The Secret Seven short story titled "The Secret of the Old Mill". It followed an earlier short story, "At Seaside Cottage", which introduced the leading characters Peter and Janet prior to the formation of the society. There followed a further five short stories and fifteen full-length books. The Secret Seven appeared in seven short stories by Blyton, including a mini-novella explaining how the society was formed. These were left uncollected until 1997, when all but "At Seaside Cottage" were published in a single volume by Hodder Children's Books under the title of "Secret Seven: Short Story Collection". Scamper – Janet and Peter's pet
Enid Blyton came from "stupid people who don't know what they're talking about because they've never read any of my books". Although Blyton's works have been banned from more public libraries than those of any other author, there is no evidence that the popularity of her books ever suffered, and by 1990 she was still described as being very widely read. Although some criticised her in the 1950s for the volume of work she produced, Blyton astutely capitalised on being considered a more "savoury" English alternative to what was seen by contemporaries as an invasion by American culture in the form of