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Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared in 1958 and was subsequently featured in some 14 books written by Michael Bond ^{born in Newbury, Berkshire} and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and has evolved into a franchise. The illustrations show him more as a teddy bear than a real bear, in the original style of Winnie-the-Pooh. According to legend Bond based the bear on a teddy bear, that he and his wife saw in a store around Christmas, and that they bought because it was the only one left on the shelf and thought it was lonely.

Paddington is an anthropomorphised bear. He speaks English, wears a battered hat which he refuses to part with, and carries with him everywhere a battered suitcase (later revealed to have a secret compartment in which Paddington keeps those items he considers most important – such as his passport, for example) containing his personal belongings. When found and in the early editions, he also wore a duffle coat, and wellington boots. He is always polite (always addressing people as "Mr.", "Mrs." and "Miss", and very rarely by first names), well-meaning (though he inflicts hard stares on those who incur his disapproval), likes marmalade sandwiches and cocoa, and has an endless capacity for getting into trouble. However, he is known to "try so hard to get things right".