'' is a
1955 novel by
Irish writer
Leonard Wibberley that launched a series of
Satirical books about a fictional
Europe an nation called the Duchy of
Grand Fenwick .
Tiny (3 miles by 5 miles) Grand Fenwick borders Switzerland and France in the Alps, and proudly retains a pre-industrial economy, dependent almost entirely on making Pinot Grand Fenwick wine. Wibberly places Grand Fenwick in a series of absurd situations, where it goes up against
Superpower s and wins. In ''The Mouse that Roared'' it declares war on the
United States after US-produced "Grand Enwick" threatens to undermine their economy. Expecting to be dealt a crushing defeat (and then rebuild itself through the largess which the United States bestows on its vanquished enemies) the tiny Duchy instead defeats the United States, purely by accident, by capturing the Q-bomb, a prototype
Doomsday Device that could destroy the world if triggered.
Wibberley goes beyond the merely comic, using the situation to make commentary about modern politics and world situations. This novel was followed by four sequels - ''Beware of the Mouse'' (1958), ''The Mouse on the Moon'' (1962), ''The Mouse on Wall Street'' (1969), and ''The Mouse that Saved the West'' (1981) - none of which were nearly as successful.
''The Mouse That Roared'' was made into a
1959 film starring
Peter Sellers in three different roles (including the Duchess),
Jean Seberg as his love interest, and co-starring
William Hartnell as Will Buckley.
This film echoes ''
Dr. Strangelove '' both in Sellers' multiple roles and its satirization of Cold War concepts such as the
Marshall Plan and
Paranoia . A sequel was made in
1963 , ''
The Mouse On The Moon '', with
Margaret Rutherford ,
Ron Moody ,
Bernard Cribbins and
Terry-Thomas , instead of Sellers.
The novel was also adapted as a stage play, which has become a favorite of amateur school productions.
