"When I was asked to write a story about a character called Fra Mudest, it never crossed my mind that this creation of mine would move on from one generation to another and survive the test of time." This was author Charles Casha's excited reaction when he held in his hands the first copies of his new book Fra Mudest 50 Sena.
50 years have passed since that first story, which appeared in issue no. 292 of The Children's Own magazine in 1967. The magazine was a bilingual paper for schoolchildren, practically the only reading material that Maltese children had access to at the time. TV personality John Demanuele had at the time just taken over its editorship from his father, and on his father's desk he found a sketch of a rotund monk, with the name Fra Mudest written across. He presumed that his father's idea was to write a humorous story about a jolly monk, so he decided to commission Charles Casha to do it. Thus Fra Mudest was born.
This first story was a big success and readers were asking for more episodes. These further stories continued to feature in the Children's Own until, in 1971, the first book of collected Fra Mudest stories was published by Merlin. There have since been numerous reprints and new editions of the original Fra Mudest, as well as five sequels, totalling one hundred and ten stories in all: Aktar Praspar dwar Fra Mudest (1974), Mill-ħorġa ta' Fra Mudest (1977), Mid-dinja ta' Fra Mudest (1995), Fra Mudest 40 sena (2007) and now the brand-new Fra Mudest 50 sena.
Fra Mudest marked the beginning of an era of children's books. It was, in fact, Merlin's first ever Maltese publication. However, although the stories of this bungling friar reflect a Maltese village reality that no longer exists in the 21st century, Fra Mudest is still very popular today not only with the older generations but also with younger ones. At the same time, for those who lived through the seventies, Fra Mudest brings back many precious childhood memories.
Thousands of fans and readers across the years - including those who are now adults, parents themselves - have showered Casha with praise and thanks for this cherished character.
"Fra Mudest is a character I love. I enjoy writing his stories. In fact I have three families that I treasure in life - my real family, my friends and colleagues with whom I worked throughout my long career as a teacher, and the characters I have created in my books," said Casha.
Fra Mudest 50 Sena, as well as the other five books in the Fra Mudest series, is available for sale from all leading bookshops or directly from www.merlinpublishers.com
Charles Casha
Illustrations: Frank Schembri
Merlin Publishers, 2017