The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton (2024)

The Secret Seven Society consists of Peter, his sister Janet, and their friends Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara. Although not an official member of the Secret Seven, Peter and Janet's golden spaniel Scamper also attends meetings. After all, he can be trusted not to give away any secrets to Jack's interfering sister Susie!

The children meet in a shed with "S.S." on the door. Admission is by password only and badges must be worn. Peter, as head of the society, makes jolly well sure that everyone complies with the rules!

While munching rock-buns and guzzling home-made lemonade, the Seven puzzle over peculiar goings-on in their local community, aiming to solve mysteries and put things right. Their work often involves hiding and keeping watch, hunting for clues, shadowing suspicious characters and questioning people. Burglaries, stolen animals and missing children feature in various stories — as do fireworks, a tree-house, a telescope and Susie's toy aeroplane. Exciting stuff for young readers, and no doubt the Secret Seven books have inspired many children over the years to form secret societies of their own.

The Secret Seven, which is the first of the fifteen titles in the official Secret Seven series, was published in 1949.

However, Peter and Janet had appeared in an earlier book called At Seaside Cottage (1947) and the story of the formation of the society had been related in Secret of the Old Mill (1948.)

The original illustrators of the main series of fifteen books were George Brook, Bruno Kay and Burgess Sharrocks. Evelyne Lallemand wrote a number of continuation novels in the 1970s-80s.

Secret Seven Books, Stories and Games

• Janet and Peter — the origins of the Secret Seven
• Original Secret Seven Novels by Enid Blyton
• The Secret Seven Short Story Collection
• Secret Seven Annuals
• Secret Seven Continuation Novels by Evelyne Lallemand
• Hodder 2004 Collection Editions
• Secret Seven Games and Puzzles

Janet and Peter (Secret Seven)

Prior to the popular Secret Seven series there were a couple of relatively unknown short story books featuring Peter and Janet. It was in the second that the Secret Seven Society was formed...

Secret Seven

In 1949 the first of the full length Secret Seven novels was published. There are 15 titles in the series, the last being published in 1963...

Secret Seven

In 1997 The Secret Seven Short Story Collection was compiled. This features The Secret of the Old Mill and five other short stories that appeared in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annual and a Weeties Strip Book. However, the very first short story featuring Peter and Janet is absent, no doubt because the Secret Seven hadn't been formed at that time!

Secret Seven Annuals

From 1978 to 1984 the Secret Seven could be found in hardback Annuals...

Secret Seven Sequels

In the 1970s, Evelyne Lallemand wrote a 12-book series of Secret Seven continuation books in French, 9 of which were translated into English by Anthea Bell between 1983 and 1987...

Hodder 2004 Collection Editions

In 2004, Hodder Children's Books published a set of six Collection editions. Two of these featured the Secret Seven...

There have been a number of Secret Seven games over the years, including the jigsaw puzzles produced by BeStime as part of their numbered series throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a card game in 1955, and four jigsaw puzzles by Whitman in 1975...

BeStime Numbered Jigsaws

Enid Blyton Card Games

Whitman Secret Seven Jigsaws