The Famous Five

The Famous Five is a series of children's adventure novels and short stories by the English writer Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, appeared in 1942, and the series continued through the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s until it reached twenty-one full-length novels. Blyton originally intended to write only six or eight books, but strong sales led her to expand the series, which also inspired several other books in a similar style, in which groups of children uncover crimes while on holiday.

The protagonists are the siblings Julian, Dick and Anne, their cousin George and George's dog, Timmy. They usually meet during the school holidays and, whenever they are together, become caught up in an adventure that often involves criminals or lost treasure. The action frequently takes place near George's family home at Kirrin Cottage, and on Kirrin Island, which belongs to her family, though the children also visit other houses, moors, coasts and villages. Many of these homes are centuries old and conceal secret passages or smugglers' tunnels, which provide much of the suspense. The settings are mostly rural, allowing the children to enjoy an outdoor life of picnics, bicycle rides, swimming and camping.

The series is regarded as one of the most popular collections of children's literature of the twentieth century. By the end of 1953, more than six million copies had reportedly been sold, and today more than two million are sold each year, placing it among the best-selling children's series ever written. All the novels were adapted for television, and several were adapted for film in different countries. The name "The Famous Five" was first used by the publisher Hodder & Stoughton in 1951, after nine titles had appeared; before that the books were known as the "Fives" books.