''Five on Finniston Farm'' is the eighteenth novel in the Famous Five series by

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

. It was first published in 1960.

Plot

The Famous Five spend their summer holidays at Finniston Farm as paying guests. Upon arrival, they are greeted by the pleasant Mrs Philpot and her identical twins, Henry and Harriet. The twins seem to take an instant dislike to the Five, who also meet two fellow paying guests: an American Mr Henning and his son, Junior. Mr Henning plans to buy

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

pieces from the farm and sell them in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Mr and Mrs Philpot agree to sell their farm treasures as they need the money. However the family's hot-tempered Great Granddad feels the antiques should remain in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Mr Henning and Junior prove themselves a nuisance to the household by rudely ordering around Mrs Philpot. Sympathetic to her, the Five offer to help with farm chores. When Junior demands breakfast in bed, George teaches him a lesson, making him agree to be more pleasant. This wins the hearts of the twins and they make friends with the Five. Anne and George visit a nearby antique shop, owned by a Mr Finniston, who tells them about a secret passage from Finniston Castle to an old

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

and cellars where royal treasure might be hidden. The girls excitedly reveal the news to the boys and the twins. Together, they plan to hunt for the cellars on the farm. They come across the castle's kitchen midden and realize they are close to finding the treasure. Junior spies on them and goes to break the news to his father and his father's friend, Mr Durleston, who decide to excavate the castle site, find the fortune and sell the antique

treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

in America. Mr and Mrs Philpot consent to the excavation, much to the dismay of the children. The children dig around the site, hoping to beat the men in finding the treasure. Initially they are unsuccessful but the twins'

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

, Snippet and their

jackdaw Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, crows and ravens ('' Corvus''). They have a blackish crown, wings, and tail, with the rest of their plumage paler.Madge & Burn (1994) 136� ...

, Nosey lead them to a burrow, beneath which the secret passage stretches out. The children discover the cellars and the treasure including old

daggers A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-u ...

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, etc., which are worth a fortune; only to become trapped inside the tunnel when the entrance caves in. They take another way and reach a trapdoor under the old chapel, which is now used as a storehouse. The farmhands Bill and Jamie hear their shouts and let them out. The children get back to the farm and tell their exciting story to the astonished adults. The next day, Mr Henning and Mr Durleston try to trick the Philpots into believing the site has no treasure and offer them a meagre amount. However, Mr Philpot, backed up by his granddad and Mr (William) Finniston, declines the offer, making it clear they will excavate the site themselves and no longer want the Americans to stay. The adventure ends with Julian, Dick, Anne and George along with Timmy planning to stay at the farm to observe the excavation of the treasure.

External links

Five On Finniston Farm at www.enidblyton.netEnid Blyton Society page
{{Famous Five 1960 British novels Hodder & Stoughton books Famous Five novels 1960 children's books