"I don't keep any copy of my books around... they would embarass me. When I finish writing my books, I kick them in the belly, and have done with them." -- Ludwig Bemelmans
Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898 — October 1, 1962) was a German American author, an internationally known gourmet and also a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is most famous today for the series of Madeline books.
"Caviar is to dining what a sable coat is to a girl in evening dress.""The true gourmet, like the true artist, is one of the unhappiest creatures existent. His trouble comes from so seldom finding what he constantly seeks: perfection.""To be a gourmet you must start early, as you must begin riding early to be a good horseman. You must live in France, your father must have been a gourmet. Nothing in life must interest you but your stomach."
Bemelmans was born to Belgian painter Lambert Bemelmans and German Frances Fischer in Meran, Austria (now Merano, Italy). His father owned a hotel. He grew up in Gmunden on the Traunsee in Upper Austria. His first language was French and his second German.
In 1904, his father left the family for Ludwig's governess. His mother, Frances, took Ludwig and his brother to her native city of Regensburg. Bemelmans had difficulty in school and hated the German discipline. He was apprenticed to his uncle Hans Bemelmans at a hotel in Austria, but he apparently shot and seriously wounded a waiter and was forced to choose between being institutionalized or emigration to America.
He spent the next several years working at hotels and restaurants, and in 1917 joined the U.S. Army but was not ordered to Europe because of his German heritage. He did become an officer, however, and rose to second lieutenant. In 1918, he was naturalized as an American citizen.
In the 1920s, he tried to become an artist and painter while working at hotels, but had substantial difficulties. His cartoon series "The Thrilling Adventures of the Count Bric a Brac" was dropped from the New York World after six months.
Bemelmans associated with Ervine Metzl, a commercial artist and illustrator who is variously described as Bemelmans' friend, "agent", and "ghost artist". It was in Metzl's studio that Bemelmans is said to have met his future wife, Madeleine "Mimi" Freund, a model.
In the early 1930s Bemelmans met May Massee, the children's book editor at Viking Press who became a sort of partner, and he began to publish a number of children's books beginning with Hansi in 1934.
The first Madeline book was published in 1939 and was actually rejected by Viking and published by Simon and Schuster.
In 1953, he fell in love with a small bistro in Paris "La Colombe" in the "Ile de la Cité", bought it, and painted murals. He remained the owner of the place for two years until he sold it to Michel Valette who made it into a famous cabaret.
However, Bemelmans also wrote a number of adult books, including travel and humorous works, and movie scripts for films like Yolanda and the Thief. Spending time in Hollywood, he also became a close friend of Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl.
Bemelmans' "Central Park", a mural on the walls of the Carlyle Hotel's Bemelmans Bar in New York City, is his only remaining artwork on display to the public. He also painted the children's dining room in Aristotle Onassis yacht Christina (now the Christina O), for the young daughter of the magnate, Christina Onassis.
Bemelmans is buried in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 43, Grave 2618).
Each story begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline."
The girls are cared for by a nun, Miss Clavel. Other characters include Pepito, son of the Spanish Ambassador, who lives next door; Lord Covington (called Cucuface by the girls), owner of the house; and Genevieve, a dog who rescues Madeline from drowning in the second book.
Bemelmans published six Madeline stories in his lifetime, and a seventh was discovered and published posthumously:
Madeline, 1939: Madeline gets her appendix out.
Madeline's Rescue, 1953: Madeline gets rescued by a dog (later on named Genevieve). Winner of the Caldecott Medal for 1954.
Madeline and the Bad Hat, 1956: The "bad hat" Pepito, is the Spanish ambassador's son.
Madeline and the Gypsies, 1959: Madeline and Pepito have an adventure at a gypsy circus.
Madeline in London, 1961: Pepito moves to London, and Madeline and the girls go to visit him.
Madeline's Christmas, 1985: Everyone in the house has a cold, except Madeline. (First published in McCall's in 1956).
Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales, 1999: Madeline inherits a fortune from her rich American great-grandfather. The book also reveals Madeline's full name, Madeline Fogg.
Adaptations
The first book, Madeline, was made into an award-winning 1952 short animated cartoon directed by Robert Cannon for UPA, also titled "Madeline".
Between 1990 and 1995 an animated Madeline series was made for television, with narration in appropriately rhyming style read by Christopher Plummer.
A live action Madeline film based on several of the books appeared in 1998, directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and starring Hatty Jones as Madeline, Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Covington (aka "Cucuface").
