Enid Blyton every year in addition to many other novels, short stories and books. In 1946 Blyton launched the first in the Malory Towers series of six books based around the schoolgirl Darrell Rivers, "First Term at Malory Towers", which became extremely popular, particularly with girls. The first book in Blyton's Barney Mysteries series, "The Rockingdown Mystery", was published in 1949, as was the first of her fifteen Secret Seven novels. The Secret Seven Society consists of Peter, his sister Janet, and their friends Colin, George, Jack, Pam and Barbara, who meet regularly in a shed in the garden to discuss peculiar
Enid Blyton were soon joined by the children of neighbours, and a small school developed at the house. In 1920 Blyton relocated to Chessington, and began writing in her spare time. The following year she won the "Saturday Westminster Review" writing competition with her essay "On the Popular Fallacy that to the Pure All Things are Pure". Publications such as "The Londoner", "Home Weekly" and "The Bystander" began to show an interest in her short stories and poems. Blyton's first book, "Child Whispers", a 24-page collection of poems, was published in 1922. It was illustrated by a schoolfriend, Phyllis Chase, who collaborated