The Worst Witch

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The Worst Witch is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Jill Murphy. The title refers to the main character, Mildred Hubble, who is the worst student at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. It is also the name of the first book in the series.

Mildred is well meaning, but tends to let her enthusiasm get the better of her, and does things without thinking. The benevolent headmistress, Miss Cackle, is generally understanding, whereas Mildred's form teacher, the virago Miss Hardbroom thinks she just isn't trying hard enough.

Other characters in the books include Mildred's friends, Maud Moonshine and Enid Nightshade. Maud is a rotund and more sensible girl than Mildred, but usually finds herself caught up in her friend's problems; Enid (introduced in the second book) is a practical joker who is more likely to get them all into trouble than Mildred. The three of them have a strong rivalry with their highborn, snobbish, vindictive classmate, Ethel Hallow.

Murphy (who began writing before she was 18) has said that the Worst Witch books were based on her own school, with Singing becoming Chanting, Chemistry becoming Potions and so on.

[edit] Books

• The Worst Witch - First published in 1974
• The Worst Witch Strikes Again - First published in 1980
• A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch - First published in 1982
• The Worst Witch All At Sea - First published in 1993
• The Worst Witch Saves the Day - First published in 2005

[edit] Film and television

The first book in the series was made into a film starring Fairuza Balk, Tim Curry and Diana Rigg in 1986. The film followed a plot of various books, Mildred turning herself invisible and turning Ethel into a pig. Miss.Cackle's evil twin sister Agatha plotting to take over the school and the Grand Wizard viewing the Halloween Broomstick formation (sabotaged by Ethel's faulty broom she lent to Mildred) and Agatha's plot being revealed by Mildred running away from school and over-hearing the plot.

A TV series based on the books starring Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones (as Mildred Hubble and Ethel Hallow respectively) was broadcast in 1998. The series also starred veteran British actress Una Stubbs as the eccentric Chanting teacher, Miss Bat. Felicity Jones was replaced by Katy Allen after Season One. This series dramatised all the books and then continued with original material, adding two new original characters from ethnic minorities - Ruby Cherrytree and Jadu Wali.

When it was no longer realistic that Mildred would still be at school, the series relocated her to a magical university and was retitled Weirdsister College: The Further Adventures of the Worst Witch, and saw the return of Felicity Jones as a reinvented Ethel Hallow.

In 2005, a new series based on the 1998 series was made, entitled The New Worst Witch. It centred on the adventures of Mildred's equally bungling cousin, Henrietta "Hettie" Hubble, played by newcomer Alice Connor. Set once again at Cackle's Academy, Hettie was joined by new friends Cresentmoon "Cressie" Winterchild and Ethel Hallow's benign younger sister Mona. Evil blonde Belladonna Bindweed filled Ethel's shoes as the series' new antagonist. New teachers included Deirdre Swoop (previously a Weirdsister College character) and Miss Nightingale, replacing the original Miss Bat and Miss Drill. Also, Kate Duchêne, the original actress for Miss Hardbroom, did not return, much to the disappointment of many fans. In the second series of The New Worst Witch, Myrtle Widget replaced Miss Nightingale.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Mildred Hubble

Mildred Hubble, the heroine of the Worst Witch book series, was a clumsy, bungling young witch-in-training, who never seems to get anything right at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches. She is tall and lanky, with long, straggly dark plaits, and can't quite seem to tie up her bootlaces.

Mildred doesn't come from a witch family like most of the other girls, but earns a scholarship at Cackle's Academy by writing an unbelievable piece of creative writing, which greatly impresses the headmistress, Miss Cackle. Although her mathematics and science skills leave much to be desired, Mildred is tenacious and channels her creative energy into her quest to become an accomplished witch.

She means well and tries very hard, but she is adventurous and impulsive, which often gets her into trouble with her teachers - most notably Miss Hardbroom. After several years at Cackle's Academy, Mildred endeavours on to University, training at Weirdsister's College in Cambridge. Mildred was briefly seen in the first episode of the New Worst Witch series, now an accomplished and successful witch, escorting her younger cousin Hettie on her first day at the Academy.

[edit] Ethel Hallow

Ethel Hallow is Mildred Hubble's worst enemy. She's a straight 'A' student, comes from a prominent witch family, and gives the impression of being a model student to her classmates. However, when no one's looking, she loves to torture Mildred.

[edit] Comparisons to the Harry Potter series

The Worst Witch series shares similarities with Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, but pre-dates it by 23 years. Note: these similarities are subjective.

[edit] External Links

• Fan Site detailing the similarities between Harry Potter and The Worst Witch