The Secret Seven


The Secret Seven or Secret Seven Society is a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton. They appear in one of several adolescent detective series Blyton wrote.
The Secret Seven consists of Peter, Janet, Jack, Barbara, George, Pam and Colin. Jack's sister Susie and her best friend Binkie make occasional appearances in the books; they hate the Secret Seven and delight in playing tricks designed to humiliate them, although this is partly fuelled by their almost obsessive desire to belong to the society.
Unlike most other Blyton series, this one takes place during the school term time because the characters go to day schools.
Continuing Blyton's series, Pamela Butchart wrote two new adventures in the series, adding elements of horror.

Origins

The names Secret Seven and Famous Five had already been used by author Charles Hamilton, under the pen-name Frank Richards, in his long-running series of stories featuring Billy Bunter and Greyfriars School. The Secret Seven was the name of a secret society that featured in a series of eleven stories published in The Magnet magazine in 1934; the term "Famous Five" dates from 1910 and is applied to a group of the leading characters: Harry Wharton, Frank Nugent, Bob Cherry, Johnny Bull and Hurree Jamset Ram Singh.
It is not clear whether Enid Blyton was influenced by Hamilton's work. Blyton's elder daughter, Gillian Baverstock, describes a conversation between the author and her publisher that led to the inception of Blyton's Secret Seven. The publisher's own children, the eldest of whom was named Peter, had formed a secret society with their friends. They met in an old shed, used secret passwords and had badges inscribed with "SS".
After corresponding with the real-life Peter, in 1948 Blyton published her first Secret Seven story, which describes how her fictional society came to be formed. This was a short story titled "The Secret of the Old Mill". It followed an earlier short story, "At Seaside Cottage", which introduced the leading characters Peter and Janet prior to the formation of the society. There followed a further five short stories and fifteen full-length books.

Short stories

The Secret Seven appeared in seven short stories by Blyton, including a mini-novella explaining how the society was formed. These were left uncollected until 1997, when all but "At Seaside Cottage" were published in a single volume by Hodder Children's Books under the title of Secret Seven: Short Story Collection.
  1. At Seaside Cottage – first published as a complete short story book
  2. Secret of the Old Mill – first published in "Secret of the Old Mill"
  3. The Humbug Adventure – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.1
  4. Adventure on the Way Home – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.2
  5. An Afternoon with the Secret Seven – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.3
  6. Where Are the Secret Seven? – first published in the strip book of the same name
  7. Hurry, Secret Seven, Hurry! – first published in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual No.4

