A complete set. An exceptionally rare and complete set of the Famous Five books; all the illustrated dust-jackets with prices intact, none of the books with ownership names, inscriptions or juvenile scribblings, only four dust-jackets with minimal restoration, a little more evident to a fifth one (Five Run Away Together). Five Have A Wonderful Time with the original The Famous Five Club bookmark that was only available with this first edition. Complete sets of first editions are rare and we have found no record of one in such good condition.

Generations of children have grown up with Blyton's stories of the Famous Five - one of the best-selling children's book series of all time. The Five's adventures, solving mysteries with the help of lashings of ginger beer, have enthralled youngsters since the 1940s and continue to be reinvented with new illustrations and numerous TV and film adaptations.

Following the publication of the first title, the demand for more was so great that 20 more titles followed. More than two million copies of the books are still sold every year and Enid Blyton's books are firm favourites with people of all ages with the series was even voted British adults' favourite childhood books of all time, in 2010.

First editions, first impressions; 21 vols (complete); 8vo (194 x 133 mm); illustrated by Eileen A. Soper, colour frontispieces to numbers 2 - 6 in the series, numerous black and white or monotone full-page illustrations and vignettes within the text, 'Five Have A Wonderful Time' with the original 'The Famous Five Club' bookmark that was only available with this first edition; some with spotting to text block edges with a few minor instances of slight encroachment to a few page extremities, small chip to head of half-title of 'Five Run Away Together', otherwise near-fine; publisher's cloth, seven with some fading or minor marking, else very good to near-fine, illustrated dust-jackets by Soper, the first title with a partial tear to upper spine fold of but entirely original and not restored, the jacket of the second is very good plus, professional restorations to third, fourth, fifth more evident to the third, minor to the fourth and fifth, small closed tear to sixth, tape shadows to reverse of seventh (from previous protective cover) with small close tear to rear spine fold, the eight is very good, the jacket of the ninth is near- fine, the jacket of the tenth is fine, rubbing to extremities of eleventh, slight rubbing to extremities of twelfth, minor chips to edges of thirteenth with creasing to rear panel, else very good, rubbing to extremities and minor chips to head of spine and ends of flap-folds to fourteenth, historic tape reinforcements to spine ends and heads of flap folds of fifteenth, small closed nick to upper panel of sixteenth, short tear to base of rear spine fold and a couple of minor chips to seventeenth, minor rubbing to extremities of eighteenth of last four, else near fine, in short a very good set indeed.