"Five on a Treasure Island" -Enid Blyton Quiz

Answer: Their parents want to go away alone together on a trip to Scotland.

It seems extraordinary that children as young as Julian (12),Dick (11) and Anne (10) are going to be allowed to go away on holiday by themselves merely so the parents can enjoy themselves. The children all attend boarding schools so they won't see much of them anyway. However, at least the children are to stay with their aunt and uncle.

Answer: He talked of Anne wanting to take all her dolls and a rocking horse.

Dick is referring to how Anne behaved a few years ago and she goes red. Their mother redresses the balance by reminding them both of a little boy called Dick who had put aside "two golliwogs, one teddy bear, three toy dogs and his old monkey" to take on holiday when he was younger.

Answer: eleven - the same as Dick

As the series develops George builds up the best friendship with Dick who is the same age as her. Julian appears to be in the story to be admired and to dominate over the others.

Answer: Alf

George spends all her pocket money to pay Alf for the food that Timmy eats. As a result of this she is never able to afford any sweets or ice-creams. Her cousins want her to share with them - in return they would like to share Timmy.

Answer: Anne was about to betray the secret of Timmy.

George has asked her three cousins to keep the secret of Timmy being with Alf, the fisher boy, a secret. Anne is so enthusiastic about the morning spent together that she says, "We do like George - and we like Ti...". At this point she gets a nasty bruise.

Answer: By lining up a church tower and the tip of the hill over the castle.

This technique of lining up different objects so that you know you are on the right spot when you can see them all at the same time is used even more effectively to find a sunken boat in a later story in the series.

Answer: Chase the rabbits.

It is the dog's natural instincts to chase the rabbits. As there are no ordinary predators on the island the rabbits are naturally tame and do not run away as fearfully as most mainland ones would do. George can control Timmy by making a warning noise in her throat.

Answer: sticks that the jackdaws had dropped and sandwich paper

It was Anne who came up with the sensible idea of using the sandwich paper. As the oldest Julian is the one who is carrying the matches.

Answer: H.J.K.

George claims that they were the initials of her great-great-great grandfather who was called Henry John Kirrin. It seems strange that the wreck, the island and the cottage all belong to Aunt Fanny. They have descended through the female line and yet in later books the family name seems to be Kirrin. Possibly cousins married each other.

Answer: They threw it out of the attic window so that it cracked on falling.

The box fell on to an area of crazy paving. Naturally this made a tremendous noise and Uncle Quentin came out to see what had caused it. In his anger he decided to confiscate the box and its contents.

Answer: ingots

Dick and Julian both know that "ingots" can mean any metal in the shape of bars. However, there has always been a story that gold was connected with the wreck and with the Kirrin family. Thus naturally they start thinking of treasure in the shape of piles of gold bars.

Answer: He is going to rebuild the castle as a hotel.

Uncle Quentin proves himself to be remarkably unitelligent when it comes to anything other than his scientific investigations. The reader is constantly told that access to the island is almost impossible and yet he believes that someone wants the castle for a hotel. He also ignores the map and the chance of treasure.

Answer: Timmy fell part of the way down it when chasing a rabbit.

Fortunately for the children (and the dog) there is a stone slab jammed a little way down the well. Otherwise Timmy might have kept on falling until he reached the bottom. Julian drops a stone but they never hear it splash. There is also a convenient ladder that goes part of the way down.

Answer: She signed the note with her real name "Georgina".

Both Anne and Dick knew that George would never sign herself as "Georgina" unless something was wrong. Dick goes to check at the little cove and when he finds another boat there he knows that there are strange men on the island who must be holding Julian and George prisoner.

Answer: She smashes the engine of their boat with an axe.

One of the famous illustrations in this book shows George with the axe raised in the process of chopping downwards at the engine of the beached boat. In the background the other three are busy pushing off their own rowing boat with Timmy already safely in the prow.