Julie Andrews recently celebrated her birthday ( born, October 1, 1935), and while many fans know her as Mary Poppins from the 1964 Disney movie, it made me realize something: I’ve never read the Mary Poppins books and know little about them. So, I did some digging—and discovered some very big difference to Disney’s version.
P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins series, published between 1934 and 1988, introduced the world to a much sterner, no-nonsense nanny. Far from the cheerful, singing figure Andrews’ portrayed, Travers’ Mary Poppins is a strict but magical presence who takes charge of the Banks household. The original Mary is plain, proper, and often vain. In fact, Travers described her as someone who “never wastes time being nice.”
Unlike the movie version, the book’s Poppins is not masking a bubbly interior. Her sternness is the core of her character. Travers believed children needed discipline to find happiness, and she shows this—under Mary Poppins’ firm hand, the Banks children were able to learn important lessons through magical adventures.
Speaking of those adventures, in the books, they are often borrow from ancient mythology. Travers, who was interested in Zen Buddhism, would weave ancient fables into Depression-era London. For example, in the first book, Mary Poppins takes the children to the zoo, where the animals leave their cages to dance while the zookeepers are locked up. A snake even speaks to the children about how all life is connected.
In the original books, the adventures go beyond a magical bag or flying with an umbrella. Jane and Michael Banks experience tea parties on the ceiling, travel around the world with a compass, and even have a Christmas shopping trip with a star from the Pleiades constellation.
For those looking to explore the Mary Poppins books:
- Mary Poppins (1934)
- Mary Poppins Comes Back (1935)
- Mary Poppins Opens the Door (1943)
- Mary Poppins in the Park (1952)
- Mary Poppins from A to Z (1962)
- Mary Poppins in the Kitchen (1975)
- Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane (1982)
- Mary Poppins and the House Next Door (1988)
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