The Secret Seven

For the 1934 Secret Seven stories by Frank Richards, see The Secret Seven (Frank Richards). For the DC Comics group, see Secret Seven (comics).
The Secret Seven

The first edition of the first book, titled The Secret Seven
The Secret Seven
Secret Seven Adventure
Well Done Secret Seven
Secret Seven on the Trail
Go Ahead Secret Seven
Good Work Secret Seven
Secret Seven Win Through
Three Cheers Secret Seven
Secret Seven Mystery
Puzzle for the Secret Seven
Secret Seven Fireworks
Good Old Secret Seven
Shock for the Secret Seven
Look Out Secret Seven
Fun for the Secret Seven
Author Enid Blyton
Language English
Genre Children's literature, mystery
Publisher Brockhampton Press
Published in English 1949–1963
No. of books 15

The Secret Seven or "Secret Seven Society" are a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton. They appear in one of several juvenile detective series Blyton wrote.

The Secret Seven consists of Peter (the society's leader), Janet (Peter's sister), Jack, Barbara, George, Pam and Colin. Jack's sister Susie and her best friend Binkie often make an appearance in the books; they hate the Secret Seven and delight in playing tricks designed to humiliate them, although much of this is fuelled by their almost obsessive desire to belong to the society.

Unlike most other Blyton series, this one takes place during the school term time because the characters go to day schools.

Origins

The names Secret Seven and Famous Five had already been used by author Charles Hamilton, under the pen-name Frank Richards, in his long-running series of stories featuring Billy Bunter and Greyfriars School. The Secret Seven was the name of a secret society that featured in a series of eleven stories published in The Magnet magazine in 1934; the term "Famous Five" dates from 1910 and is applied to a group of the leading characters.

It is not clear whether Enid Blyton was influenced by Hamilton's work. Blyton's elder daughter, Gillian Baverstock, describes a conversation between the author and her publisher that led to the inception of Blyton's Secret Seven. The publisher's own children, the eldest of whom was named Peter, had formed a secret society with their friends. They met in an old shed, used secret passwords and had badges inscribed with “SS”.

After corresponding with the real-life Peter, in 1948 Blyton published her first Secret Seven story, which describes how her fictional society came to be formed. This was a 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.

Short stories

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.

  1. At Seaside Cottage (1947) – first published as a complete short story book
  2. Secret of the Old Mill (1948) – first published in "Secret of the Old Mill"
  3. The Humbug Adventure (1954) – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.1
  4. Adventure on the Way Home (1955) – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.2
  5. An Afternoon with the Secret Seven (1956) – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.3
  6. Where Are the Secret Seven? (1956) – first published in the strip book of the same name
  7. Hurry, Secret Seven, Hurry! (1957) – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.4

Full-length stories

  1. The Secret Seven (1949)
  2. Secret Seven Adventure (1950)
  3. Well Done Secret Seven (1951)
  4. Secret Seven on the Trail (1952)
  5. Go Ahead Secret Seven (1953)
  6. Good Work Secret Seven (1954)
  7. Secret Seven Win Through (1955)
  8. Three Cheers Secret Seven (1956)
  9. Secret Seven Mystery (1957)
  10. Puzzle for the Secret Seven (1958)
  11. Secret Seven Fireworks (1959)
  12. Good Old Secret Seven (1960)
  13. Shock for the Secret Seven (1961)
  14. Look Out Secret Seven (1962)
  15. Fun for the Secret Seven (1963)

1. The Secret Seven (1949)

In this adventure, Jack finds some men taking a prisoner to the empty old house in the isolated country lane near their house. The seven decide to look into the mystery and make inquiries. They find the prisoner that is being held in the house is a kidnapped horse.

2. Secret Seven Adventure (1950)

In this adventure, a priceless pearl gets stolen and what's more the Seven witnessed the thief making his escape! This sets the Seven to indulge in the mystery, and Colin and Peter finally manage to get to the culprit with the help of the other five.

3. Well Done Secret Seven (1951)

The secret seven have a new meeting place – a tree house! But somebody else is using it too.

The gang is furious, until they learn that the intruder is in big need of help.

Can the secret seven come to the rescue? They did, and managed to stop a gang of robbers from executing a well-planned theft.

