The Rockingdown Mystery
- Downloads：2566
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-23 08:51:28
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Enid Blyton
- ISBN：1444952641
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Helen
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Roger， Diana and Snubby thought these would be the most boring holidays ever - staying in a sleepy village with coaching to catch up on schoolwork every day。 But that was before they met Barney， the circus boy searching for his father， and his pet monkey Miranda， and discovered the decaying old manor house - and heard the strange noises in the night。。。The Barney series is one of Enid Blyton’s best， and most sophisticated。 Roger， Diana and Snubby are variants of her usual plucky， sensible middle- Roger， Diana and Snubby thought these would be the most boring holidays ever - staying in a sleepy village with coaching to catch up on schoolwork every day。 But that was before they met Barney， the circus boy searching for his father， and his pet monkey Miranda， and discovered the decaying old manor house - and heard the strange noises in the night。。。The Barney series is one of Enid Blyton’s best， and most sophisticated。 Roger， Diana and Snubby are variants of her usual plucky， sensible middle-class children - but more subtly drawn than usual。 Roger isn’t just the oldest and in charge， his real sense of responsibility comes across。 Diana is a mix of teenage moodiness and kind-heartedness， while Snubby is clearly the product of an upbringing shunted around between school and relatives。 And then there’s Barney， self-reliant and mature， yet wistfully longing to find his father。 The scenes where Diana takes charge in a practical way or Barney sits in the window seat following the others’ lessons use Blyton’s usual simple language but subtly show us their characters。 In this first of the series， the mystery unfolds gradually， as the children explore Rockingdown and discover the manor house。 The picture of a decaying， neglected house and the sad story the children uncover about its past is a striking one。 The mystery has a real sense of menace to it， and we’re left in no doubt that these are serious criminals， though Roger， Diana and Snubby never see that behind their exciting adventure lie boxes of guns and people who are capable of using them。 The Barney series is also about families and parents， centred on Barney and his quest to find his father， though that is only hinted at here， as he reads Shakespeare as the only way he has to get close to his actor father。 But the theme runs through the book - at the very start Roger and Diana are alone， with their parents away; the story of Rockingdown Manor is a sad one of parents who lose their children; the villain is a son-in-law who abuses the trust of his law-abiding father-in-law; by the end of the book Miss Pepper， Barney and Snubby have all become part of Roger and Diana’s found family。 And at one point the children are extremely glad to hand over to a responsible adult who can parent them。 With the evocative atmosphere of the abandoned manor house with a table left ready for a meal and ivy and other greenery covering everything outside and its strong and interesting characters， this is one of Blyton’s best。 。。。more
Nicki Jeffery
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Enid Blyton is a talented writer - indeed she is my favourite author！ My 10 year old son read this book and said， "Mum， you really have to read this book。 It's so exciting！" I found it to be a great read， with the mystery unfolding bit by bit and a satisfying ending。 Enid Blyton is a talented writer - indeed she is my favourite author！ My 10 year old son read this book and said， "Mum， you really have to read this book。 It's so exciting！" I found it to be a great read， with the mystery unfolding bit by bit and a satisfying ending。 。。。more
Sha
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07 Feb 2021CW: Hints of era typical sexism。 Nothing overt， but it's there if you're paying attention。 Expanded Plot Summary: Three cousins and dog go on vacation and meet wandering circus boy with pet monkey。 （view spoiler）[The kids find an abandoned house， suspect their tutor of mysterious doings， and eventually find smugglers in an underground cave。 （hide spoiler）]1。 This might actually be one of Blyton's better written books？ The kids all have personalities， even if they mostly consist of the 07 Feb 2021CW: Hints of era typical sexism。 Nothing overt， but it's there if you're paying attention。 Expanded Plot Summary: Three cousins and dog go on vacation and meet wandering circus boy with pet monkey。 （view spoiler）[The kids find an abandoned house， suspect their tutor of mysterious doings， and eventually find smugglers in an underground cave。 （hide spoiler）]1。 This might actually be one of Blyton's better written books？ The kids all have personalities， even if they mostly consist of them ribbing each other all the time。 It's often pretty funny。 The adults in the story are actually pretty great too- they are competent- they just didn't figure things out before the kids did。 The weakest character in here is Barney， who's practically perfect in every way。 I do dislike it when an ensemble cast becomes a one man show。2。 The animals are great， especially Loony。 He's drawn so vividly on the pages and most scenes involving him are told with a very wet sense of humor。 3。 Snubby "hadn't much opinion of women" and yeah that checks out。 This trait is conveniently dropped in the later books， but it doesn't make him any less annoying in this one。 Diana， the only girl of the ensemble， is usually the one who both volunteers to do and does all of the housework。 None of this is a dealbreaker but this book was written in the late 1940s so it's pretty interesting to see the acceptable norms of the day on screen。 4。 You can also tell it's an old book because "gay" and "queer" are used multiple times in the non-lgbt context。5。 It's a pretty unremarkable mystery， but the （view spoiler）[underground cave and the abandoned mansion both （hide spoiler）] have some cool imagery associated with them。Subjective （3 stars） v。 Objective （4 stars） Rating: It was entertaining and occasionally funny and overall a pretty good book for kids I think。 Points cut for the internalized sexism and Snubby being a malicious jackass。 。。。more
Minna Hautaluoma
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Ei korvaa Viisikoita。 Ihan ok。 2，5 tähteä。
Philip
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A very enjoyable novel， if a bit tame。 The characters all seem like a nice bunch， especially Barney whose fun demeanour and aura of mystery means he is deserving of having the series named after himself。 The general mystery doesn't quite live up to Blyton's 'Secret Series'， which utilise derelict buildings， underground passages and smuggling rings much better。 But this does feel like a very warm and enjoyable story so I'm giving it three stars。 A very enjoyable novel， if a bit tame。 The characters all seem like a nice bunch， especially Barney whose fun demeanour and aura of mystery means he is deserving of having the series named after himself。 The general mystery doesn't quite live up to Blyton's 'Secret Series'， which utilise derelict buildings， underground passages and smuggling rings much better。 But this does feel like a very warm and enjoyable story so I'm giving it three stars。 。。。more
Ocha
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Udah pernah baca seri komplotan tapi baru baca buku yg pertama ini jadinya tau gimana Barney ketemu mereka bertiga。 Bring so much nostalgia🥺
Ratih Cahaya
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Baca ulang buku ini dalam rangka membaca ulang buku-buku Enid Blyton。Dulu beli buku ini tahun 2010， di bookfair Jakarta， yang masih diselenggarakan di Istora Senayan。 Sumpah kangen banget sama bookfair di Istora。 Entah kenapa 'feel'nya beda sama bookfair di JCC。 Dulu waktu masih di istora， banyak toko-toko buku jadul yang ikut buka stand di sana。 beberapa kali dapet buku anak klasik cetakan lama dengan harga murah （tetapi waktu tahun 2010 dan masih mahasiswa， harga segitu masih berasa lumayan ma Baca ulang buku ini dalam rangka membaca ulang buku-buku Enid Blyton。Dulu beli buku ini tahun 2010， di bookfair Jakarta， yang masih diselenggarakan di Istora Senayan。 Sumpah kangen banget sama bookfair di Istora。 Entah kenapa 'feel'nya beda sama bookfair di JCC。 Dulu waktu masih di istora， banyak toko-toko buku jadul yang ikut buka stand di sana。 beberapa kali dapet buku anak klasik cetakan lama dengan harga murah （tetapi waktu tahun 2010 dan masih mahasiswa， harga segitu masih berasa lumayan mahal sih， hehehe）。Kenapa jadi cerita tentang bookfair？Ceritanya sendiri cukup menarik， walaupun udah pernah baca， tetapi ternyata saya benar-benar lupa dengan isinya。 Tentang empat orang anak yang menemukan gedung tua yang kelihatannya tidak terpakai， tetapi ternyata masih digunakan untuk tindak kriminal。 Mencurigai seseorang yang kenyataannya malah pihak berwajib yang ditugaskan menyelidiki tindak kriminal tersebut。 Formulanya mirip-miriplah dengan cerita Enid Blyton yang lain。 。。。more
Josiah
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Enjoyable mystery with lively characters。 Good twists and turns， and a more somber ending than usual from Blyton。
