The Magic Pudding
The
Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill
Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff
is an Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman
Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a
classic of Australian children's literature.
The
story is set in Australia with humans mixing with anthropomorphic animals.
It tells of a magic pudding
which, no matter how often it is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten
again. It is owned by three companions who must defend it against Pudding
Thieves who want it for themselves.
The
book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. There are many short songs
interspersed throughout the text, varying from stories told in rhyme to
descriptions of a character's mood or behaviour, and verses of an ongoing sea
song.
Plot summary
Wanting
to see the world and unable to live with his uncle anymore, Bunyip Bluegum
the koala sets out on his travels, taking only a walking
stick. At about lunchtime, feeling more
than slightly peckish, he meets Bill Barnacle the sailor
and Sam Sawnoff the penguin
who are eating a pudding.
The pudding is a magic one which, no matter how much one eats it, always
reforms into a whole pudding again. He is called Albert, has thin arms and legs
and is a bad-tempered, ill-mannered so-and-so into the bargain. His only
pleasure is being eaten and on his insistence, Bill and Sam invite Bunyip to
join them for lunch. They then set off on the road together, Bill explaining to
Bunyip how he and Sam were once shipwrecked with a ship's cook on an iceberg where the cook created the pudding which they now own.
Later
on they encounter the Pudding Thieves, a possum named Patrick and a wombat named Watkin. Bill and Sam bravely defend their pudding
while Bunyip sits on Albert so that he cannot escape while they are not
looking. Later that night sitting round the fire, Bill and Sam, grateful for
his contributions of the day, invite Bunyip to join them and become a member of
the Noble Society of Pudding Owners.
Later
the next day, through some well-thought-out trickery, the Pudding Thieves make
a successful grab for the Pudding. Upset and outraged, Bill and Sam fall into
despair and it is up to Bunyip to get them to pull themselves together and set
off to rescue their Pudding. In the course of tracking down the Pudding Thieves
they encounter some rather pathetic and unsavoury members of society, but
eventually manage to get led to the Pudding Thieves' lair. Bunyip's cleverness
lures the robbers into a trap from where Bill and Sam's fists do the rest and
they retrieve their pudding.
Some
time later the Pudding Thieves approach the three Pudding Owners proclaiming
that they bear gifts of good will and will present them to the pudding owners
if they would only look inside a bag they have with them. When doing so they
pull it over their heads and tie it up leaving them defenceless as the thieves
take their pudding and run off.
An
elderly dog, market gardener Benjamin Brandysnap, comes along and frees the
Pudding Owners. The bag had been stolen from his stable, and he joins the
Pudding Owners to get revenge on the Pudding Thieves. Another clever plan by
Bunyip lures them into another trap where the Thieves are given yet another
battering and the Pudding retrieved.
The
next day the travellers come to the sleepy town of Tooraloo where they are approached by men dressed in suits and top
hats and claiming to be the real owners of the Pudding. They turn out to be the
Pudding Thieves up to yet another attempt at getting the Pudding and the
subsequent fight brings along the Mayor and the cowardly local Constable. In the argument that follows, the bad-tempered Pudding
pinches the Mayor, who orders his arrest.
The
Pudding is taken to court where the only officials present are the judge and
the usher
who are playing cards, but they prefer to eat the defendant rather than hear
the case. To settle matters, Bunyip suggests that they hear the case
themselves. Bill becomes the prosecutor, the Pudding Thieves are charged with the attempts to steal
the Pudding and the theft of Benjamin Brandysnap's bag and the Mayor and the
Constable stand in as “12 good men and true” — conceding that the unconstitutionality of the court is "better than a punch on the
snout". The proceedings do not go well however, and result in utter chaos.
When it is at its height, Bunyip suddenly announces that the Pudding has been
poisoned. The judge, who has been eating away at the Pudding, goes suddenly
crazy and attacks the usher, the Pudding Thieves, the Mayor and the Constable
with a bottle of port.
In
reality, Albert was never poisoned and the Pudding Owners take advantage of the
confusion to beat a hasty retreat. They then decide that it would be best to
settle down somewhere rather than continue with their travelling. They build a
house in a tree in Benjamin's garden and settle down to a life of ease.
Characters
- Bunyip Bluegum: an accomplished young koala
- Albert: is the Magic Pudding.
- Bill Barnacle: A sailor.
- Sam Sawnoff: a penguin is a shipmate of Bill Barnacle.
- Patrick: a possum is one of the pudding thieves.
- Watkin: a wombat is one of the pudding thieves.
- Benjamin Brandysnap: an elderly dog.
- Wattleberry: is the uncle of Bunyip Bluegum.
- Henrietta Hedgehog:
Illustrations
Norman
Lindsay, a well-known artist, illustrated the book himself with numerous black
and white drawings, and also designed the cover. The original sketches can be
seen at the State Library of New
South Wales.[1]
The
Magic Pudding Sculpture by Louis Laumen, based on Lindsay's illustrations, is
the centrepiece of the Ian Potter
Children's Garden in the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Melbourne.[2]
Significance and reception
The
Magic Pudding is said to have been written to
settle an argument: Lindsay's friend Bertram Stevens said that children like to read about fairies, while
Lindsay asserted that they would rather read about food and fighting.[3][4]
First
published in 1918, The Magic Pudding is considered a children's classic,
and continues to be reprinted. The first edition was sold as a ‘guinea book’
(21 shillings). It was a limited edition quality art book.[5] Out-of-print outside Australia for many years, the book was
re-issued in 2004 by The New York Review
Children's Collection.[6] In Australia a new edition was released in 2008 to
celebrate the 90th anniversary of the book, and October 12 was declared
"Pudding Day";[7] this new 2008 edition featured the original artwork as well
as a biography, the first book reviews, letters between Lindsay and his
publisher, and various recipes.[8] In 2018 HarperCollins released a centenary edition, and the State Library of New
South Wales opened an exhibition of Lindsay's original drawings for the book.[9][10]
Philip
Pullman has described The Magic Pudding
as "the funniest children's book ever written" [6] and as his favourite book.[11]
Adaptations
Further information: The Magic Pudding (film)
In
1960 Peter Scriven
adapted the book as a puppet show, for which Lindsay produced 40 drawings.
Scriven's Marionette
Theatre of Australia continued to perform the puppet
show around Australia until 1988.[12]
An
animated feature-length film adaption was released in 2000, with John
Cleese voicing the title role, Hugo
Weaving as Bill, Geoffrey
Rush as Bunyip, and Sam
Neill as Sam. It deviated heavily from
Lindsay's book, received mixed reviews from critics, and was not a financial
success.[13]
In
2010, Marian Street Theatre for Young People, based in Killara, NSW, presented
an adaption of Lindsay's script. Adapted by Andrew James, the production was
the first to portray most of the characters in Lindsay's story using actors,
rather than puppetry.[14]
In
2013, Victorian Opera
presented The Magic Pudding - The Opera. The music is by Calvin Bowman
and the libretto is adapted from Lindsay's book by Anna Goldsworthy.[15]
Honours
In
1985 a postage stamp
depicting an illustration from the book, was issued by Australia
Post as part of a set of five
commemorating children's books. [1]
References
· · "The
Magic Pudding: 100 years of Norman Lindsay's classic – in pictures". The
Guardian. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 23
September 2018.
· · Morley, Sarah
(Spring 2018). "The
Magic Pudding : 100 Years Ago" (PDF). SL Magazine. 11 (3): 16–17.
![[1]](http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0015490.jpg){kind=link}
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