Mary Poppins is a 1934 novel by P. L. Travers, the first in a series of eight books. Aside from the most famous adaptation, it was also adapted into a Russian film and a radio drama. Not to mention a stage musical based on the Disney film.
The basic story is exactly what you'd expect. Mary Poppins becomes the nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, takes them on extraordinary adventures, and uses her umbrella to fly away at the end. But almost everything else is different.
First, Mary Poppins' personality is much harsher and colder than her film counterpart's. I can't picture this Mary Poppins ever singing "A Spoonful of Sugar" or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". This was the most jarring difference. It took me a long time to warm up to this version of the character.
Next, the Banks have four children, not two. Bert exists, but he doesn't have the film version's character. (Thankfully he doesn't have the atrocious accent either.)
But by far the most unexpected are the adventures Mary Poppins takes the children on. They don't ride merry-go-round horses or get sucked up chimneys here. Instead they see a woman and her daughters climbing up ladders to turn sweet-wrappers into stars(!) and travel around the world with a compass. Though they do have a tea party on the ceiling.
I recognised some incidents and characters from the film. But by and large the film and the book are two different stories with different settings. Not quite what I expected, but still entertaining. You'll probably enjoy this book as long as you know beforehand that it's not much like the film.
Is it available online?: Not as far as I know.
Rating: 7/10.
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