The Early Years at Malory Towers: 3 Books in 1

by Enid Blyton

The new bumper volume of classic children’s stories from the world’s best-loved children’s author, Enid Blyton. Malory Towers is about everything school should stand for – friendships, lessons, sports, plays and especially mischief.

Darrell Rivers is off to a new boarding school, Malory Towers in Cornwall. But will she fit in there? And what adventures will she have? These first three books chronicle Darrell and her friends' first years at the school- three years of mischief, mayhem and midnight feasts!

Enid Blyton is arguably the most famous children’s author of all time, thanks to series such as The Wishing-Chair, The Faraway Tree­, The Mysteries, The Famous Five and The Secret Seven. Her school series – including St Clare’s and Malory Towers are the perfect books for girls who are experiencing their own adventures at school.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Novels, Classics, Young Adult, School, Middle Grade

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

See also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)

Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.

Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.

Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.

According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.

See also her pen name Mary Pollock

Reviews

[shruti · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was younger, my parents thought the biggest threat of punishment they could make was "I'll send you off to boarding school!" Thanks to the Malory Towers (and St. Clare's) series, this threat had absolutely no weight. I thought boarding school sounded "smashing" what with all the midnight feasts, lacrosse matches and dancing in the common room to the wireless.

Malory Towers was the first school series I read and I enjoyed it. I felt like all the characters were fully developed and had motivations for why they were the way they were, as opposed to St. Clare's, which sometimes felt a little cartoonish in comparison. I mean, somehow you like Gwendoline Mary Lacey despite her everlasting prattling and airs, especially during the last book of the series. She is a well-done antagonist.

Fun fact: Did you know that the protaganists name--Darrell Rivers--was a play on Blyton's own husband's name, Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters?

One last thing for EB fans: http://community.livejournal.com/enid...

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! It is great to have three stories in one book. My mummy said she loved this book when she was my age! I wish I could go to school at Mallory Towers.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about stepping straight back into my childhood! As an 8/9 year old girl, I absolutely adored everything about the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. I was obsessed with wanting to go to school there. I loved the idea of living in school with my best friends, I could only imagine all the mischief we would get up to! I also desperately loved the Matron, Mrs Potts and the other teachers. You can only imagine my disappointment as a young girl to discover this was fictional!

Rereading these has been such a treat. I was surprised by how many details from the stories I could remember. They were a very quick and easy read and reminded me dearly of why I was such an avid reader at a very young age. Before J.K. Rowling came along, Enid Blyton was my favourite author. I was obsessed with her books but Malory Towers was the first series I truly loved and I think I'll always have a place in my heart for it.

[Rahma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg! Memories of the past :O ... This is the first series I have ever read in my life. I started reading this when I was nine or ten I think. Along with Famous Five LOL. I was obsessed with these books and I used to carry then EVERYWHERE I went. I just feel in love with the setting Blyton painted throughout, it was just beautiful. Made me feel like I actually wanted to go to a boarding school. A complete contrast to the books I'm actually reading now aha

[Rupine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most kids dread boarding school right? And I'm guessing even here in Sri Lanka not many of us would want to leave the comfort of our own friends and family , Malory Towers showed me another world when it came to Boarding school, Darrel the main protagonist learns not just in the classroom but in the field, the pool and on stage..high school was a whole other experience for them..it was never just all work, there were dances, matches, stage dramas etc..Gwendoline would be my favourite "bimbo" charachter, but Darrell is the one I admired thought the entire series, she appears flawless but as the reader gets more engrossed in the series they realise that Darrell too has her own personal demons to overcome, a very strong temper and that she's human just like everyone else which makes her even more amazing to the reader..:-)

[H. Shar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Malory Towers series was my FAVOURITE book when I was young. I remember wishing I was there and that my parents would ship me off to Boarding School 'cos it seemed like so much fun. The bonds between teh girls and the adventures. There was never a dull moment and to top it off, it was beautifully written. This book brings me nothing but warm memories and I will love it FOREVER. =)

[Febri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreamed about studying in a school like Malory Towers...hmm...

[Hayley Stanbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought, even though I have read it many times, that it was very, very good.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se tady dojimam (vcetne slzy v oku) nad knihami z dob meho dospivani a nemuzu jinak nez hodnotit jako bozi!
Ach jo, to je tak krasne pohlazeni po dusi. Dejte mi dalsi dily, prosim!

