Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

‘You cannot cancel history’: UK heritage charity draws flak for updating Enid Blyton plaque bio to note ‘racism’ & ‘xenophobia’

‘You cannot cancel history’: UK heritage charity draws flak for updating Enid Blyton plaque bio to note ‘racism’ & ‘xenophobia’

Cultural preservation charity English Heritage has courted controversy after editing popular children’s author Enid Blyton’s biography on its website to highlight her books’ alleged “racism, xenophobia and lack of literary merit.”

As part of an audit of its blue plaque commemorative memorial scheme, the charity has added a section titled ‘Racism in Blyton’s work’ that notes some of the controversies surrounding the portrayal of non-white and non-British character in some of the author’s books both during and after her lifetime.

For instance, it notes that a publisher had rejected a manuscript for her book ‘The Mystery That Never Was’ in 1960, since it apparently displayed a “faint but unattractive touch of old-fashioned xenophobia.”

The section also added that a 1966 article in The Guardian had highlighted the “racism” of her long out-of-print book ‘The Little Black Doll’, noting that the titular character, Sambo, “is only accepted by his owner once his ‘ugly black face’ is washed ‘clean’ by rain.”

However, it mentions that “others have argued that while these charges can’t be dismissed, her work still played a vital role in encouraging a generation of children to read.”

The author, best known for her widely-read Noddy, Famous Five and Secret Seven series of books, has been a staple in children’s reading sections since the 1920s. Blyton has a blue plaque commemorating her former home in Chessington, where it is believed she honed her storytelling skills.

When announcing the review of their plaque scheme last year – undertaken in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, English Heritage had pledged to include information on historical figures “whose actions are contested or seen today as negative.”

The charity’s curatorial director, Anna Eavis, said there was a “need to ensure that the actions and the legacies of those commemorated are told in full” and “without embellishment or excuses” in order to “encourage debate and reflection on the sometimes painful issues they raise.”

Blyton, who died in 1968, wrote over 700 books and approximately 4,500 short stories. In recent years, her books – reported to have sold around 600 million copies and been translated into 90 languages – have undergone editing. For example, the ‘Golliwogs’ in her Noddy books have been changed to ‘Goblins’.

Over the past decade, Blyton has twice been rejected, in 2016 and 2019, by the Royal Mint as a candidate for commemoration on a 50 pence coin on the grounds that she was “a racist, sexist, homophobe and not a very well-regarded writer.”

However, several social media users called out the rise of “cancel culture” in “institutions [that] fail to understand you can’t judge history or historical figures by today’s standards. You cannot cancel history.”

One person noted that Blyton “should be considered a classical children’s author,” and others said her writing simply reflected the attitudes of the times.



A number of users held up the example of the financial troubles of the National Trust charity, which faced similar criticism last year for a campaign to acknowledge sites alleged to have links to colonialism and slavery, to caution English Heritage against ‘wokeness’.


However, a number of users claimed this was “criticism” and not an instance of cancel culture, with one person saying no one is telling opponents of the move that they’re “coming to burn your childhood.”



Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
×