1. GEORGE HAS A PERFECTLY WRETCHED TIME

Introduction

When I was a child I loved the famous five books by Enid Blyton. I collected all the books and read them over and over and loved them. Then I gave the books away and didn't read them for many years. 

Recently after so many years, I wanted to relive my childhood and read them again, I bought the books again and started to read them again. 

I enjoyed them very much, and I felt that nostalgia and the magic again like I had all those years ago, but a couple of things did stand out to me that I probably didn't notice when I first read them as a child. The first thing that struck me was that George seems to be an early depiction of someone who has a gender identity issue and might want to change their gender later in life. Because of the era that these books were written in, Blyton is restrained and ambiguous about it but it's certainly implied. In any case, George is the best character in the books and the most complex. She deserves to be explored in more detail and why she wants to be a boy to be given more attention.  

The second thing that stood out about the books was that they are fairly tame (although they are not as tame as the Secret Seven books) which I understand because they are aimed at young children so they can't be too dark. Blyton flirts with darker material but never really goes there completely, everything is always solved and works out nice and happily. The characters are never really explored or developed and there is a somewhat black-and-white view of goodies and baddies.

When I was recently reading the second book in the Famous five series 

Five Go Adventuring Again

I really liked how George (along with her dog Timmy) is the only one who distrusts their tutor Mr. Roland and everyone else loves him so George becomes somewhat alienated. She knows she is right in her feelings but no one else believes her and they are all completely taken in by him. But she sticks by her feelings and by the end of the book she is proved right. I wanted a darker version of the story in the book. This is the plot in the book by Blyton  

Five Go Adventuring Again (published in 1943) is the second book in the series by the British author Enid Blyton

Julian, Dick, and Anne's mother is ill, so they, George, and Timmy return to Kirrin Cottage for the Christmas holidays. Uncle Quentin, who is working on a secret theory in his study, takes a break to hire a tutor, Mr. Roland, to help Julian and Dick catch up with schoolwork they missed while sick. George is also required to attend the lessons, as she has just spent her first term at Gaylands boarding school and is behind her age level. The day before lessons commence, the children visit the old house at Kirrin Farm, which is run by Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. Mrs. Sanders informs the children that two artists from London have booked a three-week stay at the house. The children explore some old secret hole in the house, they also find a cupboard with a false back. When searching a cavity in a wall, Dick finds an old book of medical treatment recipes and a linen map inscribed with Latin words.

The children take the map back to Kirrin Cottage, where Julian guesses that it shows a "secret way" but he is unable to decipher the other words. Much to George's chagrin, Julian later shows the map to Mr. Roland, asking him what the words mean. He confirms it is about a "secret way" and also about an east-facing room with eight wooden panels. Later, Timmy is banished outside to his kennel for attacking Mr. Roland. Next, Uncle Quentin's secret papers are stolen. George suspects Mr. Roland, but cannot immediately convince the others. The children later discover the "secret way" (which was in Quentin's laboratory after all) which leads to the two artists' room in Kirrin Farm and George uncovers the stolen papers by mistake and they try to escape through the secret way, but the thieves almost outrun them but retreat when George threatens to set Timmy loose on them. The five also discover that Mr. Roland was behind them and imprison Mr. Roland and the two artists behind a room until the police arrive and arrest them.

My version is loosely based on this book with some major changes. First, it is set in the present day, not the 1940s. It's going to be a darker version with more character development. There will be more exploration of George's desire to be a boy and ''Mr'' Roland and George's dislike of each other and Roland's villainy will be deeper and darker than the famous five books it's based on.

Other changes 

1. George, Julian, Dick, and Anne are siblings in this version. ''Uncle'' Quentin and ''Aunt'' Fanny are the parents to all four of them 

2. Mr. Roland is not a tutor but an old friend of Quentin and Fanny's from years ago who comes to stay and this time his first name is Roland

3. Several new characters who don't appear in the book 

I can't say anymore without giving too much away.