''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'' is a children's book written and illustrated by

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

as part of the

Peter Rabbit Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter. A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...

series. The book contains eight chapters and numerous illustrations. Though the book was one of Potter's last publications in 1930, it was one of the first stories she wrote.

Overview

Potter introduces the story as her explanation of how the

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

from Edward Lear's poem, "

The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine '' Our Young Folks: an Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, S ...

" comes to travel to the "land where the Bong-Tree grows". Little Pig Robinson's aunts, Miss Porcas and Miss Dorcas, send him to the

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

to sell produce from their farm and purchase certain items they need. On his way home from the market, Little Pig Robinson is stopped by a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

who offers him an array of goods and an opportunity to travel. Little Pig Robinson agrees to the sailor's offer and goes with the sailor to the ship. There, the sailor tells Little Pig Robinson to go down and help himself to " muffins and

crumpet A crumpet () is a small griddle bread made from an unsweetened batter of water or milk, flour, and yeast, popular in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Crumpets are regionally known as pikelets, a name also ap ...

s". The sailors then leave the dock and Little Pig Robinson quickly realizes he has been kidnapped. He further realizes that the sailor he had met at the market was in truth the ship's

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

who had planned to turn Little Pig Robinson into a fine feast for the ship's men. With the help of the ship's resident cat, Little Pig Robinson escapes in a rowing boat and finds his way to "the land where the Bong tree grows". Some time later Pig Robinson meets the Owl and the Pussycat there.

Composition history

Potter began writing ''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'' in 1893 after a holiday to Falmouth and other coastal towns, in particular

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

where she gained inspiration from the landscape. ''Pig Robinson'' was written as a prequel to Edward Lear's poem "The Owl and the Pussycat", which Potter would illustrate in 1897. Potter also used elements of Daniel Defoe's ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' and her own stories about her pet pigs. While writing ''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'', Potter drew some of her first drawings in her journal, including character sketches and literary portraits. The book was initially rejected by the publisher Frederick Warne & Co. due to its length and lack of illustrations—a result of the story's division into chapters. The story was first published in September 1930 in Britain by Frederick Warne & Co. and in America by

David McKay Publications David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles '' Ace Comics'', '' King Comics'', and '' Magic Comics''; as well a ...

after both companies encouraged her to release a new book in 1929. After receiving the request, Potter revised the manuscript and illustrations for the publication, but her story faced delays due to Potter having a case of

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. When the book was finally published, it was much more popular in Britain than America and required several reprints to meet demand. Potter took the income from the sales of ''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'' to purchase the Monk Conniston Estate as an investment.

Critical response

''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'' has been called a conventional narrative when compared to some of Potter's latter literary efforts lacking the concentrated intensity of her other writing. Due to the book being illustrated after Potter wrote it, the story has been criticized for being unnecessarily long. The elements of social criticism in the text have been seen to contrast against the humorous nature of the book.

Adaptations

A 1990 British television movie adaptation of ''The Tale of Little Pig Robinson'' was produced by Dreamscape Company. The adaptation was directed by

Alan Bridges Alan Bridges (28 September 1927 – 7 December 2013) was an English film and television director. In 1967 Bridges directed a television adaptation of Charles Dickens' '' Great Expectations'' starring Gary Bond as Pip. He won the '' Grand P ...

and starred

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. Spall performed in '' ...

as Pig Robinson, with Dawn French and

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

as aunts Porcas and Dorcas respectively, Edward Fox as the ship's captain, Barnabas Butcher, and Toyah Wilcox as the ship's cat.

References

External links