Mary Poppins (book series)

Mary Poppins
The first four Mary Poppins books

  • Mary Poppins
  • Mary Poppins Comes Back
  • Mary Poppins Opens the Door
  • Mary Poppins in the Park
  • Mary Poppins from A to Z
  • Mary Poppins in the Kitchen
  • Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane
  • Mary Poppins and the House Next Door

AuthorP. L. Travers
IllustratorMary Shepard
CountryUnited Kingdom
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherGerald Howe,[1] London
Reynal & Hitchcock,[2] New York
Published1934–1988
Media typeHardback

Mary Poppins is a series of eight children's books written by Australian-British writer P. L. Travers and published over the period 1934 to 1988. Mary Shepard was the illustrator throughout the series.[3]

The books centre on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Bankses' household to care for their children. Encounters with pavement-painters and shopkeepers, and various adventures ensue, until Mary Poppins abruptly leaves, i.e., "pops out". Only the first three of the eight books feature Mary Poppins arriving and leaving. The later five books recount previously unrecorded adventures from her original three visits. As Travers explains in her introduction to Mary Poppins in the Park, "She cannot forever arrive and depart."[4]

The books were adapted by Walt Disney into a musical film titled Mary Poppins (1964), starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The film Saving Mr. Banks (2013) depicted the making of the 1964 film. Disney's sequel to the 1964 film, Mary Poppins Returns, was released in 2018, and stars Emily Blunt as Poppins.

In 2004, Disney Theatrical in collaboration with Sir Cameron Mackintosh (who had previously acquired the stage rights from Travers) produced a stage musical also called Mary Poppins in London's West End theatre. The stage musical was transferred to Broadway, in New York, in 2006, where it ran until its closing on 3 March 2013.[5]

  1. ^ Mary Poppins, archive.org. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  2. ^ Mary Poppins, worldcat.org. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  3. ^ P. L. Travers. Mary Poppins in the Park. Librarything.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  4. ^ Travers, Pamela Lyndon. Mary Poppins in the Park. Harcourt, Brace & World. p. xiii.
  5. ^ "'Aladdin' Opens at New Amsterdam Theatre, 'Mary Poppins' Closing March 3". BroadwayTour. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.