Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang (novel)
The hardcover three volumes (first editions)
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| Author | Ian Fleming |
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| Illustrator | John Burningham |
| Cover artist | John Burningham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
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Publication date
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22 October 1964 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 46 (Volume 1) |
| OCLC | 427190610 (Volume 1) |
| Followed by | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again |
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car is a children's novel written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham. It was initially published in three volumes, the first of which was released on 22 October 1964 by Jonathan Cape in London.
Fleming, better known as the creator of James Bond, took his inspiration for the subject from a series of aero-engined racing cars called "Chitty Bang Bang", built by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s at Higham Park. Fleming had known Higham Park as a guest of its later owner, Walter Wigham, chairman of Robert Fleming & Co.
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was loosely adapted as a 1968 film of the same name with a screenplay by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes; a subsequent novelisation was also published. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli, co-producer of the James Bond film series. The story was also adapted as a stage musical under the same name. In April 2011 a BBC Radio 4 Extra adaptation was broadcast with Imogen Stubbs as the voice of Chitty. Three sequels to Fleming's book have been published, all written by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Commander Caractacus Pott is an inventor who buys and renovates an old car after gaining money from inventing and selling whistle-like sweets to Lord Skrumshus, the wealthy owner of a local confectionery factory. The car, a "Paragon Panther", was the sole production of the Paragon motor-car company before it went bankrupt. It is a four-seat touring car with an enormous bonnet. After the restoration is complete, the car is named for the noises made by its starter motor and the characteristic two loud backfires it makes when it starts.
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