Mr Stink

Mr. Stink is a book published in October 2009 and written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake.^[1] The book has been adapted as a stage musical^[2][3] and has been made into a television film of the same name by the BBC shown during Christmas 2012 on BBC1.^[1][4]

Plot summary

Chloe, a 12-year-old girl, wants to help her friend, Mr. Stink, but she does not know how. She wrote a story that her mother tore up because she wants Chloe to work at school. Chloe thinks that her mother does not love her as she loves her little sister. Chloe hides her friend in the shed and discovers that her father was a member of a rock band the zoobells Chloe's mother was invited to a TV show and Chloe's parents were obliged to take Mr. Stink.

Characters

• Chloe Crumb–An unhappy 12-year-old girl, who has brown hair. She loves her father dearly, but hates her sister and mother. She is very lonely. She has no friends and dislikes Christmas. She doesn't like Mince pies, tinsel and that it never snows. The one thing Chloe loves is stories. Her only friend is Mr. Stink.
• Mr. Stink–A stinky gentleman. The only thing that smells worse is his beard. His only companion is his dog, Duchess—who enjoys sausages—and later Chloe. It is revealed later in the book that he is homeless because his house burnt down and his wife died. It also revealed he was very rich. His real name is Lord Darlington.
• Annabelle Crumb–Chloe's 10-year-old sister who is a spiteful snob. Chloe's mother dotes on her. She is very athletic and musical. She wears her hair in bunches to bed. She takes part in many extra-curricular activities just to please her mother.
• Mr. Crumb–Chloe and Annabelle's father and Janet's husband. He fears his wife and is the only member of the Crumb family who is fond of Chloe at the start of the book/film.
• The Duchess–Mr. Stink's smelly, white Yorkshire Terrier, who is usually considered black by passers-by, because she is normally covered in a layer of soot and dirt.
• Janet (Mrs.) Crumb–Chloe and Annabelle's mother and wife to Mr. Crumb. A woman obsessed with her youngest daughter, politics and being posh. She wants to be Prime Minister.
• Rosamund-A spiteful and popular girl, whose main target is always Chloe.
• Elizabeth-The plain white, boring cat belonging to the Crumb family. She is named after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
• Raj-A humble, kind newsagent shopkeeper who is in each of David Walliams' books except Awful Auntie.

Publication

Mr. Stink was originally published by HarperCollins in October 2009 in hardcover format. A list of notable formats is as follows:

Key points with other David Walliams novels

• Ratburger shares a key point with Mr. Stink: like Chloe Crumb, Zoe's only allies are Raj and her father

Television adaptation

A 60-minute film of Mr. Stink aired on 23 December 2012 on BBC One after it was originally scheduled to air on Boxing Day.^[5] The film was the most watched in its 6:30-7:30pm timeslot with 6.34 million viewers tuning in. It was also broadcast in and was the BBC's first ever narrative program to be filmed in 3D.^[6]

References