4. Secret Seven on the Trail (1952)

Something mysterious is going on at Tigger's Barn, and the Secret Seven are intrigued. Peter thinks it's all a gossip, but Jack isn't sure when he hears a strange conversation. Looks like the Secret Seven are on the trail of another exciting adventure...

5. Go Ahead Secret Seven (1953)

When members of the Secret Seven practise their shadowing skills, George is caught and banned from the Society by his father. Meanwhile dogs are disappearing, and this seems to be linked with a coalhole in a derelict alley. When the other boys go down there and get captured by the dog thieves, they end up being glad that George has not entirely abandoned his own investigations in the case.

6. Good Work Secret Seven (1954)

The Secret Seven are enjoying a meeting in the trademark shed of Peter and Janet’s back garden a few days before bonfire night. Nibbling away at staple Enid Blyton favourites such as chocolate biscuits, apples, ginger buns, doughnuts, peppermint rock, hazelnuts and nutcrackers, the seven children are enjoying a feast in their well-lit shed, powered by an oil stove, with flower pots and boxes for the children to sit on. Suddenly the annoying Susie knocks on the door of the hideout and correctly shouts the password ‘Guy Fawkes’ much to the dismay of the Seven. Cue a quarrel which leaves poor Jack (Susie’s brother) red in the face after it emerges that utterances in his sleep have led to Susie finding out the password.

However, the excitement and Susie’s slyness are not to end there. Late to the meeting, Colin bursts in with an exciting tale about how he had overheard men quarrelling in the bushes on his journey down. In all the kerfuffle he dropped his torch on the pavement near the bushes and bravely went to pick it up only to discover the men had gone when he flashed it on. But to the joy of all the Seven Colin had found a notebook which contained notes about stolen items from a famous cricketer, and a place where the alleged thieves would meet up to discuss their plan.

Thinking they are in on another adventure, the Seven arrange to travel to the old workmen’s shed at the back of Lane’s garage where the gang are due to meet. Following their arrival, the Seven noticing a light on, creep up to the shed and hear a number of terrifying bangs. Bewildered, Peter peeps through the letterbox and to his astonishment sees Susie and her friends banging paper bags. The angry Seven demand the laughing Susie and her friends come out of the shed, but they only agree after Susie threatens to tell their whole school if the Seven pulled her hair.

Facing the impossible Susie

In despair, Peter and Janet go to see their mother’s old nanny Mrs Penton the next day. After an enjoyable afternoon of cream buns and chocolate éclairs, their father picks them up, taking them to station where he has to collect some parcels. It is here that the adventure of this book starts. Bored and tired, Peter and Janet are about to doze off when two men creep into either side of their dad’s car and drive off. Sensing the fact his dad’s car has been stolen, Peter tells a frightened Janet to crouch down so the two men can not see the two children. Eventually, the two men stop in a part of town that the children do not know, before the driver tells his companion to get in touch with Q8061 about meeting at Sid’s place at five o’clock in the evening.

In the stolen car

Scared but excited, Peter and Janet manage to find a phone box where their shocked dad picks them up. However, their dad does not want to phone the police about the two thieves, meaning it is left to the children to catch the pair.

The next day, Peter and Janet tell the rest of the Seven about the drama the previous day, thrilled, they all agree to search for clues. First, the Seven try Peter and Janet’s dads’ car where, to her delight, Janet finds a spectacle case with a note for ‘Briggs. Renning 2150.’ Jack also finds a button which had fallen off a mac. In light of this, the children search for the address in a telephone directory and find that Mr H.E.J. Briggs lives at Little Hill, Raynes Road, Renning. To their disappointment, this person turns out to be a friend of Peter and Janet’s dad.

Soon things get worse for the Seven when they decide to build a guy for bonfire night in Colin’s summerhouse. Sadly, Scamper comes bursting in to see the children, only to knock a lit candle on to the straw and hay needed to build the guy. Consequently, a fire destroys the guy and burns some of Colin’s summerhouse.

