1920's Dolittle books
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1st issue
2nd issue
The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts (Stokes 1920, Cape 1922) the first of his Doctor Dolittle books, shown above is the British 1st issue, this was reset for the second issue in 1924 and the US title used as shown above.
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The original edition of the book included language and plot elements that are considered racist by present-day standards. Black characters' depiction reflects the paternalistic mindset of colonialism still prevailing in Britain at the time of writing. Editions, starting in the 1960s, removed some terms for black people which had come to be regarded as offensive.
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The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (Stokes 1922 Cape 1923), was the second of the Dolittle books to be published, coming out in 1922. The Cape binding shown above was to become the standard design for all the Dolittle books apart from the last one. It is nearly four times longer than its predecessor and the writing style is pitched at a more mature audience.
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The scope of the novel is vast; it is divided into six parts and the illustrations are also more sophisticated. It won the Newbery Medal for 1923.The original edition contains several derogatory terms for Africans that are removed from modern editions in certain countries. Some illustrations have also been removed.
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Doctor Dolittle's Post Office (Stokes 1923, Cape 1924). The final segment of the story tells the story of the Doctor's journey to meet Mudface the Turtle, the oldest living creature on Earth, who relates the story of the Great Flood to the Doctor in the final chapters of the book. The extended version of the tale itself is presented in a later volume of the series, 'Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake'.
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Doctor Dolittle's Circus (Stokes 1924, Cape 1925) The doctor needs money to pay off a voyage to Africa, so he joins the circus. He enlightens a circus owner who cares little for animals, fights against the practice of fox hunting and helps other creatures, such as the cart horses too old to work.
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Doctor Dolittle's Zoo (Stokes 1925, Cape 1926) The Doctor returns from his voyages and sets his house in order. This includes expanding his zoo to include a home for crossbred dogs and a club for rodents. The doctor also takes time to solve a mystery with the aid of Kling, the Dog Detective.
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Doctor Dolittle's Caravan (Stokes 1926, Cape 1927). The novel disrupts the chronological order of the series, with events occurring between ‘Circus’ and ‘Voyages’. This book is the follow-up to 'Doctor Dolittle's Circus', for the Doctor (at this point in time) is still operating the circus he inherited from the runaway former owner, Albert Blossom. Pippinella's eventual fate, and Doctor Dolittle's final adventures with her, are ultimately revealed in the much later book, ‘Green Canary’.
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Doctor Dolittle's Garden (Stokes 1927, Cape 1928) is structurally the most disorganised of the books. The first part would fit very well into ‘Zoo’, which this book follows. The rest of the book forms a reasonably coherent narrative. From now on, Lofting would write the books in chronological order, and this book has to link the earlier, more light-hearted type of story with what was to come. The lack of structure is compensated for by Lofting's skill in subtly shifting the tone of his writing as the book progresses.
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Doctor Dolittle in the Moon (Stokes 1928, Cape 1929) was intended to be the last Dolittle book, and differs considerably in tone from its predecessors; the stripped down narrative does not have room for any of the sub-plots and tales previously present. Instead there is a growing sense of an event about to happen that is almost spooky in tone. There are some very complex passages for a children’s book; for example, it begins with a meditation about what the writer expects from the reader and vice versa.
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