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The Adventure series is a series of eight children’s novels by prolific British children’s author Enid Blyton. All the novels, starting from the first one, “The Island of Adventure” published in 1944, feature the same characters Lucy-Ann, Dinah, Jack, and Phillip. The novels are within the children’s fiction genre.
Order of Adventure Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Island of Adventure | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Castle of Adventure | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Valley of Adventure | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Sea of Adventure | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Mountain of Adventure | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Ship of Adventure | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | The Circus of Adventure | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | The River of Adventure | 1955 | Description / Buy |
Together with Jack’s parrot, the talkative and intelligent Kiki, the children have some of the most extraordinary adventures set in stunning locations ranging from Wales, Scotland, England, the Middle East, Greece, Austria, and even Tauri-Hessia. The children seem to have a knack for running into desperate situations, whether it is encounters with thieves, mad scientists, traitors, Nazis, gunrunners, or forgers, they always have something up their sleeve.
The first novel in the series, “The Island of Adventure” opens to Jack Trent and Lucy-Ann running into some luck. They will be spending the holidays in a castle – Mannering’s home called Craggy Tops. For the most part, they have some of the best time bird watching and crawling along the cliffs, hills, and beaches near the castle.
All is well and good until they find a secret passage between the beach and the cellar, which lead to secret tunnels and abandoned copper mines. Things turn bizarre when the children discover some flashing lights in the towers that convince them that there is some sinister plot being hatched on the Isle of Gloom. What follows is an amazing story of the scramble to get off the island, that shows why Blyton is considered one of Britain’s best ever children’s authors.
ADVENTURE AWARDS
The first novel in the series, “Island of Adventure” won the Boys’ Club of America Award.
ADVENTURE BOOKS INTO TV/MOVIES
The novels of the Adventure series have been adapted for TV and into movies over the years. The first novel in the series, “Island of Adventure” was adapted into a TV series by the same name in 1996 by Cloud Nine Entertainment. It was also adapted into an hour-long movie by EbeFilms Lt in 1982. Circus of Adventure was also made into a movie in 1995, while the “Castle of Adventure” was adapted into a TV series that ran in 1990 on TVS Television. Most of the adaptations were set in modern times, though this did not adversely affect the plots.
BEST ADVENTURE BOOKS
Island of Adventure: The first novel in the Island of Adventure series, “Island of Adventure” is the only award-winning novel in the series, and is generally regarded as one of the best novels ever written by Enid Blyton. The novel is one of the best at highlighting Blyton’s proficiency in establishing character types whose motivations are easy to relate to if you are a kid or an adult from the 1940s needing to relive your childhood.
The Valley of Adventure: The third novel in the Adventure series of novels is an unbelievable story that shows the exemplary skills of a children’s writer at the height of her writing powers. Lucy-Ann, Dinah, Phillip and of course Kiki are ready for an exciting night plane trip on Bill’s plane. They are to go stay with Bill Cunningham, a secret agent that is great friends with Bill. But in a strange twist, they find themselves on the wrong plane that takes them into another amazing adventure. Flown into a strange war-torn, abandoned, yet beautiful valley, they run into lost treasure, a map, a daring rescue mission, a hostage, a secret cave, and some escaped convicts.
Castle of Adventure: Another amazing novel in the Adventure series is “Castle of Adventure”, the second novel. The children show extraordinary boldness and courage when they decide to investigate the strange lights of a distant tower and the secrets of an old castle that the locals seem to be terrified of. What they discover is an ominous plot in the castle’s gloomy underground passages and secret rooms.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
Many Adventure series fans also love the “Chloe and Levesque” series of novels by Norah McClintock. These novels are detective thrillers featuring Chloe a high school girl who often runs into legal trouble, which brings her to the attention of Levesque her mother’s police officer boyfriend.
