Mostly Mary

Mary Plain #1

by Gwynedd Rae

In which we are introduced to Mary Plain, the small but energetic bear from Berne, and her extraordinary family, and to the Owl Man, who has to share and put up with so many of her adventures in the human world.

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Welsh author Gwynedd Rae (1892-1977) was the creator of the much-loved Mary Plain series. The first book in the series, Mostly Mary,was published in 1930 and the last, Mary Plain’s Whodunnit, was published in 1965. The series includes 14 books about Mary’s adventures. They became hugely popular when they were read on BBC Radio Children's Hour during the 1930s.

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friendship did not stop me from getting this book.


I may have been about six years old when I read "All Mary" the second book in the series and the last time that I read books out of order. My teacher had our class lined up to go somewhere when I noticed a new book in our class library "Mostly Mary"!

I pushed past my friends to grab the book and held it to my chest. I already knew that I would enjoy this new adventure of Mary Plain the cute talking little bear and I was right.

Luckily my friends did not get upset with my rude manners nor did my teacher worry about taking the book with me.

Mary Plain was remarkable in that she was a real bear in a human world (at first Switzerland and later England in the 1950s.) She could talk in the manner of a five year with a limited world view. What was more remarkable was the Owl Man understanding Mary and adopting her. Mary called him the Owl Man because he wore dark rimmed glasses. Later she met the Fur Coat Lady - you can guess how she got her name.

A few years later I was able buy copies of the original publications, which are still on my library shelves after moving house many times. My biggest move was from New Zealand to my new home in the Philippines. I have a great niece here and she is getting my Mary books and other favorites.

I loved Mary as she could look at the world with enthusiasm through her child-like eyes.

If you want to re-capture your childhood then read Mary.


Enjoy

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely.

I was so pleased to stumble across this yesterday as I had been interested in reading this series. It's a wonderful book, sweet and charming. I adore the illustrations by Clara Vulliamy and will be buying copies of the other Mary Plain Adventures currently in print by Egmont.

I also plan on tracking down older versions of this series to experience the different illustrations.
🌂🍰🍩

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Mary Plain at the tender age of 5 and for me she remains infinitely better than Winnie the Pooh or Paddington. Naive but courageous , innocent yet wise Here we see Mary as a very young orphan cub struggling to find her place in the family hierarchy. The story is so funny but there is pathos too and as Mary dares to leave her safe home behind her to venture out into the wide world with the Owl Man the reader is left longing to know what happens next. Of course the stories are dated and of their time but none the less appealing for all that. As a child I delighted to try and decipher the "Mary writing" held my breath as Mary ventured out on a dangerous adventure and breathed a great sigh of relief when everything turned out OK. I thought these books were lost forever until I discovered a set newly published in an obscure book shop in South Wales in 1982. Since then I have been pleased to say that where I go Mary Plain goes too.ll

[Lissa Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to adore these stories of the naughty heroine! Borrowed her countless times from the library and re-read them all.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paddington Bear is a classic and (mostly) better written, but when I was a little girl I loved Mary Plain because she was a girl bear.

[Martyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary doesn't feel so Paddington-ish in this first book in the series, perhaps because she's still largely confined to the zoo enclosure so doesn't have the chance to get into all the kinds of situations which Paddington got into. It's only once she gets out into the real world that the comparisons can really start to be drawn. But the fact that she is different to Paddington isn't really to her advantage because Paddington is the more loveable of the two, and the more different Mary Plain is to Paddington, the more detrimental it is to her likeability. Or that's how I feel at any rate.

[Orla Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny book about a young bear who gets in trouble.

[Enola · Rating 5 out of 5]

My edition is so pretty!! Loved the adventure

[Sue Hyams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should know Mary!