The book that Chris Riddell has described as the one that made him a reader, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm deserves a place on every child’s bookcase. The archetypal absent-minded professor, Branestawm spends his time happily creating bizarre inventions, which then lead him into even bizarrer adventures. Hunter’s sense of fun is timeless and he had a wonderful eye for the humour that lies in the incongruous. Zany plots and characters, action and word-play ensure that the stories feel as fresh today as when they were first published. This edition features Heath Robinson’s illustrations – the one of the professor in his magnetic suspenders is particularly delightful. ~ Andrea Reece
Our Guest Editor Charlie Higson: "These stories are about a mad inventor and are madly inventive as well as very funny. I had forgotten all about the absent-minded Professor Branestawm until I rediscovered one of the stories in an anthology of kids fiction I was reading to one of my boys. We both found it absolutely hilarious – no mean feat for a book written in 1933 (let’s face it, most ‘classic’ children’s books are utterly mystifying to modern kids). As a result I tracked down this book and shared it with my son. I remembered how much I’d loved these books as a boy, particularly the first two with their lovely Heath Robinson illustrations." April 2012
The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm Synopsis
The ingenious Professor Branestawm is always inventing weird and wonderful things, such as a burglar-catching machine, or a pancake-slipping device, and a spring-cleaning machine! But housekeeper Mrs Flittersnoop is exasperated as the Professor's inventions alway seem to make life far more complicated than it was before...
Professor Branestawm was adapted by Charlie Higson for the BBC, starring Harry Hill in the title role.
Norman Hunter was born in 1899 in Sydenham, London. After leaving school and finishing what he described as a 'course of all-in wrestling with typewriters', he became an advertising copywriter. He also began, in 1915, giving performances of conjuring, and made over two hundred appearances at Maskelyne and Devants. His first Branestawm book was published in 1933. After the Second World War, Norman Hunter moved to South Africa, where he continued to work in advertising. Conjuring was still one of his spare time occupations. He returned to England in 1969 where he lived near the river at Staines until his death in 1995.
