Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This book explores Michael Bond’s creation, Paddington Bear, both as a literary character and as a cultural phenomenon. Since his first appearance in 1958, the bear has become an increasingly significant part of the British cultural landscape. Through an analysis of Bond’s own books, as well as the bear’s several adaptations and afterlives, the authors demonstrate that Paddington’s transition from displaced Peruvian bear to part of a wealthy West London family, as well as his increasing presence within British institutions, sheds light on discourses of migration, assimilation, tolerance, and national identity. With this, the book offers a sociocultural biography of the Paddington series, locating the character within contemporary Britain, and exploring his development as a global transmedia brand in the context of ongoing debates about the acceptance of immigrants within the British national imaginary.</jats:p>