George's Marvellous Medicine
British first edition hardback
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| Author | Roald Dahl |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Quentin Blake |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher |
Jonathan Cape (UK hardback) Alfred Knopf (US hardback) Puffin Books (paperback) |
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Publication date
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1981 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback) |
| Pages | 96 |
George's Marvellous Medicine (known as George's Marvelous Medicine in the US) is a book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. First published in 1981, the book was praised for its imitativeness and humour, but was also criticised for its underdeveloped plot and somewhat abrupt ending. The book is one of Dahl's shorter children's books.
Being a medical expert was one of what Dahl called his “dreams of glory”: he had huge respect for doctors and particularly those who pioneered new treatments. Dahl dedicated George's Marvellous Medicine to “doctors everywhere”. An audio reading of the book was released with the actor Richard E. Grant narrating.
While 8-year old George's parents, Mr and Mrs Kranky, are away running errands, his maternal grandma bosses him around and scares him by saying that she likes to eat insects and believes that she is a witch. George decides to make a magic medicine to replace his horrid grandma's old medicine. He goes around his home and collects a variety of ingredients including deodorant and shampoo from the bathroom, floor from the laundry room, horseradish sauce and gin from the kitchen, animal medicines, engine oil and anti-freeze from the garage and brown paint to mimic the colour of the original medicine.
After cooking the ingredients in the kitchen, George gives the medicine to his grandma, who briefly blows up into a large balloon, her belly catching fire. Then she grows as tall as the house, bursting through the ceilings and the roof. He then tests it on one of his father's chickens, which grows ten times its original size. Mr and Mrs Kranky return home and can't believe their eyes when they see the giant chicken and Grandma. George's mother drops the things she bought, while his father becomes very excited at the thought of giant animals. Then Mr Kranky has George use the medicine on the rest of the farm's animals, causing them to become giants as well. However, grandma begins complaining over being ignored and stuck in the roof of their house. Mr Kranky hires a crane to remove her from the house. Grandma's extreme height has her sleeping in the barn for the next few nights.
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Wikipedia