Editing Enid Blyton (section)

==Early life and education==
Enid Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 in [[East Dulwich]], south London, United Kingdom, the eldest of three children, to Thomas Carey Blyton (1870–1920), a cutlery salesman (recorded in the 1911 census with the occupation of "Mantle Manufacturer dealer [in] women's suits, skirts, etc.") and his wife Theresa Mary (''née'' Harrison; 1874–1950). Enid's younger brothers, Hanly (1899–1983) and Carey (1902–1976), were born after the family had moved to a semi-detached house in [[Beckenham]], then a village in [[Kent]].{{R|EBSChrono}} A few months after her birth, Enid almost died from [[whooping cough]] but was nursed back to health by her father, whom she adored.{{Sfnp|Baverstock|1997|p=5|ps=none}} Thomas Blyton ignited Enid's interest in nature; in her autobiography she wrote that he "loved flowers and birds and wild animals, and knew more about them than anyone I had ever met".{{Sfnp|Blyton|1952|p=54|ps=none}} He also passed on his interest in gardening, art, music, literature, and theatre, and the pair often went on nature walks, much to the disapproval of Enid's mother, who showed little interest in her daughter's pursuits.{{R|EBSBio}} Enid was devastated when her father left the family shortly after her 13th birthday to live with another woman. Enid and her mother did not have a good relationship, and after she left home, Enid gave people the impression that her mother was dead. Enid did not attend either of her parents' funerals.{{Sfnp|Thompson|Keenan|2006|p=77|ps=none}}

From 1907 to 1915, Blyton attended St Christopher's School in Beckenham, where she enjoyed physical activities and became school tennis champion and [[lacrosse]] captain.{{Sfnp|Druce|1992|p=9|ps=none}} She was not keen on all the academic subjects but excelled in writing and, in 1911, entered [[Arthur Mee]]'s children's poetry competition. Mee offered to print her verses, encouraging her to produce more.{{R|EBSChrono}} Blyton's mother considered her efforts at writing to be a "waste of time and money", but she was encouraged to persevere by Mabel Attenborough, the aunt of school friend [[Mary Potter (painter)|Mary Potter]].{{R|EBSBio}}
[[File:Seckford Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1000225.jpg|thumb|right|[[Seckford Hall]] in [[Woodbridge, Suffolk|Woodbridge]], Suffolk, was an inspiration to Blyton with its haunted room, secret passageway, and sprawling gardens.]]

Blyton's father taught her to play the piano, which she mastered well enough for him to believe she might follow in his sister's footsteps and become a professional musician.{{Sfnp|Druce|1992|p=9|ps=none}} Blyton considered enrolling at the [[Guildhall School of Music]], but decided she was better suited to becoming a writer.{{R|ODNB}} After finishing school, in 1915, as head girl, she moved out of the family home to live with her friend Mary Attenborough, before going to stay with George and Emily Hunt at [[Seckford Hall]], near [[Woodbridge, Suffolk|Woodbridge]], in Suffolk. Seckford Hall, with its allegedly haunted room and secret passageway, provided inspiration for her later writing.{{R|EBSChrono}} At Woodbridge Congregational Church, Blyton met Ida Hunt, who taught at [[Ipswich High School (Suffolk)|Ipswich High School]] and suggested she train there as a teacher.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=G. |title=101 Amazing Facts about Enid Blyton – Volume 3 of Classic Authors |date=2014 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=9781783336944 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjS2BAAAQBAJ&q=Ipswich+high+school++UK+training++kindergarten+teachers&pg=PT14 |access-date=5 April 2020 |quote=...enrolled on a teacher training course in September 1916 at IHS}}</ref>{{Sfnp|Stoney|2011|loc=loc. 377|ps=none}} Blyton was introduced to the children at the nursery school and, recognising her natural affinity with them, enrolled in a [[National Froebel Union]] teacher training course at the school in September 1916.{{R|ODNB}}{{R|BhimaniEdu}} By this time, she had nearly terminated all contact with her family.{{R|EBSChrono}}

Blyton's manuscripts were rejected by publishers on many occasions, which only made her more determined to succeed, saying, "It is partly the struggle that helps you so much, that gives you determination, character, self-reliance&nbsp;–all things that help in any profession or trade, and most certainly in writing." In March 1916, her first poems were published in ''Nash's Magazine''.{{R|EBSWriter}} She completed her teacher training course in December 1918 and, the following month, obtained a teaching appointment at Bickley Park School, a small, independent establishment for boys in [[Bickley]], Kent. Two months later, Blyton received a teaching certificate with distinctions in zoology and principles of education; first class in botany, geography, practice and history of education, child hygiene, and classroom teaching; and second class in literature and elementary mathematics.{{R|EBSChrono}} In 1920, she moved to Southernhay, in Hook Road [[Surbiton]], as nursery governess to the four sons of architect Horace Thompson and his wife Gertrude,{{R|ODNB}} with whom Blyton spent four happy years. With the shortage of area schools, neighbouring children soon joined her charges, and a small school developed at the house.{{Sfnp|Stoney|2011|loc=loc. 552|ps=none}}