The Barney Mystery Series

The Barney Mysteries were a series of six children's books written by British author Enid Blyton. They are also sometimes known as the "R" mysteries, because each title involves a word beginning with R. [http://www.enidblyton.net/barney-mystery/] . The series comprised:

*"The Rockingdown Mystery" (1949)
*"The Rilloby Fair Mystery" (1950)
*"The Ring O'Bells Mystery" (1951)
*"The Rubadub Mystery" (1951)
*"The Rat-a-Tat Mystery" (1952)
*"The Ragamuffin Mystery" (1959)

Each of the Mysteries begins with the letter "R"... as one of the characters disingenuously points out towards the end of the series.

A theme running throughout the books is that of lost or deceased parents. Roger and Diana are brother and sister, the children of Mr and Mrs Lynton. Their irritating cousin Snubby (whose real name is Peter) comes to stay with them during the school holidays, as he has no parents. During their first adventure, they meet Barney, who makes an appearance in each of the succeeding books. Barney is older than Roger and lives a nomadic lifestyle, working in fairs and circuses (such as Rilloby Fair, which gives the name to the second book in the series).He has a monkey named Miranda who plays an important role in the mysteries. He is on a quest to find his missing father. At the end of the fourth book, "The Rubadub Mystery", Barney is reunited with his father, although he he is still allowed to meet the others, and enjoy the final two mysteries.

Another character who recurs is Miss Pepper (whose name gives the opportunity for a number of bad jokes). Firm with the children but likable, she often looks after them in the absence of Mr and Mrs Lynton.

Additional German volumes

In German, the Barney mysteries are known as the "Rätsel um...-Serie", or "Riddle of... series". In addition to translations of the six English titles, there are two additional volumes:

* "Rätsel um den tiefen Keller" ("Riddle of the Deep Cellar"). This is a translation of the one-off book, "The Mystery That Never Was"

* "Rätsel um die Falschmünzer" ("Riddle of the Counterfeiters"). This "translation" was in fact an original work by Brigitte Blobel, published by C. Bertelsmann Verlag GmbH in 1977 [http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1492] . It had not been authorised by Darrell Waters Limited, and so was soon taken out of print.

External links

* [http://home.arcor.de/lgfb/ffreunde/de_ee_raetsel.htm Page in German about the German editions]
* [http://www.enidblyton.net/barney-mystery/ English page about the Barney mysteries]