    Full-length stories

  8. The Secret Seven In the Secret Seven's first full-length adventure together, Jack witnesses suspicious activity on a snowy night after searching for his badge near a large house where only a deaf, cantankerous caretaker resides. Suspecting a person is being held prisoner, the Seven then investigate the mystery.
  9. Secret Seven Adventure While the Seven are playing Red Indians in a wood, Peter and Colin encounter a man who has just stolen Lady Lucy Thomas's pearl necklace from Milton Manor. The search for the thief leads the children to a circus field and lions.
  10. Well Done Secret Seven The Secret Seven build a tree house to escape the summer heat. There, they meet a dirty boy and his injured kitten. The boy gives them some clues to a mystery involving a planned mail heist.
  11. Secret Seven on the Trail A trick by Susie and her infuriating Famous Five group sends Jack and George on a night trek to Tigger's Barn. But the prank leads the Secret Seven to a group of train robbers.
  12. Go Ahead Secret Seven A little shadowing practice by George goes awry and his parents force him to resign from the Secret Seven. Scamper is installed as his temporary replacement. Some shadowing by Colin puts the Seven on the trail of a man who shoves dogs down a coal hole. The group must then solve the mystery of the stolen dogs. By the end of the book, George is reinstalled as a member.
  13. Good Work Secret Seven As Bonfire Night approaches, Susie and her friends play a prank on the Seven, leading them on a wild goose-chase to a shed. Later, Peter and Janet's father's car is stolen — with them inside — but the car is soon abandoned. The group's plans for Bonfire Night seem scuppered when Scamper unwittingly sets alight their collection of fireworks. The Seven investigate the car thieves, with Peter disguising himself as a guy to keep watch for suspects at a cafe.
  14. Secret Seven Win Through The Seven are evicted from their shed while it is painted, and find a new meeting place — a cave on Peter and Janet's father's property. They stock the cave with cushions, food, drinks and books, including Colin's set of Famous Five novels. When their provisions start to go missing, the children suspect Susie; but Scamper later uncovers a notebook leading to crooks and a search for scarecrows.
  15. Three Cheers Secret Seven Susie's model aeroplane launches the Secret Seven into their next adventure. Who is using the top room in the empty Barlett Lodge, and why?
  16. Secret Seven Mystery When a schoolgirl is reported missing the Seven begin their search, with Susie hindering them at every turn. Where is Elizabeth Sonning, and who stole the money from her school?
  17. Puzzle for the Secret Seven The Seven witness a house fire, and help the family in need to rebuild their lives — but who stole a valuable violin, and what is making the baffling wailing noises on the hills at night?
  18. Secret Seven Fireworks The Secret Seven are shocked when Jack's sister forms a rival club called the Tiresome Three. But surely Susie wouldn't really steal their guy's clothes and firework money? And who are the nasty looking men lurking in the hut on Peter's farm?
  19. Good Old Secret Seven Jack's new telescope promised hours of fun until Susie claimed her half share. But after Janet spots a strange face at the window of Torling Castle, The Seven must investigate.
  20. Shock for the Secret Seven Dogs are going missing all over town. When Scamper also disappears, the group becomes the Secret Six and must solve the mystery. Jack finally finds the clue to end the mystery.
  21. Look Out Secret Seven Medals belonging to a kindly old General have gone missing, and Colin promises to find them — but what can they do when there are no clues and the police are baffled?
  22. Fun for the Secret Seven There is no actual mystery in the Secret Seven's final outing. A boy named Bob Smith asks the Seven to help an elderly farm worker, Tolly, pay a vet's bill for a lame horse that is at risk of being euthanized with a bullet. The children save the horse. Toward the end of the book, some horse thieves are thwarted. During the story, Janet reads a Famous Five novel.

    The Society

Scamper – Janet and Peter's pet dog and beloved companion. He is not an official member of the Secret Seven, but the children count him as one, due to his regular usefulness in the denouement of the stories. He has temporarily filled in for members when they have left the group for any reason. He is a friendly golden English Cocker Spaniel. He loves food, especially biscuits.

Supporting characters

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Evelyne Lallemand wrote an additional series of 11 books about the Secret Seven, nine of which were translated into English by Anthea Bell and published in paperback by Knight Books. The English translations were published between 1983 and 1986. The full French series is as follows:
  1. Les Sept à la chasse au lion 1976
  2. Les Sept font du cinéma 1977
  3. Les Sept et le magicien 1977
  4. Les Sept sont dans de beaux draps 1978
  5. Les Sept et les bulldozers 1978
  6. Les Sept et la déesse d'or 1979
  7. Les Sept et les soucoupes volantes 1979
  8. Les Sept à 200 à l'heure 1980
  9. Les Sept ne croient pas au père Noël 1981
  10. Les Sept saluent Lucky Star 1982
  11. Les Sept et la boule de cristal 1984

    Pamela Butchart

In 2018, Hodder Children's Books published The Secret Seven Mystery of the Skull by Pamela Butchart in an effort to augment sales from the series. This was followed in 2019 by The Secret Seven and the Mystery of the Theatre Ghost.

Stage adaptations

The first ever stage adaptation based on The Secret Seven opened in Chester at the city's new Storyhouse theatre from 1 December 2017. It received good reviews.

Audio drama

An English Audio drama adaptation with some episodes was published.

Lack of TV Series

In the 1970s, Secret Seven books were published with photographic covers showing scenes from each story. As the corresponding Famous Five books were published with photographic covers depicting scenes from the Famous Five TV series, it has been wrongly assumed that there was also a Secret Seven TV series. In fact, no Secret Seven TV series has ever been made.