 |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Enid Blyton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Treyer Evans |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Five Find-Outers |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Methuen |
Publication date | 1951 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Preceded by | The Mystery of the Invisible Thief |
| Followed by | The Mystery of the Strange Bundle |
The Mystery of the Vanished Prince, published 1951, is the ninth novel in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mysteries, written by Enid Blyton.
Fatty has returned to Peterswood village from a cruise holiday, bringing Moroccan costumes for his friends Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets. The four try on the exotic garb, at which point they receive an unannounced visit from Ern Goon, accompanied by his brothers, twins Sid and Perce. Fatty tricks Ern into believing the disguised children are actually relatives and friends of Prince Michael, a foreign royal who is purportedly at a summer camp alongside a caravan site where the three Goon brothers are camping. Notably, Bets claims to be the prince's sister, the Princess. The children take a walk, whereupon they encounter Ern's uncle, the village policeman Mr Goon, who is also duped into believing the disguised children are foreigners.
Later, Prince Michael is reported to have disappeared. Goon informs the district's senior police officer, Inspector Jenks, he has met with the prince's relatives, including the Princess. Realizing the children's deception could jeopardize the police investigation, Fatty tells Goon the foreign party was not real. He also advises Inspector Jenks of the ruse, earning a stern reprimand. Fatty then resolves to share information on the case with Goon.
Sid, whose verbal communication is hampered by a proclivity for toffees that stick his teeth together, manages to tell Fatty he saw the vanished prince hiding in the base of a large double-pram, used by a woman for her twin babies at a caravan next to the boys' campsite. The Find-Outers then try to track down the woman. Fatty, disguised as a peddler, befriends the woman's son, Rollo, who reveals the real prince was kidnapped before arriving at the camp. Rollo, who had been posing as the prince, also divulges the likely location of the captive as Raylingham Marshes. Fatty passes on this information to Mr Goon, who takes a late-night train to the area.
The following day, the Find-Outers and Ern also go the marshes, but they are captured and locked inside a farmhouse. As a helicopter arrives to take away the prince, Fatty manages to telephone Inspector Jenks and then locates the prince, but the children are unable to escape until the police arrive and arrest the crooks. Mr Goon is subsequently found, furious and disheveled, locked in a shed. Fatty releases him, sympathizes with his misfortune and kindly praises him in front of the inspector.
As with all books in the Find-Outers Mystery series, the protagonists are Frederick Algernon Trotteville, familiarly known as Fatty; siblings Philip (Pip) and Elizabeth (Bets) Hilton; and siblings Laurence (Larry) and Margaret (Daisy) Daykin; as well as Fatty's dog, Buster. The incompetent and irascible village policeman, Mr Goon, also appears in all of the books, as does his superior Inspector Jenks (who is promoted to Chief Inspector and Superintendent). This book also features Mr Goon's nephew, Ern, and Ern's younger twin brothers, Sid and Perce.
The Five Find-Outers and Dog, also known as The Five Find-Outers, is a series of children's mystery books written by Enid Blyton. The first was published in 1943 and the last in 1961. Set in the fictitious village of Peterswood based on Bourne End, close to Marlow, Buckinghamshire, the children Fatty, who is the leader of the team, Larry, Pip, Daisy, Bets and Buster, Fatty's dog, encounter a mystery almost every school holiday, always solving the puzzle before Mr Goon, the unpleasant village policeman, much to his annoyance.
Goon may refer to:
Fatty is a derogatory term for someone who is obese. It may refer also to:
The Mystery of Holly Lane is a 1953 children's mystery novel by English author Enid Blyton, and the eleventh book in the Five Find-Outers series.
The Mystery of Banshee Towers by Enid Blyton is the last children's mystery novel in a series of fifteen known collectively as The Five Find-Outers and Dog. The series ran for eighteen years, from 1943 to 1961.
This is a list of 762 books by Enid Blyton (1897–1968), an English children's writer who also wrote under the pseudonym of Mary Pollock. She was one of the most successful children's storytellers of the 20th century.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief is a novel written by Enid Blyton. It is the eighth in the popular The Five Find-Outers children's mystery series. It was published in 1950.
The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters was the fourth book in Enid Blyton's The Five Find-Outers children's mystery series. The novel was published in 1946 by Methuen and illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
Five Have A Wonderful Time is a popular children's book written by Enid Blyton. It is the eleventh novel in the Famous Five series of books.
The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage is the first in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1943 and continues to be frequently reissued.
The Mystery of the Missing Necklace — is a book in the series of Five Find-Outers children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton, published in 1947 by Methuen and illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat (1944) is the second in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was published by Methuen and Co Ltd and follows the first book in the series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage. It tells of a stolen cat the group of children work to uncover.
The Mystery of the Secret Room (1945) is the third in the Five Find-Outers series of children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. Illustrated by Joseph Abbey, it was published by Methuen.
The Mystery of the Hidden House is the sixth in the series of Five Find-Outers children's mystery novels by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1948 by Methuen and was illustrated by Joseph Abbey.
The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat, published 1949, is the seventh novel in the Five Find-Outers children's mystery series written by Enid Blyton.
The Mystery of the Missing Man, published 1956, is the thirteenth novel in the children's mystery series The Five Find-Outers, written by Enid Blyton and originally illustrated by Lilian Buchanan.
The Mystery of the Strange Messages is a children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and published in 1957. It is the fourteenth book in the Five Find-Outers series featuring Fatty, Pip, Larry, Daisy, Bets and Buster the Scottie dog, as well as Mr Goon and his nephew Ern.
The Young Adventurers is a collection of books written by Enid Blyton, also known as The Riddle Series.
The Mystery of the Strange Bundle is a children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and published in 1952. It is the tenth book of The Five Find-Outers series.
The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage is a 1954 children's mystery novel written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Treyer Evans. It is the twelfth book in the Five Find-Outers series.
