First published by Jonathan Cape in 1981, it features George Kranky, an eight-year-old boy who concocts his own miracle elixir to replace his tyrannical grandmother's regular prescription medicine.

He collects a variety of ingredients from around the family farm including deodorant and shampoo from the bathroom, floor polish from the laundry room, horseradish sauce and gin from the kitchen, animal medicines, engine oil and anti-freeze from the garage, and brown paint to mimic the colour of the original medicine.

When she doesn't believe it was him who made her do so, he proves it to her by feeding the medicine to one of his father's chickens, which grows ten times its original size.

The original ingredients in order are as follows:[3][4] In the cookbook Roald Dahl's Completely Revolting Recipes, collaborated on by Felicity Dahl and chefs Josie Fison and Lori-Ann Newman, George's medicine was adapted into "George's Marvellous Medicine Chicken Soup", the ingredients of which included chicken, onions, mushrooms, leeks, and tarragon.

They reported in the BMJ that if ingested, it would cause vomiting, kidney injury, convulsions, and other severe health problems, including "the most likely clinical outcome", death.

"[8] The decision was met with sharp criticism from groups and public figures including authors Salman Rushdie[9][10] and Christopher Paolini,[11] British prime minister Rishi Sunak,[9][10] Queen Camilla,[9][12] Kemi Badenoch,[13] PEN America,[9] and Brian Cox.

[9] In George's Marvellous Medicine, more than fifty changes were made, including removing references to the deadly power of the marvellous medicine, removing the acknowledgement that a footstool is used by a woman because she is short, changing references to "pale brown teeth" to "rotting teeth" and obscuring references to things traditionally associated with housewives (such as using a sink or dressing table)[14][15] Rik Mayall read the book for the BBC's Jackanory children's programme in 1986, in a widely acclaimed performance.