Talk:Five Go Off in a Caravan

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Ned?! It's Nobby!

I am surprised, even a little shocked, to see the circus boy in this novel named as Ned. His name is actually Nobby, and I am wondering where on earth "Ned" comes from.

I am wondering whether the political correctness "police" who often edit Enid Blyton's books to remove anything they consider offensive found something wrong with "Nobby", and decided to change it to "Ned". I do not know, and I do not follow in detail the often excessive changes made to Enid Blyton's books. I am scratching my head wondering what on earth can be wrong with the name "Nobby". I don't know if it's a real name or more like a nickname, but I note that a bank executive in Australia is at least nicknamed "Nobby", and that doesn't seem to be politically incorrect.

But even if this is the reason "Nobby" was changed to "Ned", I would think surely an encyclopaedic article on the novel should refer to the original text and name things or people accordingly; and the changes made in later editions could then be mentioned separately if deemed important enough. But to speak of "Ned" without comment seems to me to imply that Enid Blyton chose and wrote this name, and I think giving that impression is improper.

I am considering whether to unilaterally change all the "Ned"s to "Nobby"s, but thought I'd post about this here first and ask for opinions on the matter. If after some weeks or months (whenever I happen to come back to this page) no-one has objected, I may consider making these changes. If anyone thinks I shouldn't, please explain here why not.

Thanks. M.J.E. (talk) 17:13, 14 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

You are correct, I think. In a 2010 article it is noted that the publisher planned to make some changes to future publications, including changing Nobby to Ned.

Summerfield had heard Hodder would change the name of the circus boy, Nobby, in Five Go Off in a Caravan, to Ned, which struck him "as very strange". "How can you change Nobby to Ned and yet leave Dick and Fanny? It doesn't make sense.^[1]

These changes were reverted a few years later^[2], so I don't think it makes sense to have the Wikipedia article refer to a version of the book that only existed for a few years.

I would be in favour of correcting "Ned" to "Nobby" - perhaps with a small mention of the change and subsequent change-back?

Andrewferguson (talk) 19:00, 27 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

References

[1] ttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jul/23/enid-blyton-famous-five-makeover

[2] ttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/16/famous-five-go-back-to-original-language-after-update-flops

[1]

[2]