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Why is it that Enid Blyton's The Land of Far-Beyond (1942) has received so little recognition? It is an unusual and eye-opening book that is based on a classic and should, in my opinion, be viewed as a children's classic in its own right. Perhaps the fact that it was written by Enid Blyton, whose writing has been misunderstood and undervalued by critics, is the problem. If it were the work of anot... More

Why is it that Enid Blyton's The Land of Far-Beyond (1942) has received so little recognition? It is an unusual and eye-opening book that is based on a classic and should, in my opinion, be viewed as a children's classic in its own right. Perhaps the fact that it was written by Enid Blyton, whose writing has been misunderstood and undervalued by critics, is the problem. If it were the work of another author, such as C.S. Lewis for example, more attention would surely have been paid to it. Indeed, Lewis' Narnia series (published between 1950 and 1956) is a Christian allegory rather like the The Land of Far-Beyond but it is far more well-known. Lewis' characters, like Blyton's, have to endure many trials and tribulations before gaining eternal life, and one of the children in the Narnia books (Susan), like several of Blyton's characters, falls by the wayside and does not enter paradise with the others. The Land of Far-Beyond is loosely modelled on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678). Both are allegories, or narratives with a moral meaning. They revolve around a journey that is spiritual as well as physical - a journey from sin to salvation.

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