The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...

. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942.

The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and their dog Timothy. Blyton created several similar groups for her detective

Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...

 series, including The Secret Seven

The Secret Seven

The Secret Seven or "Secret Seven Society" are a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton. They appear in one of several juvenile detective series Blyton wrote....

, The Adventurous Four (not to be confused with The Adventure Series

The Adventure Series

The Adventure Series by Enid Blyton, a prolific English children's author, is a series of eight children's novels. These books feature the same child characters: Philip, Jack, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann, along with several adult characters...

) and Five Find-Outers

The Five Find-Outers

The Five Find-Outers and Dog , also known as the Enid Blyton Mystery Series, is a series of children's mystery books written by Enid Blyton and first published between 1943 and 1961...

, but the Famous Five is the best-known and most popular of these.

Blyton only intended to write about 6 to 8 books in the series but, owing to their high sales and immense commercial success, she went on to write 21 full-length Famous Five novels.