The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage is the first in the series of children's novels the Five Find-Outers by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1943 and continues to be frequently reissued.[1]
The novel centres on the mystery of who could have set fire to Mr Hick’s cottage. The five children, Larry and Daisy Daykin, Pip and Bets Hilton, and newcomer Frederick Algernon Trotteville (later nicknamed Fatty from his initials), meet at the scene of the fire and end up solving the mystery together.
Their suspects include an old tramp, a dismissed servant, a hostile colleague, and the cook. They find certain clues: Broken-down nettles in a ditch, a footprint in a grassy field, and Hawker Tempest planes (which Mr. Hick mentions "flew over" the other day).
The children realise that as Mr Hick claims to have been in the London train when the cottage was burnt, but by his own report he saw the planes which flew over the village at the same time, he is contradicting himself. Fatty finds out that the cottage and the burnt papers Mr Hick describes as 'most important' were insured. The children deduce that Mr Hick burnt his own cottage for the insurance money. The book also introduces Inspector Jenks, who turns out to help the children and becomes a good friend of theirs.
Charactersedit
Mrs. Minns - The housekeeper of Mr. Hick, who suffers from rheumatism
Clear-Orf (Mr. Goon) - The policeman of Peterswood
Mr. Horace Peeks - A former employee of Mr. Hicks, sacked for wearing Mr Hick's clothes while Mr Hick was out and a suspect of burning down the cottage
Mr. Smellie - A learned scholar and former friend of Mr. Hick's. Also a suspect. Is obsessed with papers and documents like Mr Hick
Miss Miggle - A kindly and gentle employee of Mr. Smellie
Hannah - The sister of Mrs. Minns who smells the fire before Mrs Minns even notices it
Lily - An employee of Mr. Hick's and also reveals to be secretly dating Horace Peeks, as her father will not allow her to even walk with him
Inspector Jenks - A good friend of the Five Find-Outers and an inspector of police, always making Mr Goon nervous even though he is an extremely cheerful, kind and gentle man
Mrs. Hilton - Pip and Bets' strict mother
Mr.Hick
The Five-Find Outers
Referencesedit
^The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage at Fantastic Fiction
External linksedit
The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage at Faded Page (Canada)
Enid Blyton Society page
Summary and review of The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage
mystery, burnt, cottage, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, au. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage is the first in the series of children s novels the Five Find Outers by Enid Blyton It was first published in 1943 and continues to be frequently reissued 1 The Mystery of the Burnt CottageFirst edition coverAuthorEnid BlytonIllustratorJoseph AbbeySeriesThe Five Find OutersPublished1943PublisherMethuenMedia typePrint Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editThe novel centres on the mystery of who could have set fire to Mr Hick s cottage The five children Larry and Daisy Daykin Pip and Bets Hilton and newcomer Frederick Algernon Trotteville later nicknamed Fatty from his initials meet at the scene of the fire and end up solving the mystery together Their suspects include an old tramp a dismissed servant a hostile colleague and the cook They find certain clues Broken down nettles in a ditch a footprint in a grassy field and Hawker Tempest planes which Mr Hick mentions flew over the other day The children realise that as Mr Hick claims to have been in the London train when the cottage was burnt but by his own report he saw the planes which flew over the village at the same time he is contradicting himself Fatty finds out that the cottage and the burnt papers Mr Hick describes as most important were insured The children deduce that Mr Hick burnt his own cottage for the insurance money The book also introduces Inspector Jenks who turns out to help the children and becomes a good friend of theirs Characters editMrs Minns The housekeeper of Mr Hick who suffers from rheumatism Clear Orf Mr Goon The policeman of Peterswood Mr Horace Peeks A former employee of Mr Hicks sacked for wearing Mr Hick s clothes while Mr Hick was out and a suspect of burning down the cottage Mr Smellie A learned scholar and former friend of Mr Hick s Also a suspect Is obsessed with papers and documents like Mr Hick Miss Miggle A kindly and gentle employee of Mr Smellie Hannah The sister of Mrs Minns who smells the fire before Mrs Minns even notices it Lily An employee of Mr Hick s and also reveals to be secretly dating Horace Peeks as her father will not allow her to even walk with him Inspector Jenks A good friend of the Five Find Outers and an inspector of police always making Mr Goon nervous even though he is an extremely cheerful kind and gentle man Mrs Hilton Pip and Bets strict mother Mr Hick The Five Find OutersReferences edit The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage at Fantastic FictionExternal links editThe Mystery of the Burnt Cottage at Faded Page Canada Enid Blyton Society page Summary and review of The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage nbsp Children s literature portal nbsp Novels portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage amp oldid 1113416189, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
