collection, featuring a hybrid format between hardback and softback adorned with a glossy aesthetic. The inside illustrations are the same as the previous editions, by Sidobre or Bozellec.
Cover art by Philippe Munch and Jame’s Prunier from 1999-2004
(Note: As far as I know, ‘#10 Five Go on a Hike Together / Le Club des Cinq en randonnée’, ‘#11 Five Have a Wonderful Time / Le Club des Cinq en roulotte’, ‘#12 Five Go Down to the Sea / Le Club des Cinq au bord de la mer’, ‘#17 Five Get into a Fix / Le Club des Cinq aux sports d’hiver’ and ‘#21 Five Are Together Again / Le Club des Cinq en embuscade’ were never included in this edition.)
In the mid-2000s, the morality police made their way through the books, resulting in watered-down translations and some title changes. Frédéric Rébéna did a series of new cover art. The inside illustrations all but disappeared, only featuring as small vignettes at the opening of each chapter.
Cover art by Frédéric Rébéna from 2005-11
In the 2020s, the series changed from “Bibliothèque Rose” to “Bibliothèque Verte” collection with new cover art by Auren.
Similar to “Bibliothèque Rose,” “Bibliothèque Verte” (lit. “green library”) was another historically popular collection from publisher Hachette, initially aimed toward a teenage male readership, while “Bibliothèque Rose” was leaning toward a younger and female audience. Nowadays, the line between what is deemed appropriate reading material for boys or girls has thankfully blurred and both collections are now thematically oriented, “Bibliothèque Rose” focusing on humour/emotion and “Bibliothèque Verte” on action/adventure. Hence the marketing decision that caused the Famous Five series to lose its historical pink palette.
Cover art by Auren from 2019-21
And that’s a wrap for the main French editions! But there’s still a few more to go through.
First is France Loisirs, a book sales club to which you can register and you will receive a certain number of books each month. I do not know if the whole series was ever fully published by France Loisirs; the visuals that you will find below are all that I could find. The books are hardbacks with a dust jacket and without any inside illustrations. From what I could gather, they were published from 1975 to the early 1980s. The illustrator is called J.P. Morvan and, if you look closely, often took inspiration from earlier “Bibliothèque Rose” illustrations by Jean Sidobre.
“France Loisirs” edition from 1975-82 with cover art by J.P. Morvan
In the 1990s, France Loisirs published another batch, re-using cover art by Paul Gillon from the contemporary “Bibliothèque Rose” edition. I’m a bit fuzzy on the exact dates, but these were published from the early to mid-1990s to around 2000. I do not know anything about the books themselves, but I can assume that they contain only plain text without any inside illustrations.
“France Loisirs” edition from the 1990s featuring art by Paul Gillon
Last on our exploration of “Famous Five” French publishing is actually not French at all! But I’m including it in this post because it uses the same French translations as Hachette.
This particular edition is from a publisher named “Edito Service SA, Genève”, which you may have guessed is from Switzerland. I don’t have a lot of information about its history and only learned about its existence because some of these books made it through the border into France, and from there onto the online second-hand market. The books each contain 5 illustrations by Umberto Nonna (3 black and white and 2 full-colour), and they come both in softback and hardback formats. They were published in 1981-82.
“Edito Service” edition from 1981-82 (softbacks)
“Edito Service” edition from 1981-82 (some of the hardbacks)
(Note: Despite what the above pictures suggest, all the hardback covers have the same dark green background.)
Thank you for your attention, and see you soon!
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We’ve now truly come to the end of this deep-dive into Famous Five French publishing.
🧣🔭⚗️ Five on Kirrin Island Again – Le Club des Cinq joue et gagne
Original publication date: 1947 (UK), 1956 (France)
(Original cover art by Simone Baudouin, 1956)
Plot summary (adapted from Wikipedia):
Julian, Dick, Anne and George had planned to visit Kirrin Island for their school holidays, but George's father, Uncle Quentin, is using the island to conduct some secretive scientific experiments. George is frustrated with her father’s idea, but agrees to lend him the island until his experiments are complete.