Adventure enthusiasts also loved the “Screech Owls” series of novels by Roy MacGregor. The novels follow the travails of the Screech Owls Hockey team that has to face up to a variety of internal and external problems ranging from theft, sabotage, and undisciplined players, as they try to win glory in hockey tournaments.
(We accidently wrote an article on the same topic twice so here is additional details)
The “Adventure” series written by prolific author Enid Blyton is from the genres of mystery and children’s literature.
The main characters are four kids: Lucy-Ann (who is roughly age eleven at the start of book one), Jack (who is roughly age fourteen at the start of book one), Dinah (who is roughly age twelve at the start of book one), and Phillip (who is roughly age thirteen at the start of book one); Kiki (which is Jack’s parrot) is in all of the books. Phillip (like his deceased father) is able to make friends with any land animal he finds, and has quite a few small animals hidden in his clothes at all times. Dinah is the second youngest of the group, and like Phillip, she has a tuft of hair that stands up on her head, thus earning her, Phillip, and Mrs. Mannering the nickname of “Tufty” from Jack (although mostly Phillip is called this).
Beyond that, however, they do not share Phillip’s love for animals, or his ability to attract them; she is tough, level headed, grown up for her age, and smart. Lucy-Ann is the youngest of the four and the timid one of the bunch. Dinah and Phillip are brother and sister.
Jack is about Phillip’s age, likes birds and likes to observe them; so much so, his biggest dream is to become an ornithologist. Jack and Lucy-Ann are brother and sister, are both orphans, and later adopted by Mrs. Mannering (who is Phillip and Dinah’s mother). Also appearing in the books is Mrs. Alison Mannering, a widow and she too has a tuft of hair on the top of her head. Jack and Lucy-Ann both call her Aunt Allie.
Books in the series were published over an eleven year span. The series began in the year 1944 (with the release of book one, “The Island of Adventure”) and concluded in 1955 (with the release of novel eight, “The Castle of Adventure”). That being said, Enid was able to write each of the books in under a week’s time. Original editions of books in the series are now expensive collectors’ items. Originally, the series was going to only have six books, but Enid wrote two more books because of great demand from her fans.
ADVENTURE BOOKS INTO MOVIES
All of the books in the “Adventure” series have been adapted for television. The “Adventure” series was adapted into a television series in the nineties, adapting all eight of the books. It was set in modern times, which affected some of the stories at times; like Jack’s pocket computer that played a key role in some of the adventures (especially in “The Ship of Adventure”). In 1990, a different production of “The Castle of Adventure” was adapted for ITV.
BEST ADVENTURE BOOKS
For those readers looking to get into the “Adventure” series by Enid Blyton, this section will help with that. It will go over the novels “The Island of Adventure”, “The Castle of Adventure”, and “The Valley of Adventure”.
The Island of Adventure: This is the first novel in the “Adventure” series and was released in the year 1944. Holiday in Cornwall is everything that Phillip, Lucy-Ann, Jack, and Dinah hoped for, right up until they start to see that something evil is going on the Isle of Gloom.
They are not at all ready for the dangerous adventure that is waiting for them in the secret tunnels located under the sea and the abandoned copper mines.
The Castle of Adventure: This is the second novel in the “Adventure” series and was released in the year 1946. What is the old castle on the hill’s big secret, and why is every local in the town scared of it?
Flashing lights are seen in tower far away, and Jack, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Phillip decide that they should investigate things. They find out about an evil plot that is hidden inside the underground passages and hidden rooms.
The Valley of Adventure: This is the third novel in the “Adventure” series and was released in the year 1947. A night flight aboard Bill’s plane, there is not a lot that could bring more excitement than that.
The foursome quickly find themselves going straight toward a really amazing adventure. Where has Bill gone to? Who are the pair of strange pilots? What is the secret treasure that has been hidden in the lonely valley where the plane dropped the children off?
What Is The Next Book in The Adventure Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Adventure Series. The newest book is The River of Adventure and was released on January, 1st 1955.