Inspired by a lone teddy in a shop, Michael Bond’s courteous and clumsy hero from Peru has struck a chord with every generation. What is the secret to his enduring popularity?
Sixty five years ago, the world received one of its all-time great origin stories. A train station. An immigrant. A label reading “PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR. THANK YOU”. A family.
In its opening 800 words, Michael Bond’s A Bear Called Paddington – first published on 13 October 1958 – contained Paddington Bear’s entire DNA. A bear, courteous if accident prone, arrives in London as a stowaway and is taken in by a kindly family who quickly accept him as one of their own. And this, give or take a fondness for marmalade sandwiches and hard stares, has been enough to install Paddington as perhaps the UK’s most loved fictional character.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Q1Y9iLm
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