(George is aggravated that she and her cousins won’t have full rein of the island for the holidays 😢)
(Uncle Quentin busy at work…)
When the Five and Aunt Fanny visit Uncle Quentin on the island the next day, the children are, at first, surprised that their uncle seems nowhere to be found, before getting frustrated when it turns out that the scientist has found a secret entrance to the castle’s dungeons, which the children could never find on their prior explorations of the island. As Aunt Fanny is worried about her husband living alone on the island, they devise a signal system by which Uncle Quentin can let them know everything is okay, using a mirror in the morning and a flashlight at night.
(The Kirrin siblings (and Aunt Fanny, not featured) join George and her fisher-boy friend James [Loïc], who have been preparing the boat for a trip to the island)
(The Five (only three of whom are featured here) and Aunt Fanny go to visit Uncle Quentin on the island)
(Uncle Quentin’s visitors take their leave)
Making the most of their holidays on the mainland, the children go on walks and explore an abandoned quarry. They also befriend an artistic boy named Martin [Martin], who lives nearby with his guardian, Mr Curton [M. Corton].
(Timmy is an artist! [I love how George is berating Timmy for making a mess, all with a proud smile on her face 😊])
(Timmy enthusiastically helps the kids dig for prehistoric artefacts – so enthusiastically indeed that Julian’s cheek gets grazed by a flying arrowhead; meanwhile, George is doing pull-ups!) [Note: Friendly reminder that this illustrator depicts Julian with dark hair. 🙃]
(Anne sensibly frees her hands before climbing down the quarry that the Five are intent on exploring)
Uncle Quentin sends an unusual signal that morning and, when the Five and Aunt Fanny make another trip to the island, he says that he suspects the presence of intruders come to spy on his work. After much coaxing, George agrees to leave Timmy with her father on the island as a precaution.
(Uncle Quentin shows his visitors a cigarette stub that he found on the island, indicating the presence of intruders, while Aunt Fanny desperately tries to feed him a sandwich as Quentin, on his own, regularly forgets to take his meals)
(George tries to watch for her father’s signals and, mostly, news of Timmy)
The Five visit Martin at his home, discovering that he got his ankle injured while exploring the quarry with his surrogate father.
(Julian and Anne admire Martin’s paintings)
(Anne helps Martin with his injured ankle while George, who’s been mistrustful of Martin from the start, glowers in the back)
Uncle Quentin sends his “all is fine” signal in the morning, but George gets worried because Timmy wasn’t with him in the tower, despite her father’s promise to bring him. Although her cousins dismiss her worries on account of Uncle Quentin’s frequent forgetfulness, George sneaks out at night and rows to the island. She sees the two intruders coming up from underground and, after they have walked away, she explores the passage and finds her father, who explains that he was caught unawares by the two intruders that morning.
(Uncle Quentin, being held hostage by the intruders)
For safekeeping, he gives her the notebook that the intruders have been looking for. George rescues Timmy from a nearby cave where the spies had locked him up, but she doesn’t have time to escape before the villains arrive. So she sends Timmy away with the notebook, with instructions to hide… But instead of hiding as instructed, Timmy follows the tunnel, which happens to lead to the quarry that the children have been exploring on the mainland. From there, Timmy joins Kirrin Cottage and brings the notebook to Julian.
Julian, Dick and Anne follow Timmy to the quarry, where they find Martin suspiciously carrying spades and torches. Martin spills the beans about Mr Curton, explaining that his guardian is part of a gang trying to steal Quentin’s secret formula for alternative energy, and vows to help.
(Martin tells the Five about Mr Curton’s shady activities)
The boys dig up the passage while Anne goes back to Kirring Cottage to call for help. On her way back, she sees Mr Curton slipping on the path to the quarry and injuring his leg.
(Mr Curton loses balances and falls into the quarry while attempting to join his accomplices on the island)
(Julian, Dick and Martin clear the way through the under-sea tunnel leading from the quarry to the island)
The boys join George and her father underneath the island while fishermen come to the island following Anne’s call for help, causing the intruders to leave earlier than planned after setting an explosion meant to blow up the island, using Quentin’s tower. Quentin is released from the tunnel just in time to stop the explosion.
