The Mouse That Roared

The Mouse that Roared is a 1955 novel by Irish writer Leonard Wibberley that launched a series of satirical books about a fictional European nation called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.

Related Topics:
1955 - Irish - Leonard Wibberley - Europe - Grand Fenwick

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Tiny (3 miles by 5 miles) Grand Fenwick borders Switzerland and France in the Alps, and proudly retains a pre-industrial economy, dependent almost entirely on making Pinot Grand Fenwick wine. Wibberly places Grand Fenwick in a series of absurd situations, where it goes up against superpowers and wins. In The Mouse that Roared it defeats the United States in a war by capturing the Q-bomb, a super bomb that with the power of the quadium isotope could destroy the world.

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In this and other novels, Wibberley goes beyond the merely comic, using the situations to make commentary about modern politics and world situations.

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The Mouse That Roared was made into a 1959 film starring Peter Sellers in three different roles (including the Duchess), Jean Seberg as his love interest, and co-starring William Hartnell as Will Buckley.

Related Topics:
1959 - Peter Sellers - William Hartnell

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This film echoes Dr. Strangelove both in Sellers' multiple roles and its satirization of Cold War concepts such as the Marshall Plan and paranoia. A sequel was made in 1963, The Mouse on the Moon, with Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins and Terry-Thomas, instead of Sellers.

Related Topics:
Dr. Strangelove - Marshall Plan - Paranoia - 1963 - The Mouse on the Moon - Margaret Rutherford - Ron Moody - Bernard Cribbins - Terry-Thomas

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The Novel was also adapted as a stage play, which has become a favorite of amateur school productions. A musical theatre version is rumored to be forthcoming.

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