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Enid Mary Blyton (1897 -1968) was a British children's writer known as both Enid Blyton and Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the twentieth century. She is noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups. Her books have enjoyed popular success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 400 million copies. Blyton is the sixth most translated author worldwide: over 3400 translations of her books were available in 2007 (her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages) and almost equal to Shakespeare. One of her most widely known characters is Noddy, intended for early years readers. However, her main forte is the young readers' novels, where children ride out their own adventures with minimal adult help. In this genre, particularly popular series include the Famous Five (consisting of 21 novels, 1942–1963, based on four children and their dog), the Five Find-Outers and Dog, (15 novels, 1943–1961, where five children regularly outwit the local police) as well as the Secret Seven (15 novels, 1949–1963, a society of seven children who solve various mysteries). Her work involves children's adventure stories, and fantasy, sometimes involving magic.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 –1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all examples of the genre of literary nonsense. He is noted for his facility at word play, logic, and fantasy, and there are societies dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of his works and the investigation of his life in many parts of the world.
Alice
In the year 1856, a new Dean, Henry Liddell, arrived at Christ Church, Oxford, bringing with him his young family, all of whom would figure largely in Dodgson's life and, over the following years, greatly influence his writing career. Dodgson became close friends with Liddell's wife, Lorina, and their children, particularly the three sisters: Lorina, Edith and Alice Liddell. He was for many years widely assumed to have derived his own "Alice" from Alice Liddell. This was given some apparent substance by the fact the acrostic poem at the end of Through the Looking Glass spells out her name, and that there are many superficial references to her hidden in the text of both books. Dodgson himself, however, repeatedly denied in later life that his "little heroine" was based on any real child,and frequently dedicated his works to girls of his acquaintance, adding their names in acrostic poems at the beginning of the text.
The overwhelming commercial success of the first Alice book changed Dodgson's life in many ways. The fame of his alter ego "Lewis Carroll" soon spread around the world. He was inundated with fan mail and with sometimes unwanted attention. Indeed, according to one popular story that Dodgson denied decades later, Queen Victoria herself enjoyed Alice In Wonderland so much that she suggested he dedicate his next book to her, and was accordingly presented with his next work, a scholarly volume entitled An Elementary Treatise on Determinants.
Late in 1871, a sequel — Through the Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There were published.

New Alice In Wonderland movie starring Johnny Depp on release from Walt Disney Pictures
March 5th 2010 - watch the official trailer below:

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (1850 – 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. Stevenson was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Marcel Schwob, Vladimir Nabokov, and G. K. Chesterton, who said of him that he "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins (pick-a-stick).

Treasure Island (1883) His first major success, a tale of piracy, buried treasure, and adventure, has been filmed frequently. He originally entitled it The Sea Cook but an editor changed it.
A Child's Garden of Verses (1885), written for children but also popular with their parents. Includes such favourites as "My Shadow", "The Swing" and "The Lamplighter".

Elizabeth Gould
Another favourite writer of children's books, many published in the 1940/50s - most illustrated by Eileen Soper.
Her children's books are now readily sought-after and becoming harder to find.
In the Ginger Pop shop we have two in the display cabinet; Caravan Holiday and Holidays By Sea And River.
In our Eileen Soper's Illustrated Worlds attraction we have a reconstruction of the Horse Drawn Caravan featured on the cover of Caravan Holiday whereby visitors can sit inside - and children can dress-up.

If anyone has any further information on Elizabeth Gould, no matter how little, we would very much love to hear from you. Contact information is on the 'find us' page.