Jackie Gleason made a movie in the 1960s called Papa’s Delicate Condition. In some ways Christina Stead’s novel, The Man Who Loved Children reminds me of that movie; in other ways it reminds me of The Stepfather. The Man Who Loved Children is the story of a large family in the early part of the last century and how it coped (or didn’t cope) with their problems (especially money related). Father was a bit of a bore but I suppose his sing-song fairytale approach to life was fun for the kids, at least to a point, but it certainly didn’t help his relationship with his wife or his older daughter (by a previous marriage).

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this novel from Australia:

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