Mr Curton and the two spies are arrested by the police. After the rescue, Martin is admitted to an Art School and is then free from his unscrupulous guardian.
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Bonus:
(This picture of George and Anne, just because I like it!)
(And our renowned artist Timothy-Dagobert deep in thought contemplating some of his oeuvre 🎨) [Note: This is the splash panel that illustrates the title page.]
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Cover art through the ages:
(Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list; sometimes the dates are difficult to pinpoint; and I have purposefully not included editions that re-used similar cover art, with differences only in layout and font style.)
(Original cover by Simone Baudouin, Hachette, 1956 – the Five observe the island through a spyglass from the mainland. Please note how Dick is tickling Timmy’s nose with a twig while George is enjoying a close-up of her beloved dog's snout!)
(Subsequent cover by Jeanne Hives, Hachette, 1966 – from a princess in the previous book (link), Anne has now been upgraded to queen. Nice going, Anne!)
(I want to give this illustrator some flak for drawing George with longish hair, but these were the 70s when men used to wear their hair long, I guess... J.P. Morvan, France Loisirs, 1975)
(A view of the island with its newly-built tower by Jean Sidobre, Hachette, 1980)
(The visual of the island with its tower is understandably a popular theme with the illustrators for this book. This one is from Umberto Nonna, Edito Service, 1981)
(Yep, you guessed it, another view of the island with its tower, courtesy of Yves Beaujard, Hachette, 1988)
(A view from INSIDE the tower for a change! Paul Gillon, Hachette, 1996)
(Munch and Prunier give us this extra-glowy tower set in the middle of the castle ruins - I love this visual! Hachette, 1999)
(Running dramatically into the sunset... Frédéric Rébéna, Hachette, 2010)
(Concluding our series with another view of the island and the tower – although this one is extra-glowy: George is going to damage her eyes looking at it with a spyglass like this! Auren, Hachette, 2019)
🍂🥾🎒 Five on a Hike Together – Le Club des Cinq en randonnée
Original publication date: 1951 (UK), 1958 (France)
(Original cover art by Simone Baudouin, 1958)
This book is the last one illustrated by Simone Baudouin whom I quite like as an illustrator, despite her unfortunate habit of switching Dick and Julian’s hair colour. On a personal note, my opinion of this book changed drastically over time: it started as one of my least favourites in the series – as I recall, I used to be a bit spooked by the, well, spooky atmosphere of the tolling bells in the stormy night, the gloomy feel of the abandoned house, and the somewhat scary illustration of Maggie and Dirty Dick that you will see below; but upon further re-readings and as I grew up, this book actually turned into one of my top favourites – I love how the action is tightly packed over five days, with each event leading smoothly to the next, and how the Five get to show their ingenuity figuring out the mystery, outsmarting and showing better sense than the adults. And I just generally enjoy a good "treasure hunt" trope with clues to decipher!
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Plot summary (adapted from Wikipedia):
Siblings Julian and Dick Kirrin have been given a four-day weekend from their boarding school, coinciding with the mid-term break of their sister Anne and cousin George, so they arrange to go hiking together.
(George and Anne join the boys for their planned hike)
Julian plans to spend their first night at a bed-and-breakfast called Blue Pond Farm [la ferme de l’Etang-Bleu]. On the way, George's dog, Timmy, injures his leg when being pulled out of a rabbit burrow. Consequently, Julian and George go to the residence of Mr Gaston [M. Gaston], a local expert on animals, while Dick and Anne head for Blue Pond Farm. Mr Gaston treats Timmy's injured leg and Mrs Gaston then insists Julian and George stay for a meal, after which they walk to Blue Pond Farm.
(Anne tries to retrieve Timmy who got a bit too enthusiastic chasing a rabbit down its burrow)
Dick and Anne have taken a wrong turn and are confused by ringing bells. They head towards a light, where they encounter an elderly deaf woman. Assuming they have reached Blue Pond Farm, Dick and Anne go in but the woman, Mrs Taggart [Mme Tagard], tells them to leave because her son would not accept them. She eventually agrees to let Anne sleep in a loft, whilst Dick makes do with sleeping in a barn. During the night, Dick is awakened by a voice calling his name. He is given a cryptic message, "Two Trees. Gloomy Water. Saucy Jane. And Maggie knows too". He is also given a piece of paper.