Kerry McCaffery
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A recent find in a box of childhood memorabilia。。。that early love of reading， with the help of Enid Blyton came flooding back。 A must reread！ My edition was 1966。
Ruth
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Re-read a childhood favourite。Very exciting and quite dangerous adventures for children。 Barney is a mystery himself，he's been sleeping rough，the explanation is he is looking for his long lost father and has left the circus with his pet monkey，Miranda。 Roger，Diana and Snubby are on holiday with their governess however are still having lessons from a tutor。 The tutor is acting very suspiciously and the children are very wary。Snubby has a spaniel called Loony who is a joy as he runs about mad and Re-read a childhood favourite。Very exciting and quite dangerous adventures for children。 Barney is a mystery himself，he's been sleeping rough，the explanation is he is looking for his long lost father and has left the circus with his pet monkey，Miranda。 Roger，Diana and Snubby are on holiday with their governess however are still having lessons from a tutor。 The tutor is acting very suspiciously and the children are very wary。Snubby has a spaniel called Loony who is a joy as he runs about mad and gets up to a lot of mischief to the joy of the children。The mystery involves an abandoned mansion with a sad story behind it。 The children get into the mansion and Barney sleeps there at night，he starts to hear noises and eventually he goes missing。Maybe a bit old fashioned but that does not detract from an exciting and quite scary adventure with adorable characters。 。。。more
Mark Birchall
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Bought this book on eBay 。 I am 56 and read this as a10 or 11 year old。 This edition is from 1956 with a few gorgeous illustrations in it 。 I never intended rereading it but this lockdown makes timeFor all kinds of things so I did and it was an innocent joy。
Viva
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This is one of my favorite Enid Blyton series。 It's not very well known and not widely reprinted as far as I know。 I only knew of it from very old books at our school library。 I only completed the series as an adult by finding used books on ebay。The children in this series are 2 siblings， their cousin， his dog and a circus boy and his pet monkey。 You may say that the cousin/dog and circus boy/monkey is the gimmick in the series。 This is one of my favorite series because I feel it's better writte This is one of my favorite Enid Blyton series。 It's not very well known and not widely reprinted as far as I know。 I only knew of it from very old books at our school library。 I only completed the series as an adult by finding used books on ebay。The children in this series are 2 siblings， their cousin， his dog and a circus boy and his pet monkey。 You may say that the cousin/dog and circus boy/monkey is the gimmick in the series。 This is one of my favorite series because I feel it's better written， has more mystery and more depth than some other series。 This is also called the "R" series because all the books start with R。 。。。more
Derelict Space Sheep
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A solid introduction to the ‘Barney’ （or ‘R’） mystery series。 Standard Blyton characters Roger and Diana are superseded by their mischievous cousin Snubby， vagabond circus boy Barney and his monkey Miranda， and of course Snubby’s （actually Blyton’s daughters’） memorably madcap dog Loony。
Tommie Haag
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Read with the eyes of a kid it's a solid （but predictable） story。 Old-fashioned language hinders the flow a bit， but hey - what did one expect？ Read with the eyes of a kid it's a solid （but predictable） story。 Old-fashioned language hinders the flow a bit， but hey - what did one expect？ 。。。more
Eve Viens
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Child hood memories I loved her books
Mary Crawford
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A thrilling story for young readers and the young at heart！
Irma *Irma The Book Whisperer*
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。。。 reading with my 10 year old daughter。。。I've read Famous Five Series way back when I was a child and I've read it numerous times。 This series is new to me。 My daughter and I have read this story together and we both loved it。 。。。 reading with my 10 year old daughter。。。I've read Famous Five Series way back when I was a child and I've read it numerous times。 This series is new to me。 My daughter and I have read this story together and we both loved it。 。。。more
