Barney Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Barney Mysteries Books

Children of absentee, missing or wanderlust parents have a lot of freedom and time at their disposal. When suchlike children team up with their counterparts, it is, on the flip side, a recipe for mischief and peer pressure. Yet in their juvenile wisdom, they can also collaborate for the betterment of the society. This is what transpires in the Barney Mysteries, a series authored by the late British woman of letters Enid Blyton. The said author also wrote under the pen name Mary Pollock. Incidentally, the Barney series is alternatively called the “R” Mysteries; this is because the six books contained therein have titles whose first words exclusively start with the letter “R”.

Barney is the featured protagonist in the Barney Mysteries. There are approximately twenty editions of the first book in the Barney Series. However, among those editions, the earliest one was initially published in 1949, titled The Rockingdown Mystery; and the series is shelved under the juvenile literature, mystery, adventure, and fantasy genres.

The aforementioned series revolves around various characters who are aged between eleven and fifteen years, and they have embarked on missions aimed at resolving a series of mysterious events. These events range from odd nightly sounds emanating from a secret passage in a disused mansion whose original and noble occupants have since died; a mysterious and seemingly impossible break-in; strange goings-on in a manor house; an odd explosion which has occurred at a military base; unexplained noises emanating from the kitchen of an old building they are staying during their winter vacation; to deciphering a cryptic message in a letter.

There is Barney, the main character, whose real name is Barnabas. Barney, who is fifteen years old, is rough and tough. He ekes a living from doing odd things, especially working at circuses and fairs. Ordinarily, these kinds of jobs often take him from one place to another. The second character is Roger who is fourteen years old; his sibling, Diana, is thirteen, and both of them are the children of Mr and Mrs Lynton. Their parents are currently on a trip to America. Roger and Diana have a naughty and annoying cousin called Snubby, aged eleven. Snubby is an orphan and has been hosted by the Lyntons during the summertime holidays. Even then Snubby is liked by his relatives because he is a marvelous cook and a past master at housekeeping.

The turning point of the first book in the Barney Series, The Rockingdown Mystery, is the striking of a friendship between Barney and Roger, Snubby, and Diana. Barney, whose mother recently died and is accompanied by a pet monkey called Miranda, chances upon the rest of the characters while seeking his lost father. In the run-up to her death, his mother told him about his absentee father at her death-bed. The plot is set in the backdrop of the Rockingdown village. On the one hand, the said characters but for Barney are staying at the Dower House, which is part of an unused mansion with a sad history. The mansion formerly belonged to Lord Rockingdown and his wife, alongside their two children named Arabella and Robert; the children had tragic deaths, the lord was killed in action, and the Lady died heartbroken. On the other hand, Barney spends the nights in the mansion but soon notices strange sounds and noises.

Curiosity gets the better of Barney and he starts investigating. He realizes that the place is being used by smugglers. Unfortunately for him, he is spotted and held by the smugglers, and made to assist them in their wrongdoing. With the pet monkey acting as a messenger and a detective fastening on to the smugglers, Barney is rescued and the smugglers nabbed dramatically.

Barney Mysteries Awards and Accolades
Author Enid Blyton’s literary works are critically-acclaimed. In a 2008 survey, which was carried out for the coveted Costa Book Awards, Blyton hailed her as the best-loved novelist in the entire United Kingdom. Better still, Blyton clinched an award proffered by Boy’s Club of America by virtue of Mystery Island, the American version of her 1944 book titled The Island of Adventure.

Barney Mysteries into TV Shows or Movies
Various books authored by Enid Blyton have film adaptations. The following are examples of such adaptations, specifically based on the Famous Five novels. There is a 2012 children’s film called Famous Five and starred Valeria Eisenbart. There is a TV series which is two episodes long and aired in Britain between July 1978 and August 1979, and starred Jennifer Thanisch. An animated series entitled Famous 5: On the Case, which aired between April 2008 and September 2008, starred Clara Janson.

Valeria Eisenbart also starred in Famous Five 2 and Famous Five 3, which were released in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The 2010 film called Hanni & Nanni is based on Blyton’s book; and starred Sophia Munster and Jana Munster, as Hanna and Nanni, respectively. There is an animated series called Make Way for Noddy, of which the first episode was produced in 2002, and starred Britt McKillip. There is a season-long television show called The Enid Blyton Adventure.

Best Barney Mysteries Books
The following are the best books in the Barney series. To labor the point, the first one is called The Rockingdown Mystery. The second one is titled the Rilloby Fair Mystery; hereby, the juvenile characters are angling for solving a mysterious break-in wherein valuable things have been snatched from a strong room; it is suspected that a fair around the area might have something to do with the theft.

Other Book Series You May Like
Readers who enjoyed the Barney Series also sought the following selection. The first one is called The Three Investigators authored by William Arden; hereby, three boys start sleuthing cases involving supernatural incidents. The second one, which is called The Chalet School, is penned by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. This series features several school-going girls whose lives are fraught with personal troubles, dreadful thoughts, and deviant habits; however, they see their schoolmates and teachers as role model and rectify their behaviors. The third is titled Sue Barton series and is written by Helen Dore Boylston; Sue Barton is the featured protagonist in this seven-pronged series whose target market is adolescent females.