Fresh-Faced First Editions

‘First Term at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1946; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd

I can’t remember how old I was the first time I read Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers books, but I do recall how I loved them. My hopes were dashed too when one of my older sisters explained that this was a fictional school (and on another continent besides). 

Stumbling upon The Enid Blyton Society, I was delighted to find scans of covers of the first and second editions. I love the style of these 50s and 60s illustrations: they look just so fresh and innocent, with a colour palette typical of the era. They're perfect for depicting the adventures of these young English schoolgirls. 

‘The Second Form at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1947; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd‘Third Year at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1948; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd

they look just so fresh and innocent, with a colour palette typical of the [50s and 60s] era

They make me feel so nostalgic, not, ahem, because I am so old, but because I was so young when I first read them, possibly even before I started high school myself. I love the smell and feel of old books like these, they remind me of childhood summers when I ran around barefoot, of warm, scented breezes and the thrill of holidays yawning ahead of me, with so much time to devour books. 

‘Upper Fourth at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1949; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd‘In the Fifth at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1950; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd

The illustrator’s name was Stanley Lloyd, and he created the covers for all the first editions of the Malory Towers series, although he was also active in the field of pony book illustration – not a genre I was ever interested in when I was a child. He began his career illustrating for magazines, and wrote two books himself, but it is these particular illustrations for Enid Blyton for which he is most well-known. If you have a spare few hundred dollars you can even buy a first edition on Abebooks.

‘Last Term at Malory Towers’, by Enid Blyton, 1951; cover illustration by Stanley Lloyd