George's Marvellous Medicine

George's Marvellous Medicine
British first edition hardback
Author(s)	Roald Dahl
Illustrator	Quentin Blake
Cover artist	Quentin Blake
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Children's novel
Publisher	Jonathan Cape (UK hardback) Alfred Knopf (US hardback) Puffin Books (paperback)
Publication date	1981
Media type	Print (Hardback, Paperback)
Pages	96

George's Marvellous Medicine (or "George's Marvelous Medicine" in the US print-runs) is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1981.

At the beginning of the novel there is a warning for readers to not try and recreate the mixture as it could be dangerous.

Plot summary

George Henry Kranky is an 8 year-old boy who lives on a farm with his mother, father and grandmother. He is fed up with his Grandma's selfishness, grumpiness and her attitude towards him, especially after he becomes frightened by her dark secrets. George seeks to cure it by brewing a very special medicine to cure her. He makes the product by collecting many harmful products throughout the house along with some animal pills, then he puts them in a giant saucepan, boils them and gives a spoonful to Grandma, only to end up making her taller than a house.

George tries out the medicine on a brown hen in the yard, and it causes her to grow several times bigger. Moments later, George's mother and father Mr. Killy Kranky return home, and they are both astounded by these events. Mr. Kranky is excited by the sight of the giant hen, and exclaims that he had been wanting to make giant animals for giant food. Together, George and his father enjoy sampling the medicine to most of the farm animals (pigs, cows, sheep, George's pony Jack Frost and Alma the nanny-goat), which makes them giant animals. However, Mrs. Kranky starts worrying about Grandma, and eventually, the Crane Company hoist her down.

Once back on the ground, Grandma excitedly hops around the farm, but is forced to sleep in the barn that night since she is too tall to go back inside the house. The next day, Mr. Kranky announces that they will continue making the medicine so it can be sold to other farms in the hopes of ending world hunger. Unfortunately, George cannot remember the exact ingredients he had used the day before. After several failed attempts (resulting in a potion that extends a chicken's legs, a potion that extends a chicken's neck, and a potion that makes the chicken shrink), Grandma strolls over to the family and demands for her cup of tea. Then she notices the cup of medicine in George's hand, and, mistaking it for tea, snatches it from him. She drinks it down, and the resulting overdose causes her to shrink into nothing. Mrs. Kranky is devastated at first, but soon agrees with her husband about her absence removing a nuisance from their lives. George then discovers that for two long days he had touched with his fingertips the edge of a magical world.

Ingredients of his new medicine

• Bathroom items: Golden Gloss Hair Shampoo, toothpaste, some shaving soap, vitamin enriched face cream, nail polish, hair remover ("Smear it on your legs"), Brillident (for cleaning false teeth), Dishworth's Famous Dandruff Cure, Nevermore Ponking Deodorant Spray and liquid paraffin.
• Bedroom items: Helga's Hair Set, "Flowers of Turnips" (it smells like old cheese), Pink Plaster Face Powder and a powderpuff and Lipstick.
• Laundry room items: SuperWhite (for automatic washing machines), WaxWell Floor Polish, flea powder, canary seeds and Dark Tan Shoe Polish.
• Kitchen cupboard: Curry powder, mustard powder, a bottle of extra hot chilli super spicy sauce, a tin of black peppercorns and a bottle of horse radish sauce.
• Shed items: Chicken Medicine, Horse strength throat lozenges, cow ointment, sheep dip and pig pills.
• Garage items: Engine oil, antifreeze and a handful of grease.
• Also: Bottle of gin, one quart dark brown gloss paint (for colour).

TV version

Rik Mayall read this story for the BBC's Jackanory programme, in a widely acclaimed performance.