Mary Poppins (1934) is a well-known novel written by P.L. Travers to which there are five sequels. Because the title character is a nanny with magical powers, many readers assume the novel is work of fantasy written for children; in fact, Travers intended Mary Poppins for adult readers, as the novel’s heroine is unexpectedly complex. Mary Poppins herself is often maliciously caustic; throughout the narrative, Travers mocks the class-conscious norms of Edwardian Britain against a fantastical backdrop of talking animals and other marvels, presaging conflicts to come over social position and the meaning of affluence in a rapidly changing society.

Travers didn’t like Walt Disney’s cinematic adaptation of Mary Poppins that popularized the novel and its characters. The Disney film appeared in 1964 and featured Julie Andrews as a posh-voiced, smiling version of Travers’s vain and sneering Mary Poppins. Though Travers reportedly did not approve of Disney’s liberties with her character, Mary Poppins the film did earn her a fortune. In 1977, Travers received an OBE, making her an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Plot Summary

Mary Poppins arrives to the Banks household with the east wind, just as their previous nanny is leaving. Her sense of timing is the first indication that she might be an extraordinary creature. The Banks family includes Mrs. and Mr. Banks, Michael, Jane, twin babies John and Barbara, and servants. As Jane and Michael Banks develop a relationship with their new nanny, they increasingly see her as a magical being. Mary Poppins, though impatient and sometimes cruel, brings magic to the lives of the Banks children in myriad ways, and under her influence, the children learn that there is much more to the world than they ever could have realized.

The children accompany Mary Poppins on several outings, each filled with magical elements. They journey to Mary Poppins’s uncle’s house, for instance, and when they see the uncle floating because he’s filled with laughter, they too join him near the ceiling while laughing. In another scene, they buy gingerbread from a small, ancient woman who breaks her own fingers off for the twins to eat. They later see Mary Poppins, the ancient woman, and the woman’s two daughters hanging stars in the sky. On Mary Poppins’s birthday, the children—spirited away to the zoo—find humans in cages and animals taking on the roles of humans. Near the end of the narrative, the children and Mary Poppins encounter Maia, one of the Pleaides, on a shopping trip.

With each encounter, Mary Poppins instills not only a sense of wonder into the children but a sense of fairness. Travers, through her often cantankerous titular character, critiques social mores and social expectations by highlighting the magic in fairness, goodness, and justice. Mary Poppins is clear at the start of her tenure that she will not be with the Banks for long. At the end of the novel, when the west wind blows, Mary Poppins floats away with her iconic carpet bag and umbrella, but she leaves Jane and Michael with gifts and a promise that they will soon meet her again.