Breaking news from the Mirror.UK:  8/19/08.  Enid Blyton beats JK Rowling and Jane Austen to be Britain’s best loved author of all time: 

Noddy creator Enid Blyton yesterday beat literary heavyweights Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters to the title of Britain’s bestloved author of all time.

The late writer, who still sells eight million books a year worldwide – over a million of them her Famous Five novels – topped a 2008 Costa Book Awards poll to find the top 50 most cherished authors.

Children’s writers swept the board, with Blyton followed by Roald Dahl and Harry Potter creator JK Rowling.

A spokesman for Costa said: “Enid Blyton has kept millions of children entertained over the years with tales of mystery, adventure and magic.

“This research demonstrates how influenced we are in later life by the authors and books we read as a child.”

Top 10: 1 Enid Blyton; 2 Roald Dahl; 3 JK Rowling; 4 Jane Austen; 5 William Shakespeare; 6 Charles Dickens; 7 JRR Tolkien; 8 Agatha Christie; 9 Stephen King; 10 Beatrix Potter.