The distraught children are now mourning over their lack of progress in the adventure and the burning of their guy. But a bright idea from Jack involves Peter dressing up as a guy outside Sid’s cafe to be a look-out for the two men who stole his dad’s car turns the adventure for the better. There you have it, Peter ends up dressing as a guy, a wonderful one too with his old pair of patched trousers, great big boots, scarf, big old hat and a wig made of black wool. Down he goes with George, Colin and Jack to the cafe in a wheelbarrow and it is here where the mystery will start. Will Peter and the rest of the boys spot the two men? Will the Secret Seven find out what Q8061 is? Does the button belong to the coats of one of the men? You can only find out by reading this book!

7. Secret Seven Win Through (1955)

The meeting place of the Secret Seven is destroyed by their gardener. The seven are angry but they find a good cave for their meetings.. But somebody else is using it too. It's Susie, Jack's annoying sister who helps them catch the intruder. But finally they win through.

8. Three Cheers Secret Seven (1956)

When Susie's aeroplane lands in a locked up house, Peter and Jack go to fetch it back, and discover a gas fire burning in the house. Who could be there? The Secret Seven want to find out. Will the secret seven report back to the owner of the house or solve the mystery by themselves?What about the gardener?

9. Secret Seven Mystery (1957)

The Secret Seven find that a girl, called Elizabeth Mary Welhemina Sonning, has disappeared after she was blamed for stealing some money from her teacher's desk. They met a stable boy Tom in Warner stable's he told that he met Elizabeth in Gorton. Will the Secret Seven find her, and solve the mystery, or will the police do it first ?

10. Puzzle for the Secret Seven (1958)

The Secret Seven witnesses a house burn down, and after that a precious violin stolen. Are the two incidents related?

11. Secret Seven Fireworks (1959)

The seven are shocked as they find out that Jack's annoying sister forms a rival club called the Tiresome Three. But surely Susie wouldn't really steal their guy's clothes and firework money?

12. Good Old Secret Seven (1960)

Someone is hiding in the ruins of Torling Castle. The Secret Seven would be able to find out who, if only Susie and Binkie didn't keep interfering. The boys found out that a gang steals valuable, unframed paintings and also stopped them.

13. Shock for the Secret Seven (1961)

In this story, dogs are disappearing in their village, but before the secret seven can get down to it a fight brews up between Jack and Peter. Jack resigns from the secret seven and they become the secret six, but when Scamper, Peter and Janet's golden spaniel becomes the latest victim the six decide they have to do something. Its Jack who finally finds the clue to end the mystery.

14. Look Out Secret Seven (1962)

Now that the Secret Seven have Scamper safely back with them, they're beginning to appreciate what a clever and valuable dog he is – he's almost one of the gang! First he discovers an unwanted visitor – then he protects the Seven as they spy on a thief late at night in Bramley woods!

15. Fun for the Secret Seven (1963)

The Secret Seven help Tolly, an old man who lives on the hill, when his horse, Brownie, breaks his legs and his master, a farmer, threatens to shoot him.

The Secret Seven Society

Supporting characters

French series

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Evelyne Lallemand wrote an additional series of 12 books about the Secret Seven, nine of which were translated into English by Anthea Bell and published in paperback by Knight Books. The English translations were published between 1983 and 1986. The full French series is as follows:

  1. Les Sept à la chasse au lion 1976 (English title: The Seven and the Lion Hunt; English no.: 1)
  2. Les Sept font du cinéma 1977 (English title: The Seven on Screen; English no.: 6)
  3. Les Sept et le magicien 1977 (English title: The Seven and the Magician; English no.: 3)
  4. Les Sept sont dans de beaux draps 1978 (English title: The Seven Go Haunting; English no.: 2)
  5. Les Sept et les bulldozers 1978 (English title: The Seven to the Rescue; English no.: 5)
  6. Les Sept et la déesse d'or 1979 (English title: The Seven Strike Gold; English no.: 4)
  7. Les Sept et les soucoupes volantes 1979 (English title: The Seven and the UFOs; English no.: 7)
  8. Les Sept à 200 à l'heure 1980 (English title: The Seven and the Racing Driver; English no.: 9)
  9. Les Sept ne croient pas au père Noël 1981 (English title: The Seven and Father Christmas; English no.: 8)
  10. Les Sept saluent Lucky Star 1982 (The Seven greet Lucky Star)
  11. Les Sept et la boule de cristal 1984 ( The Seven and the crystal ball)

Audio drama

An English Audio drama adaptation with some episodes was published.

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