Practically Poppins in Every Way

Ever since 1934, when Mary Poppins descended from the skies over London into Cherry Tree Lane in the book by P.L. Travers, the world has adored the adventures and peculiar wisdom of this magical nanny. For more than eight decades, Travers's staunch but charming heroine has been beloved in the pages of eight popular books--and in media--from movies to stage, and music to television, all around the world. Every incarnation of Mary Poppins has had at least one thing in common: she's always arrived out of the blue, though the stay is for an all-too brief period of time--until the wind changes or the chain breaks--whereupon she flies away again for, as Pamela Travers put it, "Apparently--nowhere." This book is a showcase of the varied creative forces that have brought Mary Poppins to life, generation after generation.