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
Author	P. L. Travers
Illustrator	Mary Shepard
Country	United Kingdom
Genre	Children's literature
Publisher	Gerald Howe,[1] London Reynal & Hitchcock,[2] New York
Published	1934–1988
Media type	Hardback

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]