English writer and screenwriter Michael Bond, author of a series of books about the bear Paddington, died at the age of 91.

According to the BBC, with reference to its publisher Harper Collins, the writer died in his home in London after a short illness.

Michael Bond began writing stories in 1945, the first of them was published in the journal London Opinion. The first book his author published in 1958, this was a story about a bear Paddington. Then Bond worked as a cameraman on the BBC.

Since then, Bond has written 19 more books about Paddington.

In 1997, he received the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to children's literature.

The first book about Paddington Bear was translated into more than 30 languages ??of the world. Her hero is a teddy bear who sailed from Dense Peru to England. His story begins at the Paddington train station in London, near which long lived Bond himself.

Bear stands and waits for someone to pay attention to him. He is noticed by Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who decide to take him home.

In a radio interview in December 2014, Michael Bond said that he decided to write a story about Paddington "just for your own pleasure". Returning home on Christmas Eve in 1956, he noticed a lone teddy bear in the shop window and bought it for his wife. Then, sitting in front of the typewriter, he looked at the cub and began to invent his story. So there was a "Bear named Paddington".

The last story in this series, "Paddington's Starry Hour," was published in April of this year. This is a collection of letters sent by a teddy bear to her aunt Lucy in Peru.

Books about Paddington sold around the world with a total circulation of more than 35 million copies.

In 1975, was shot animated series about the bear Paddington.

In 2014, director Paul King shot the film "The Adventures of Paddington," the box office fees which exceeded $ 288 million.

In November 2017, the sequel of this film should be released.