Jānis
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Tāda normāla bērnu/jauniešu grāmata。 Nevaru teikt， ka dēls būtu mega aizrāvies， bet beigas viņam patika - tad jau bija vērts。Man pašam jau šķiet， ka visas šīs bērnu piedzīvojumu grāmatas ir ļoti līdzīgas ar pārāk vienkāršiem atrisinājumiem， bet varu derēt， ka savā bērnībā ar kaifu būtu lasījis。
Eg
，
I don't remember much about the content anymore， but I know that books of Enid Blyton were on my bookshelf at my childhood。 It was mostly mystery that was captivating and round characters （fully developed）。 I remember that the ending was always something that I didn't see coming and that is what I liked - this unexpected plot twist and how everything fits together。I'm sure that this and other books from the collection would be interesting to re-read or read for a bit older people。 It doesn't hav I don't remember much about the content anymore， but I know that books of Enid Blyton were on my bookshelf at my childhood。 It was mostly mystery that was captivating and round characters （fully developed）。 I remember that the ending was always something that I didn't see coming and that is what I liked - this unexpected plot twist and how everything fits together。I'm sure that this and other books from the collection would be interesting to re-read or read for a bit older people。 It doesn't have to be only children's literature to enjoy a fine writing。 。。。more
Noor Hanis
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Is people going to be mad of me if I said I never read this book as s child？ I hope not！I love this book。 Every events have its values and I can see it。 At first， I really hate Loony。 In fact， if I ever encounter a kid like Loony， I'd dislike that kid as well。 Up to all sorts of tricks almost all the time， I find that Loony is annoying。 But as I keep reading it， he can be a nice kid。 It's just he lacks attention and some people are just like that， annoying 😂Reading it for fun and for the English Is people going to be mad of me if I said I never read this book as s child？ I hope not！I love this book。 Every events have its values and I can see it。 At first， I really hate Loony。 In fact， if I ever encounter a kid like Loony， I'd dislike that kid as well。 Up to all sorts of tricks almost all the time， I find that Loony is annoying。 But as I keep reading it， he can be a nice kid。 It's just he lacks attention and some people are just like that， annoying 😂Reading it for fun and for the English。 。。。more
Book Reader
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What I don't understand is how something so big and noisy could have happened for months in a quiet village at night without anybody noticing anything。 What I don't understand is how something so big and noisy could have happened for months in a quiet village at night without anybody noticing anything。 。。。more
Farseer
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A new Blyton series I never read as a child！ Pity， because I would have enjoyed it， just like I enjoyed the Famous Five and the Adventure series。 I liked the characters， although Roger and Diana were a bit generic。 I loved the overeager Stubby and his dog Looney， though。 Having one of the group （Barney） be from a very different social class was an interesting twist， and I look forward to seeing how Barney's story progresses。The book kind of reminded me of Five Go Adventuring Again， with the chil A new Blyton series I never read as a child！ Pity， because I would have enjoyed it， just like I enjoyed the Famous Five and the Adventure series。 I liked the characters， although Roger and Diana were a bit generic。 I loved the overeager Stubby and his dog Looney， though。 Having one of the group （Barney） be from a very different social class was an interesting twist， and I look forward to seeing how Barney's story progresses。The book kind of reminded me of Five Go Adventuring Again， with the children spending the holidays at a house with adult supervision and a tutor so they can catch up with their school work。 A suspicious tutor， too， although I won't say any more about that。For a first book of a series， where we are still learning how the characters behave together， we spent a lot of time with the main characters separated， each following their own story line。 The adventure was fine。 The children never went on holiday on their own， so it was more of a mystery/crime adventure kind of story。 I wonder if that's going to be a regular feature of the series。 。。。more
K。L。
