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Mister Meddle
Mister Meddle's Muddle
"Mister Meddle's Muddles" by Enid Blyton. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
112 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2010
13 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,131 books6,334 followersSee 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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March 27, 2019I don’t know how to rate this because I read it as a bedtime story for my sisters, but personally I didn’t like it. It was obviously fun for my sisters, though, so I’d recommend for that reason, but I would never pick this up for myself.
August 27, 2024
Very cute selection of stories!
November 8, 2023
Tales of Mr Meddle who cant help but turn everything he gets involved in into a disaster. I read one of these books in early childhood but not this one. It's a great book, full of comedy and lots of fun for younger readers. Still humourous as an adult reader too! I know Enid Blyton isnt as highly regarded these days but she really was a fabulous writer and was probably my favourite childhood author.
March 10, 2023
My children love to read and be read these stories. A great book.
February 20, 2019
read this as a kid and I remember finding it hilarious. It wasn't my favourite Enid Blyton book but I rememeber reading it more than once.
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July 18, 2023Best
October 10, 2024
3.5
he was annoying as hell but his karma was funny
he was annoying as hell but his karma was funny
December 17, 2024
One of the very first books I read by myself as a child and nothing beats the nostalgia of that!
December 16, 2020
Really nicely written by Enid blyton
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2014
An Enid Blyton flop
4 May 2012
This is probably one of worst Enid Blyton book that I have read to date. This book is made up of a collection of short stories that originally appeared in something called Sunny Stories and tells of the misadventures of a man name Mr Meddle. It is difficult to tell what Mr Meddle actually is because he has pointy ears and seems to act and behave like a child but doesn't seem to be a child. Oh, I should also point out that he is as thick as a brick.
As I read through this book I began to get the impression that it was slapstick humour designed for children. Now, it as been a long time since I was a kid, so I am unsure as to whether I liked slapstick back then, but I can tell you that I do not like it now. However the problem is that much of the humour that I like now probably won't appeal to children. However, with the popularity of slapstick humour it actually makes me think that many adults are little more than children when it comes to comedy. Maybe that is why painful television shows like Funniest Home Videos are so popular. Me, I do not like that show one bit since to me there is something I find offensive about laughing at other people's misfortunes, particularly when the person is a real person.
Now, the impression I get is that Mr Meddle is a good person at heart, but just seems to be too stupid to actually do anything right. However the other impression that I get is that it is not always a good thing to do good for people, and that at times it is best just to leave things as they are. To me that is also quite offensive, and in a way unbiblical. I will point to the parable of the Good Samaritan in that regard.
It is clear that Meddle seems to go out to try and do good, and the bad things that he does are either through stupidity or through conflicting orders. The umbrella story is a clear story of his stupidity, while the story where he spills a tray of tea when trying to find his handkerchief is an example of the conflicting orders. He is asked to act as a waiter, but when he gets a sneeze, he is told to sneeze into the handkerchief, which he tries to find. Any of us who know how difficult it is to hold back a sneeze can understand Meddle's dilemma.
Other than Meddle's stupidity, which is not a crime, just an unfortunate character flaw, there is actually nothing bad about the guy, which is why I really don't appreciate the adult characters giving him such a hard time. In fact even when he does good, he is punished because the adults are only focussing on the bad. Unfortunately this is only too true in this world of ours, even among those who consider themselves enlightened. I remember an incident at a church that I was at where we have a very helpful and godly individual who, like all of us, suffers from a character flaw. However the church was more interested in punishing this person for their character flaw than for the good that they were doing. In fact, this particular church will reward a charismatic bully because of their charisma than a godly individual who lacks charisma.
I do not find this book enlightening or uplifting, however I still have another Mr Meddle book under my bed which I might read sometime. I guess I would like to see a bit more of this, if only to attack and to trash the ideas that are coming out of it. Personally, Mr Meddle did not need to be punished anywhere near as much as he did, and I do hope that this book, along with a number of other books, are relegated to the 'outdated and politically incorrect' pile that many of Blyton's other books have been consigned. As a final note, on political incorrectness, take note of the final story where Mr Meddle falls into a coal chute, is covered in coal dust, emerges as a black man, and is then treated as a dirty, monstrous, beggar. Now that, in my honest opinion, is incredibly politically incorrect.
4 May 2012
This is probably one of worst Enid Blyton book that I have read to date. This book is made up of a collection of short stories that originally appeared in something called Sunny Stories and tells of the misadventures of a man name Mr Meddle. It is difficult to tell what Mr Meddle actually is because he has pointy ears and seems to act and behave like a child but doesn't seem to be a child. Oh, I should also point out that he is as thick as a brick.
As I read through this book I began to get the impression that it was slapstick humour designed for children. Now, it as been a long time since I was a kid, so I am unsure as to whether I liked slapstick back then, but I can tell you that I do not like it now. However the problem is that much of the humour that I like now probably won't appeal to children. However, with the popularity of slapstick humour it actually makes me think that many adults are little more than children when it comes to comedy. Maybe that is why painful television shows like Funniest Home Videos are so popular. Me, I do not like that show one bit since to me there is something I find offensive about laughing at other people's misfortunes, particularly when the person is a real person.
Now, the impression I get is that Mr Meddle is a good person at heart, but just seems to be too stupid to actually do anything right. However the other impression that I get is that it is not always a good thing to do good for people, and that at times it is best just to leave things as they are. To me that is also quite offensive, and in a way unbiblical. I will point to the parable of the Good Samaritan in that regard.
It is clear that Meddle seems to go out to try and do good, and the bad things that he does are either through stupidity or through conflicting orders. The umbrella story is a clear story of his stupidity, while the story where he spills a tray of tea when trying to find his handkerchief is an example of the conflicting orders. He is asked to act as a waiter, but when he gets a sneeze, he is told to sneeze into the handkerchief, which he tries to find. Any of us who know how difficult it is to hold back a sneeze can understand Meddle's dilemma.
Other than Meddle's stupidity, which is not a crime, just an unfortunate character flaw, there is actually nothing bad about the guy, which is why I really don't appreciate the adult characters giving him such a hard time. In fact even when he does good, he is punished because the adults are only focussing on the bad. Unfortunately this is only too true in this world of ours, even among those who consider themselves enlightened. I remember an incident at a church that I was at where we have a very helpful and godly individual who, like all of us, suffers from a character flaw. However the church was more interested in punishing this person for their character flaw than for the good that they were doing. In fact, this particular church will reward a charismatic bully because of their charisma than a godly individual who lacks charisma.
I do not find this book enlightening or uplifting, however I still have another Mr Meddle book under my bed which I might read sometime. I guess I would like to see a bit more of this, if only to attack and to trash the ideas that are coming out of it. Personally, Mr Meddle did not need to be punished anywhere near as much as he did, and I do hope that this book, along with a number of other books, are relegated to the 'outdated and politically incorrect' pile that many of Blyton's other books have been consigned. As a final note, on political incorrectness, take note of the final story where Mr Meddle falls into a coal chute, is covered in coal dust, emerges as a black man, and is then treated as a dirty, monstrous, beggar. Now that, in my honest opinion, is incredibly politically incorrect.
March 8, 2017
Actually quite hilarious. Enjoyable for all ages.
March 29, 2008
it's really funny but ican't tell you why because i read it a long time ago
October 17, 2010
An alll time feel good read.
January 16, 2012
How can I forget Mr. Muddle and Mr Twiddle along with Mr. Pinkwhistle? Ah the glory days of carefree childhood!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews