Book collector finds 50-year-old novel that once belonged to wife in south Essex shop
Steve Mills, 67, is a collector of around 50 novels by the children's author and was going through some new additions when he found the writings from Karen, 60.
Steve said the book 'The Naughtiest Girl Again' had been given away by Karen's mum in the 1970s.
The book somehow ended up in a charity shop in Rayleigh - more than 160 miles away from where Karen grew up in Staffordshire and before she met Steve.
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The retired civil servant, who has loved Enid Blyton's books since he was a child, said: "We've taken it as one of the universe's strange coincidences.
"I had a load of books that I bought together and it wasn't until a couple of months went by that I was rearranging the books on the shelf.
Overjoyed - Book collector Steve was thrilled to find his wife's old books (Image: Steve Mills) "I decided to look through them properly, opened one up and recognised the number on the front cover.
"It was my brother-in-law and my wife's old address. I jokingly showed it to her and she turned the next page.
"There was her name, address, phone number and drawings.
"Her parents are in their 80s and they were delighted when we told them."
The book has hand-written details from Karen, then known as Karen Larden, as a young girl living in Staffordshire.
They include her name, address at the time and phone number - alongside 'stick-figure' drawings of her family.
Steve said he then found more books in his collection also with his wife's annotations in them.
He added: "Lo and behold, there was a second and third book belonging to my wife."
The other books were Five on a Treasure Island and Adventures of Pip - all with Karen's musings scrawled inside.
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Steve has also found a note which reads "I have got 12 of Enid Blyton's books" and is determined to track the remaining nine down.
Handwritten - Steve found notes and drawings from his wife's childhood in the book (Image: Steve Mills) He also posted his find on an Enid Blyton Fan Group on Facebook and has received 1,300 likes.
Steve said: "It's touched on people's heartstrings and there's a lot of people out there who would love to find things from their childhood.
"It was a simpler life and that's why I like them so much."
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