On Christmas Eve in 1956, BBC cameraman Michael Bond felt a pang of sympathy for a teddy bear he noticed sitting alone on a shop shelf. So he bought the bear and gave it to his wife as a present. Ten days later, Bond had written the first Paddington book. [1]
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children’s literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children’s book A Bear Called Paddington and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and other artists.
A Bear Called Paddington chronicles the discovery of a teddy bear sitting on his suitcase at Paddington railway station in London with a label around his neck that read: “Please look after this bear”. He tells the Brown family, who happen upon him, how he had travelled from “darkest Peru” to Britain, hiding in a lifeboat, and all he had to eat on his long journey was a jar of marmalade. The Brown family take pity on him and offer him a home, despite the initial misgivings of Mr Brown. The Browns named him Paddington, after the railway station, and he goes off to live with his adoptive family and have many amusing misadventures.
The friendly, spectacled bear, with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade has become a classic character in British children’s literature. Though always polite and kind-hearted, he does inflict hard stares on those who incur his disapproval and he has an endless capacity for innocently getting into trouble.
Paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Paddington Bear has been adapted for television, films and appeared in commercials. The films Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) were both nominated for BAFTA Awards.