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh... sebenarnya tidak terlalu suka tokoh utama dan bbrp tokoh lain... entah mengapa..
agak sebel sama tokoh utama, tapi memang si penulis mau memberi pelajaran moral kepada pembaca. si tokoh utama ini punya kelemahan dan sifat buruk yang seiring berjalannya waktu ia berusaha merubah dan memperbaiki kelemahan itu. ini nilai plus nya, tapi alhasil entah mengapa aku tetep aja agak gimana gitu... tokoh utama bukan tokoh favorit... tapi kayaknya aku nggak punya tokoh fav... bully nya itu loo.. kerasa banget, dulu aku di asrama nggak begitu amat ya... masa ngatain temennya coward... meskipun akhirnya berteman dan nggak musuhan, tapi kata2nya beberapa ada yg menohok..
pranks nya memang ya keliatan seru ya.... dan selalu memakan korban, hahaha... jahil banget...
memang seru kehidupan di asrama, jadi kangen deh....
apalagi kalo asrama dan sekolahnya kayak malory towers, aku bayangin kayak di kastil ato bangunan tua di eropa begitu, ato kayak di harry potter.. wuuuuaaaaahhhhhh.. trus deket laut pula... wuaaaaahhh *ngayaldoang*

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent series by an author who wrote over 700 books for kids of different ages. She wrote a couple of all-girls boarding school series, and this one is my favorite. If you're looking for books to give to younger kids, she wrote some great ones to choose from -- fantasy books, realistic fiction, and books that teach you about nature.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think these were the stories that set me on a lifetime of enjoyment of reading boarding school stories. I don't specifically recall reading them as a child, but I was an avid fan of Enid Blyton, so it seems likely. Regardless, they don't disappoint - in spite of being excessively twee!

[A.L. Stumo · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a reader between 11 and 14, this would be a solid 4. But for me, it was a 3 due to the heavy-handed narration.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to go to boarding school!
I want to play lacrosse!
I want to make stereotypical fun of every non-British character!

Good fun. <3

[Gayatri · Rating 5 out of 5]

the malory towers (and the st clare's series) changed my whole perspective of boarding school... when I was young, these books were my best friends.. In my primary classes, the only author I used to read was Enid Blyton... She was the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of reading.... And I am not ashamed to say I still re read them occasionallyThe Early Years at Malory Towers: 3 Books in 1...Enid Blyton

[Anushree.B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! Where to begin? This edition of the book caught my eye at my school book fair and before you know it, my parents were paying for it at the till! Enid Blyton shaped was my childhood. I still have all her books sitting on my shelf and looking at them feels like returning to such a lovely time in my life. I would definitely recommend this book to any young child looking to either get into reading or look for more things to read.
(also, my parents used to threaten to send me to boarding school when I was younger, as a way of keeping me in check, but after this book, that threat meant nothing)

[Indika de Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Malory Towers series when I was 11 and not in the correct order.

Several decades later, I am doing the right thing by reading these books in the correct order.

The following book contains the first 3 Malory Towers books. They are highly enjoyable, thought-provoking, and very useful to someone like me who gets to educate young people.

I really enjoy this particular version for the following 2 reasons.

1) This version contains most probably the original text. There is no censoring or toning down certain elements in this book.
2) This is the version I read when I was 11.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys heartwarming, cosy stories that take place in England.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 9-year-old self would have loved this if she'd got hold of it. For some reason I never discovered the series, though we did have a couple of Enid Blyton books and, presumably, I could have found copies in the library which we visited nearly every Saturday. Thanks to Lucy Mangan's "Bookworm" (and a lucky charity shop find) I've been tempted into filling a childhood gap, and I must confess, enjoying it immensely. Second childhood maybe..

[Swarnima Mukherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me wish I was a part of a boarding school. The perfect book for children who are beginning to read or those who love reading (which can be said of almost all Enid Blyton books).

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always good to read

[Saki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about Darell and her friends at a boarding school. The boarding school is called Malory Towers, where all girls become an intelligent young lady when they graduate.

[Melisa Chong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up with these books! Made me want to live in boarding school (although that was naive thinking!). But just shows how well the stories were told. Who else grew up with this?

[Saffron Mavros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something akin to the The Naughtiest Girl, yet a beautiful series on its own, Malory Towers series was another amazing set of books that got us through many a summer vacations.

[Anu S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only Enid Blyton series i liked.

[Terēze Teibe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book when I was little!!✨
Really talented writer. There was always a specific atmosphere in her works.

[Zelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unconditional love for the series.

[Nicki James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book, a little to similar to the St. Clares series

[Raghav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Zainab · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS series as a kid, big part of my childhood

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a classic, timeless