Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Rupert Bear of the story "Little Lost Bear" written and drawn by Tourtel. Bestall expanded the stories and plots of Rupert; and in addition to precise and detailed drawings for the "Daily Express" panels he also created beautifully crafted illustrations in the Rupert Annuals. Bestall drew the Rupert stories for the "Daily Express" until 1965; and continued to illustrate the covers for the annuals until his retirement in 1973. Much of the landscape in Rupert is inspired by the Vale of Clwyd in North Wales (Alfred Bestall himself lived for many years in the north Welsh village of Beddgelert)(the Professor's castle is