(Dick receives a bewildering message at night!)
The next morning, Mrs Taggart’s son is back and chases Dick away. He and Anne get directions to Blue Pond Farm.
(Dick and Anne clean up in a stream after their horrible night at the Taggarts’)
Reunited with Julian and George for breakfast, Dick and Anne tell the story of the bells and the message. Julian says the bells signalled an escape from a local prison, and the escaped prisoner meant to meet “Dirty Dick” Taggart [Mick-qui-pique*] at the barn.
(The Five study the strange piece of paper Dick was handed the previous night) [Note: Anne is so fashionable in this book, I love her outfit!)
The children report the incident to a village policeman, but he accuses them of lying and informs them the escapee has been caught. Julian decides they should hike to a ruined house called Two-Trees [les Deux-Chênes], located at Gloomy Water (les Eaux-Dormantes], a marshy lake higher on the moors.
(The Five get hold of additional camping gear for their unexpected detour to Two-Trees)
(The children enjoy some enchanting sights on their hiking trip!)
That night, Julian deduces that Dick's message is instructions to find stolen goods from a robbery by a prisoner called Nailer [Hortillon] and that the loot is hidden in a boat called the Saucy Jane [la Belle-Berthe].
The following day, Maggie and Dirty Dick come to Gloomy Water to search for the loot and are annoyed to see the children there.
(Unwanted visitors 😡)
The Five paddle into the lake on a raft but do not find anything. They conclude that “Tall Stone” [Haute-Pierre], one of the clues written on the paper given to Dick, is a landmark that will help guide them to the location of the Saucy Jane.
(Julian spots the “Tall Stone” landmark)
The next morning, they locate the Saucy Jane at the bottom of the lake, at which point Maggie and Dirty Dick appear in a boat but row back to shore after Julian says the children will be returning to school tomorrow. Julian dives to the bottom of the lake and finds a bag of loot, but cannot remove it. The Five return on the raft near midnight, and Julian and Dick dive to the boat to haul up the loot, which is jewellery stolen from the Queen of Fallonia.
(A nightly dive to retrieve the treasure)
(Unwrapping the treasure!)
After recovering the jewels, the Five evade Maggie and Dick and walk to the village of Reebles [Poncret] to call Mr Gaston, who then drives them to a police station, where the children hand over the jewels and tell their story. Maggie and Dirty Dick, stuck in the marshland, are arrested. The police promise to drive the children back to their schools by a 3pm deadline.
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*A note on Dirty Dick’s French alias: “Mick-qui-pique” sounds really weird and lame as a nickname, even for a bandit’s name from the 1950s. Honestly, even Mick is a weird shortening for Michel (our boy Dick), I have never heard it used anywhere else. I can only assume that the original translator wanted a shorter form similar to the English version. It does sound more energetic than the full form Michel.
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Cover art through the ages:
(Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list; sometimes the dates are difficult to pinpoint; and I have purposefully not included editions that re-used similar cover art, with differences only in layout and font style.)
(Fishing for treasure! Original cover art by Simone Baudouin, Hachette, 1958)
(An autumnal ambiance brought to us by, I assume, Jeanne Hives, Hachette, 1969)
(On the raft with Jean Sidobre, Hachette, 1981)
(On the raft with Umberto Nonna, Edito Service, 1981 – the kids look like they’re rowing on a turbulent river rather than a placid lake here. This looks like fun, wooh!)
(On the raft with Yves Beaujard, Hachette, 1988)
(On the raft with Paul Gillon, France Loisirs, 1995 – under a moonlit sky for a change!)
(On the raft with Frédéric Rébéna, Hachette, 2010 – the life jackets are back! 😂😂)
(Everyone is soaked and miserable – except for Dick who’s apparently enjoying himself and smiling like a loon… 🤪 Auren, Hachette, 2019)