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Roger， Diana and Snubby are on holiday with Miss Pepper - and are sadly due to be tutored during this holiday - when they meet the circus boy Barney and his pet monkey Miranda。 They explore old Rockingdown House， and soon become involved in a very exciting mystery
Martasek
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Chtěla jsem změnu a hlavně přečíst i knížky， ke kterým jsem se v dětství nedostala， ale na poličkách stále čekají。 Tato kniha， ač je určena mladším čtenářům umí vtáhnout do děje lehkou dějovou linkou， ve které se objeví i napětí a nebezpečí。 Je to něco jiného， než ten dospělý stereotyp - tady je vše rychle vyřešeno bez jakýchkoli průtahů。 Takže jako oddychové čtení to není pro dospělé čtenáře vůbec špatné a mladší to musí posoudit sami， ale věřím， že se jim to bude líbit a sáhnou po dalších díle Chtěla jsem změnu a hlavně přečíst i knížky， ke kterým jsem se v dětství nedostala， ale na poličkách stále čekají。 Tato kniha， ač je určena mladším čtenářům umí vtáhnout do děje lehkou dějovou linkou， ve které se objeví i napětí a nebezpečí。 Je to něco jiného， než ten dospělý stereotyp - tady je vše rychle vyřešeno bez jakýchkoli průtahů。 Takže jako oddychové čtení to není pro dospělé čtenáře vůbec špatné a mladší to musí posoudit sami， ale věřím， že se jim to bude líbit a sáhnou po dalších dílech。 。。。more
Daniela Kraml
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Love this old-fashioned mystery。
Jane Irish Nelson
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Roger and Diana are not exactly thrilled to discover that they are to spend the holidays with their mother's old governess， and that their cousin Snubby will also be staying with them。 Especially since they are all to have a tutor。 But then they meet Barney and his monkey Miranda， and explore the nearby Rockingdown House， which has long been deserted。 Since Barney is basically homeless， he decides to sleep in the old nursery， but then he hears strange noises at night — noises that leave no trace Roger and Diana are not exactly thrilled to discover that they are to spend the holidays with their mother's old governess， and that their cousin Snubby will also be staying with them。 Especially since they are all to have a tutor。 But then they meet Barney and his monkey Miranda， and explore the nearby Rockingdown House， which has long been deserted。 Since Barney is basically homeless， he decides to sleep in the old nursery， but then he hears strange noises at night — noises that leave no traces behind in the dust！ But he is determined to find an answer， even though it places him in great danger。 。。。more
Arunima
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Only readingnever know what will happen next， but I think the Enid Blyton secret series is much more exciting！！！！！！
Rogue
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love it
Ahana Lara
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It was a good thriller，an exciting mystery story。It kept the reader captivated，I wanted to know what happened next and it ended on a happy note。
Linda
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My copy is a hardcover copy published by Collins。 It has a different cover。 This is a good old-fashioned type mystery for young people。 I thoroughly enjoyed it。 I guess this is the first book in a series called Barney Mysteries。 Each title has an R word in the title。 Barney is a young teenaged boy who is homeless and searching for his father。 He previously worked in a circus and has a tiny monkey named Miranda。 While staying in a deserted old mansion in the country he meets brother and sister Ro My copy is a hardcover copy published by Collins。 It has a different cover。 This is a good old-fashioned type mystery for young people。 I thoroughly enjoyed it。 I guess this is the first book in a series called Barney Mysteries。 Each title has an R word in the title。 Barney is a young teenaged boy who is homeless and searching for his father。 He previously worked in a circus and has a tiny monkey named Miranda。 While staying in a deserted old mansion in the country he meets brother and sister Roger and Diana and their cousin Snubby who are staying nearby with a sort of governess while their parents are abroad。 Stubby has a mischievous spaniel called Loony。 The kids are intrigued by strange unidentifiable noises at night in the old house。 When Barney investigates he becomes imprisoned。 The mystery is sort of predictable but it still makes for good reading。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Rockingdown Mystery
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Rockingdown Mystery&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft