Doctor Dolittle's Circus

Last updated

Doctor Dolittle's Circus
Doctordoolittlescircus.png
First edition
Author Hugh Lofting
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Doctor Dolittle
Genre Children's novel
Publisher Frederick A. Stokes
Publication date
1924
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Preceded by Doctor Dolittle's Post Office  
Followed by Doctor Dolittle's Zoo  

Doctor Dolittle's Circus, written by Hugh Lofting and published in 1924 by Frederick A. Stokes, is set in England sometime between the original story and the later voyages narrated by Stubbins. It was one of the novels in the series which was adapted into the film Doctor Dolittle .

Contents

Plot summary

The story begins with Doctor John Dolittle looking for some money to earn to pay off his voyage to Africa. The Doctor's idea is to get the Pushmi-Pullyu into the circus, but he can't find one until Matthew Mugg suggest a small business circus owned by the ring master Blossum. The Doctor visits Blossum and persuades him to visit his house in Puddleby to discuss the payment and rules of the Pushmi-Pullyu before its performance in the circus.

The performance goes well after the Pushmi-Pullyu is put into the show and the doctor starts earning, but he also discovers the circus animals are living in wretched conditions, which Blossum doesn't co-operate with when the doctor makes suggestions on how to improve their lot. The doctor then meets Sophie the Alaskan seal, who is owned by Mr Higgins. She explains to him that she misses her husband Slushy, who is her herd's alpha seal, so the Doctor plans an escape for Sophie. When the night comes for the escape, Dolittle waits in the street while Matthew and Jip get Sophie out of the circus, but the guards shut the gate before the seal can make a break for it, so Matthew and his wife Theodosia distract them by luring them to Sophie's tank and pushing them in. The whole circus goes into pandemonium when they see the disappearance of the seal, but Sophie manages to escape eventually.

When Dolittle and Sophie reach the outskirts of the town, Sophie suggests that if they follow the river, they will get to the sea quicker. They consult the ducks, who tell them to go to Talbot's Bridge, which will lead them to Kippet River all the way to the Bristol coast. Dolittle buys some lady clothes to disguise Sophie while travelling in a coach, but the people in the coach grow suspicious - mistaking him for a notorious highwayman and Sophie for the highwayman's accomplice - so the Doctor and Sophie have to leave. The Doctor and Sophie meet up with the same horse whom the Doctor gave spectacles for his eyesight and who obliges to take them in his wagon to the Kippet River. When they reach the river, Sophie swims most of the way, and finally the doctor throws Sophie into the sea from a cliff, still in her disguise.

The doctor gets arrested by the coastguard for allegedly throwing his wife in the sea. In prison, the Doctor meets Sir William, an old school friend who is now a fox hunter and whom the Doctor tries to persuade to stop killing foxes. The police sergeant later comes in to explain to the doctor that the coastguard made a mistake and that the doctor is free to go. When the doctor makes his way back to Appledyke, he meets a mother vixen called Nightshade who is on the run with her cubs from fox hunters. The Doctor hides Nightshade and her cubs in his jacket, and when he discovers Sir William is on the hunt, he tells the hunter's dogs to hunt elsewhere so the foxes can escape.

After having saved Nightshade and her cubs, Dolittle returns to Blossum's Circus and finds there is a talking horse called Nino who performs a series of signs to communicate. Nino falls ill, so the doctor explains to Blossum that he can talk to animals and has an idea to use Beppo as a substitute talking horse for the act. Beppo later tells the Doctor of a nice pasture where he wishes to retire, so the Doctor persuades the farmer to let him buy the farm. The pasture is turned into The Retirement Cab and Wagon Horse Association, and soon afterwards the son of the farmer and his friends get paid by the Doctor to plant radishes to feed the horses with.

The Doctor then gets his animal friends, including Dab-Dab, Gub-Gub, Jip, Toby and Swizzle, to perform in a play called "The Puddleby Pantomime", and is approved by Mr Bellamy when the performance is done. However, Blossum disappears with the money he owes everyone, and the circus people elect the Doctor as the new manager of the circus. The Doctor reluctantly agrees and arranges everything to his satisfaction by giving tea and peppermints to his visitors.

One night the circus' lion and leopard ask the Doctor if they could stretch their legs by coming out of their cages. After the Doctor makes them promise not to eat anybody, the lion and leopard wander around each evening but one night the lion gets lost, frightens the visitors and, because he is hungry, eats some of a farmer's chickens, which the Doctor has to pay for. After the Doctor agrees with the leopard and the lion that he'll keep watch for them each time they have their night stroll, he decides to let the animals take over the performances in the circus and get rid of the people performing in it so the people can enjoy it more.

Characters

Adaptions

Parts of the story of Doctor Dolittle's Circus were featured in the 1967 film starring Rex Harrison, including the circus with the pushmi-pullyu, the fox hunt and the escape of Sophie the seal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Lofting</span> English American childrens writer

Hugh John Lofting was an English American writer trained as a civil engineer, who created the classic children's literature character Doctor Dolittle. The fictional physician to talking animals, based in an English village, first appeared in illustrated letters to his children which Lofting sent from British Army trenches in the First World War. Lofting settled in the United States soon after the war and before his first book was published.

<i>Doctor Dolittle</i> (1967 film) 1967 American musical film directed by Richard Fleischer

Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, and Richard Attenborough. It was adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the Doctor Dolittle novel series by Hugh Lofting, primarily The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), and Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Dolittle</span> Main character from a series of childrens novels by Hugh Lofting

Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 The Story of Doctor Dolittle. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages. He later becomes a naturalist, using his abilities to speak with animals to better understand nature and the history of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy Adamson</span> 20th-century naturalist, artist and author

Friederike Victoria "Joy" Adamson was a naturalist, artist and author. Her book, Born Free, describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa. Born Free was printed in several languages, and made into an Academy Award-winning movie of the same name. In 1977, she was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art.

<i>The Island of Doctor Moreau</i> 1896 novel by Herbert George Wells

The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, a mad scientist who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection. The novel deals with a number of themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, human interference with nature, and the effects of trauma. Wells described it as "an exercise in youthful blasphemy."

<i>Dr. Dolittle 2</i> 2001 film by Steve Carr

Dr. Dolittle 2 is a 2001 American fantasy comedy film and a sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. It was written by Larry Levin, one of the co-writers of Dr. Dolittle, and directed by Steve Carr. The film stars Eddie Murphy in the main role, Kristen Wilson, Jeffrey Jones, and Kevin Pollak.

<i>The Story of Doctor Dolittle</i> 1920 novel by Hugh Lofting

The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts (1920), written and illustrated by the British author Hugh Lofting, is the first of his Doctor Dolittle books, a series of children's novels about a man who learns to talk to animals and becomes their champion around the world. It was one of the novels in the series which was adapted into the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle.

<i>The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle</i> 1922 book by Hugh Lofting

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle is the second of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books. Published in 1922, the writing style is aimed at a more mature audience and features more sophisticated illustrations than its predecessor. The novel's scope is vast; it is nearly five times as long as its predecessor and is divided into six parts. It won the Newbery Medal for 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pumapard</span> Hybrid between a leopard and a cougar

A pumapard is a hybrid of a cougar and a leopard. Both male cougar with female leopard and male leopard with female cougar pairings have produced offspring. In general, these hybrids have exhibited a tendency to dwarfism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Aybolit</span>

Doctor Aybolit is a fictional character from the children's poems Aybolit (1929) and Barmaley (1925) by Korney Chukovsky, as well as from the children's fantastic novella Doctor Aybolit (1925) by the same author. The name may be translated as "Ouch, [it] hurts!"

<i>Dr. Dolittle</i> (1998 film) 1998 film directed by Betty Thomas

Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film directed by Betty Thomas, written by Larry Levin and Nat Mauldin, and starring Eddie Murphy in the title role with Ossie Davis and Oliver Platt. The film was based on the series of children's stories of the same name by Hugh Lofting, but used no material from any of the novels; the main connection is the titular character Dr. John Dolittle and his ability to talk to animals, although the Pushmi-Pullyu, a much-loved feature of the books, notably makes a very brief appearance in a couple of scenes. The first novel, The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920) had originally and previously been filmed in 1967 as a musical of the same name, which was a closer adaptation of the book. The film was a box office bomb, but became a cult classic.

<i>Gub Gubs Book</i> The spin-off of Doctor Dolittle Books, the author was Hugh Lofting

Gub Gub's Book: An Encyclopedia of Food: In Twenty Volumes is a 1932 children's book in the Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting.

Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk is a British children's animated television series produced by Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium. it was broadcast on BBC1 on 13 September 1976 to 1977.

Doctor Dolittle is a 1970–1971 Saturday morning animated series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The series is loosely based on the books by Hugh Lofting, as well as the 1967 film of the same title which center around Doctor Dolittle, an animal doctor who has the ability to talk to animals.

<i>Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts</i> 2009 film by Alex Zamm

Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Alex Zamm and starring Kyla Pratt and Norm Macdonald. It was released on May 19, 2009, and like its predecessor, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008), was a direct-to-DVD release.

<i>Dolittle</i> (film) 2020 film by Stephen Gaghan

Dolittle is a 2020 American fantasy adventure film directed by Stephen Gaghan from a screenplay by Gaghan, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, based on a story by Thomas Shepherd. Dolittle is based on the title character created by Hugh Lofting and is primarily inspired by the author's second Doctor Dolittle book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922). Robert Downey Jr. stars as the title character, alongside Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen in live-action roles, with Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, and Marion Cotillard voicing an array of creatures.

The Dr. Dolittle film series consists of American feature-length family films, based on the book series written by Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle. Like their source material, the plot of each respective film follows the titular characters' adventures given their abilities to communicate with animals. The series consists of the original fantasy-period piece musical movie, a contemporary comedy remake, and a period piece fantasy-adventure reboot.

Adventures of a Boy is the title of an Azeri folktale first collected in Russian language in the early 20th century.

References

Welbourn, Karen W., "Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924)", copyright 1998–2003. Retrieved 14 February 2015.