The Secret Seven

The Secret Seven or "Secret Seven Society" are a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton. They appear in one of several juvenile detective series Blyton wrote.

The Secret Seven consists of Peter (the society's leader), Janet (Peter's sister), Jack, Barbara, George, Pam, Colin, and Scamper the dog. Jack's sister Susie often makes an appearance in the books; she hates the Secret Seven and delights in playing tricks designed to humiliate them, although much of this is fuelled by her almost obsessive desire to belong to the society. In many of the books, Susie is accompanied in her mischievous actions by her school friend Binkie.

In one story it's mentioned that they live in the town of Peterswood. However, this is the name of the village throughout Blyton's Five Find-Outers series. An author's mistake, or a deliberate nod to the Secret Seven's counterparts?

Unlike most other Blyton series, this one takes place during the school term time because the characters go to day schools.

There are fifteen books, which in chronological order are:

1. The Secret Seven (1949)
2. Secret Seven Adventure (1950)
3. Well Done Secret Seven (1951)
4. Secret Seven on the Trail (1952)
5. Go Ahead Secret Seven (1953)
6. Good Work Secret Seven (1954)
7. Secret Seven Win Through (1955)
8. Three Cheers Secret Seven (1956)
9. Secret Seven Mystery (1957)
10. Puzzle for the Secret Seven (1958)
11. Secret Seven Fireworks (1959)
12. Good Old Secret Seven (1960)
13. Shock for the Secret Seven (1961)
14. Look Out Secret Seven (1962)
15. Fun for the Secret Seven (1963)

The Secret Seven also appeared in seven short stories by Blyton, including a mini-novella explaining how the Secret Seven was formed. These were left uncollected until 1998, when they were released by Hodder under the title of Secret Seven: Short Story Collection.

French Series

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Evelyne Lallemand wrote an additional series of 12 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 (English title: The Seven and the Lion Hunt; English no.: 1)
2. Les Sept font du cinéma 1977 (English title: The Seven on Screen; English no.: 6)
3. Les Sept et le magicien 1977 (English title: The Seven and the Magician; English no.: 3)
4. Les Sept sont dans de beaux draps 1978 (English title: The Seven Go Haunting; English no.: 2)
5. Les Sept et les bulldozers 1978 (English title: The Seven to the Rescue; English no.: 5)
6. Les Sept et la déesse d'or 1979 (English title: The Seven Strike Gold; English no.: 4)
7. Les Sept et les soucoupes volantes 1979 (English title: The Seven and the UFOs; English no.: 7)
8. Les Sept à 200 à l'heure 1980 (English title: The Seven and the Racing Driver; English no.: 9)
9. Les Sept ne croient pas au père Noël 1981 (English title: The Seven and Father Christmas; English no.: 8)
10. Les Sept saluent Lucky Star 1982 (NOT TRANSLATED)
11. Les Sept et la boule de cristal 1984 (NOT TRANSLATED)
12. Les Sept dans la maison hantée 1986 (NOT TRANSLATED)