Fame has costs in dark ‘Mr. Toppit’

If I could remember a time before Hayseed, I think it would seem so golden to me that I could only presume I must have imagined it. The truth is that there is no Before.

The voice of Luke Hayman in Charles Elton’s “Mr. Toppit” recalls the image of young Christopher Robin Milne, the boy who was immortalized in his father’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” books.

Much like Christopher Robin, Luke Hayman’s the basis for the main character in his father’s “The Hayseed Chronicles,” which finds Harry Potter-type success after the death of Luke’s father. Luke — again like Christopher Robin — strongly resents his “childhood being ransacked.”

The series’ rise to fame begins when Arthur Hayman is struck by a truck in London. Laurie Clow, an American tourist, comforts Arthur in his last moments. From this brief encounter springs an obsession as Laurie gloms onto all things Hayseed, including the Hayman family.

Laurie’s obsession proves lucrative, as her promotion of the series eventually lands her a job as a talk show host — and with her fame and riches come growing pressure and scrutiny.

Laurie isn’t the only one feeling the heat. The Hayman family also carries the burden of fame, and it proves to be a heavy weight indeed. Like the sinister Mr. Toppit, who taunts Luke Hayseed through the books, Luke Hayman’s shadowed by his father’s legacy — one of which he never asked to be a part.

Elton’s “Mr. Toppit” moves from funny to sad with ease. The characters are both endearing and maddening as they swim in their own dysfunction.

The book’s provocative concept raises questions about the survival of young celebrities in a TMZ society. If it was bad for Christopher Robin in the 1920s and ’30s, what would he have faced in the current celebrity-obsessed culture?

Any of the gossip rags can probably answer that question.