J. P. Martin (1879-1966) was born in Yorkshire into a family of Methodist ministers. He took up the family vocation, serving when young as a missionary to a community of South African diamond miners and then, during the First World War, as an Army chaplain in Palestine and Egypt, before returning to minister to parishes throughout the north of England. He died at eighty-six from a flu caught while bringing pots of honey to his parishioners in cold weather. Martin began telling Uncle stories to entertain his children, who later asked him to write them down so that they could read them to their own children; the stories were finally published as a book in 1964, when Martin was eighty-four. The jacket to the first edition of Uncle notes that "the inspiration for these stories seems to come from the industrial landscape that [Martin] knew as a child....He still likes to take his family and friends on walks through industrial scenes. He also enjoys painting the wild and beautiful landscape where he lives. It is not enough to say he loves children; he is still continually visited by them." »

Uncle Cleans Up

By J. P. Martin
Illustrations by Quentin Blake

It is a time of rejoicing at Homeward, the Labyrinthine castle-city that is as magical as Oz and as full of wonders as Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Uncle, the wise, kind, generous, and fabulously rich elephant who rules over Homeward, has joined with his many friends to celebrate their triumph over the ruffians in neighboring Badfort.

Still, there's plenty of cleaning up to do in Homeward: the waterworks are tainted with vinegar, housing is scarce, and the Dwarftown Railway is terribly overcrowded— meanwhile the Badfort crowd has devised its most diabolical plan yet. Uncle will need all the help he can get from his faithful assistant Old Monkey and from Goodman the literate cat—and possibly a wizard's spell—to get through this mess.

Uncle Cleans Up displays the same subversive humor and ingenious plotting as its predecessor, Uncle, and serves as a no less delightful introduction to J. P. Martin's fantastic world; Quentin Blake's quirky drawings accompany a tale that has been charming children and adults alike for nearly fifty years.

Reviews

The Times Literary Supplement called the books 'spellbinding'...while the Times Educational Supplement likened the books to Alice in Wonderland...The books contain many of the elements of the best English children's literature. There is the blurring of the line between the human and the animal kingdom, made familiar by Beatrix Potter and A.A. Milne. There is the quirky humor of 'Toad of the Hall' or 'Alice'. And the books are illustrated by the wonderful drawings of Quentin Blake.
— The Economist

And another great animal book: Uncle Cleans Up, about a millionaire elephant who wears a purple dressing gown and reluctantly engages in violent spats with his neighbours. Written in 1965 by JP Martin, a Yorkshire vicar, and illustrated by Quentin Blake, it has been reissued this year by New York Review Children's Collection in a lovely, clothbound edition.
— Kate Summerscale, The Guardian

A classic of British nonsense.... And a most elegant nonsense it is, utterly silly and deeply sophisticated at the same time.
— Newsday

The books are very funny, installing a large cast of unlikely characters...in a world of mildly squiffy logic...And the illustrations are among Quentin Blake's best work, scrawls and splotches that finally and unarguably distill character. But most important, this is political satire of a high order—Animal Farm for pre-teens, but wittier and more relevant to our own world."
— Independent

Magnificent nonsense.
— Chicago Tribune

Also see:

Uncle By J. P. Martin Illustrations by Quentin Blake The madcap drawings of illustration-superstar Quentin Blake perfectly capture the silly and skewed world of Uncle, a fabulously rich elephant who oversees the denizens of his labyrinthine estate and fends off the attacks of his enemies, the hapless Badfort crowd. Read one of the bedtime-length stories in this book and join the cult of Uncle!

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