Michael Bond, the creator of the beloved children’s character Paddington Bear, has died aged 91.
Bond, who published his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, about the marmalade-loving bear from deepest, darkest Peru, in 1958, died at home after a short illness.
The author, born in Newbury, Berkshire, in 1926, kept writing until his death. His most recent Paddington story, Paddington’s Finest Hour, was published in April.
His daughter, Karen Jankel, told the Guardian “the whole world” was lucky to have had her father, whose legacy would “live on forever” through his creation.
A statement from publisher HarperCollins said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that Michael Bond, CBE, the creator of one of Britain’s best-loved children’s characters, Paddington, died at home aged 91 following a short illness.”
Jankel said: “It’s a shock to everybody. For me, he was the most wonderful father you can imagine, so obviously our loss is personal. But it’s wonderful that he’s left the legacy of his books and Paddington that will live on forever, which is really very special.
“The whole world is lucky to have had him … Paddington himself is so real to all of us, he’s still a part of our family and we’re very lucky.” Jankel said it was incredible that her father was still writing up until his death.
“For him, writing was his life. It was wonderful he could continue writing until the end,” she said. “Because … Paddington and his other characters were so real to him, he became alive to everybody else.
“You can tell just by reading his books what a lovely person he was. I never came across anybody who disliked my father. He was one of those people that people instinctively warmed to and he was as funny as a person and delightful as he was in his writing and as a father.”
Francesca Simon, author of the Horrid Henry series, said: “Michael Bond created that infinitely rare thing: an iconic, utterly original, instantly recognisable and memorable character. He was one of the greats.”
Matt Haig, the novelist who worked on the Paddington film, said: “Michael Bond created an icon of children’s fiction. The Peruvian immigrant bear is one of the quirkiest but somehow most emotionally real children’s characters, both fantastical and domestic. We should all have a marmalade sandwich in honour of his creator.”
As well as Paddington, Bond also created characters including Olga da Polga and A Mouse Called Thursday along with a series of novels for adults, featuring the detective Monsieur Pamplemousse.
More than 35mn Paddington books have been sold worldwide, spawning toys, TV programmes and most recently the film Paddington. A second film is set for release later this year.
Michael Bond
