Lawson, Valerie (1999). Out of the Sky She Came: The Life of P.L. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins. Hodder. ISBN 978-0-7336-1072-1. Hone, Joseph (2013-12-06). "Steely, self-centred, controlling — the Mary Poppins I knew". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 2018-06-08. Fox, Margalit (1996-04-25). "P. L. Travers, Creator of the Magical and Beloved Nanny Mary Poppins, Is Dead at 96". The New York Times. Twenty-six vignettes (one for each letter of the alphabet) weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's previous novels. Each vignette is filled with fun and unusual words that start with the featured letter.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At first, William Wilkins comes off as a conventional bank president and is initially friendly to Jane and Michael when they visit the bank. Once they leave, his true colors show as he tears out their late father's records of being a shareholder and burns them in the fireplace. In the Royal Dalton Bowl, he is represented as a wolf who's just as duplicitous, making him a literal "wolf in sheep's clothing". Mary Poppins comes to the rescue when the Banks's family cook goes on an unexpected leave, teaching the young Banks children the basics of cooking in the process. The book includes recipes. Gilded Cage: Bert references this to Jane and Michael when they question their father's love for them. Stating that his job is cold, heartless and difficult but he faces it every day for his family's sake. Big Bad: Wilkins is the film's villain, as noted above. A bank president who gladly engages in purposeful foreclosures and wants to repossess the Banks household.The Comically Serious: In the film and the stage musical, his dour attitude and extreme punctuality were, for the most part, played for laughs. Magical Nanny: The nanny who blew in with the wind to take care of the Banks children. She is the original, endlessly referenced and parodied. Travers was reluctant to share details about her personal life, saying she "most identified with Anonymous as a writer" and asked whether "biographies are of any use at all". Patricia Demers was allowed to interview her in 1988 but not to ask about her personal life. [17] Bust of P. L. Travers, c. 1944, by Gertrude Hermes, National Portrait Gallery, London Maia: The second daughter of the seven Pleiades, who visits the children during their Christmas shopping to buy presents for all of her six sisters.

All-Knowing Singing Narrator: His role in the stage musical is this. He moves the story along as much as he's in it. Without Mary Poppins around, the Banks family is not doing very well. To the point where Mr. Banks finds that his servant has polished his hat with boot polish, which is not a very nice thing to do with a hat. I would probably have more sympathy if this incident did not also reveal that Mr. Banks never brushes his own hats. Moving on, Mr. Banks, unappreciative of the good things in his life, announces that he’s going to move out, like, now. More importantly, a series of nannies and governesses have come and gone, things in the house are falling apart, and Mrs. Brill would like you to know that the kitchen is on fire. In an astounding display of just how much times have changed, Mrs. Banks sends her four children off to the park without any adult supervision whatsoever. In an astounding display of just how much times have remained the same, this is because Mrs. Banks is in desperate need of peace and quiet. And, of course, Mary Poppins. P. L. Travers - further papers, 1901–1991, Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs, Drawings, 2 boxes - 0.26 Meters, State Library of New South Wales MLMSS 5341 ADD-ON 2130Thompson, Emma (2014-01-09). "Not-So-Cheery Disposition: Emma Thompson on Poppins' Cranky Creator". Fresh Air (Interview). Interviewed by Dave Davies. NPR. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16 . Retrieved 2021-04-16. Deadpan Snarker: She's quite snarky about Katie Nanna, and is happy to see her out the door. She's even snarkier in the musical, especially towards Robertson Ay. Anti-Villain: First film only. Like his father, he only wants what's best for the bank, and that narrows his viewpoint on what a child may want versus what a bank customer may want. George Banks talking about Mary Poppins and passing on the tuppence to Dawes Sr. had an impact on the son, who is smiling the next day. Albert Wigg: Mary's uncle, presumably her mother's brother; a large round bald man with a jovial personality. If his birthday falls on a Friday, he comes so full of 'laughing gas' that he floats up in the air. He appears in the 1964 film as Uncle Albert, played by Ed Wynn, and sings the song " I Love to Laugh" with Bert. He is absent from the musical.

She enthusiastically sings about how she's fighting for the equality of women everywhere, to the female staff who feel they aren't getting paid enough for what they have to put up with under her employment. Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE ( / ˈ t r æ v ər s/; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. [1] She is best known for the Mary Poppins series of books, [2] which feature the eponymous magical nanny.Open-Minded Parent: Even with his attitude towards women like his wife and employees, he does end up taking Jane with him and Michael when they go to the bank (the point to show them how he works and why it's so important to the Empire). He fully becomes this at the end of the movie. The Hamadryad: An old and wise snake (a king cobra), stated to be 'the King of all beasts', who is Mary Poppins's first cousin once removed on her mother's side. He lives at London Zoo. He is the host of Mary Poppins's birthday party whenever it falls on a full moon. Kid Hero All Grown-Up: More than two decades have passed since Mary Poppins entered his life and left, and he grew up accordingly. Child Hater: In her own words, she believes "children are better when they can be seen and not heard".