"This book explores Michael Bond's creation, Paddington Bear, both as a literary character and a cultural phenomenon. Since his first appearance in 1958, the bear has become an increasingly significant part of the British cultural landscape. Through an analysis of Bond's own books, as well as the bear's several adaptations and afterlives, we demonstrate that Paddington's transition from displaced Peruvian bear to part of a wealthy West London family, as well as his increasing presence within British institutions, sheds light on discourses of migration, assimilation, tolerance, and national identity. With this, we offer a socio-cultural biography of the Paddington series, locating the character within contemporary Britain, and exploring his development asa global transmedia brand in the context of ongoing debates about the acceptance of immigrants within the British national imaginary"-- Provided by publisher.
In 1958, a little marmalade-loving brown bear from Peru named Paddington was introduced to the post-war British public. Please Look After This Bear analyses the titular character's transformation from displaced Peruvian bear to member of a wealthy, upper-class West London family, raising questions about migration, assimilation, tolerance, and national identity.
An exploration of Paddingon the Bear as an international cultural phenomenon
In 1958, a little marmalade-loving brown bear from Peru named Paddington was introduced to the post-war British public. Inspired by his creator Michael Bond's memories of displaced Jewish children in the United Kingdom during World War II, Paddington became a symbol of how to treat refugees with kindness. Author Bond was clear from the outset about Paddington's refugee status. Nearly sixty-five years later, the bear's legacy has evolved into a transmedia phenomenon; his once marginalized image has now been licenced to numerous British organisations -- such as Barbour and Marks & Spencer -- and more recently, even become a symbolic figurehead of national mourning following Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022.
Please Look After This Bear analyzes the titular character's transformation from displaced Peruvian bear to member of a wealthy, upper-class West London family, raising questions about migration, assimilation, tolerance, and national identity. The first of its kind to trace the publication history of the Paddington stories, this cutting-edge, critical text not only offers a unique sociocultural biography on the series' origins and background, but looks closely at its contemporary adaptations and afterlives, citing its emergence as a British cultural symbol across the globe. To date, Paddington books have been translated into forty languages (including Latin) and have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.
Told in poignant, incisive prose, this book reveals how Paddington evolved from an unassuming Peruvian bear on the printed page to an international transmedia phenomenon and icon of Britishness. With thoughtful nods both to nostalgia and to national identity, this book traces the character's dramatic change across the ever-changing British historical and political landscape of the past nearly-seven decades.
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