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PETER PAN
J. M. Barrie
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street,
London SE1 9GF
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2015
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie published in association with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
Life & Times section © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
Silvia Crompton asserts her moral right as author of the Life & Times section
Classic Literature: Words and Phrases adapted from
Collins English Dictionary
Cover by e-Digital Design
Cover image: Illustration for Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (gouache on paper), Grahame Johnstone, Anne (Contemporary Artist)/Private Collection/Bridgeman Images.
The Author and the Publishers are committed to respecting the intellectual property rights of others and have made all reasonable efforts to trace the copyright owners of the images reproduced, and to provide an appropriate acknowledgement within this book. In the event that any copyright holders come forward after the publication of this book, the Author and the Publishers will use all reasonable endeavours to rectify the position accordingly.
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Source ISBN: 9780007558179
Ebook Edition © May 2015 ISBN: 9780007558186
Version: 2016-02-29
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About the Author
‘Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves’ – an apt sentiment indeed for the author of a tale that has enchanted readers for well over a century. J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan has appeared in stage productions, novels, films and cartoons, inspiring hope and bravado in children and adults alike. But sunshine was often in short supply in the author’s own life – certainly prior to the invention of his most famous character.
Family and Failure
J. M. Barrie was often consumed with a sense that he did not quite live up to expectation. He was a small child, the ninth of ten born to a weaver in Kirriemuir, Scotland, and always felt overshadowed in his mother’s affections by his older brother David. When Barrie was six David died in a skating accident, a tragedy that affected their mother so profoundly that the young boy took to assuming David’s mannerisms and clothes in an attempt to ease her disappointment.
Barrie found solace in stories and books and dreamt of following in the footsteps of Jules Verne and James Fenimore Cooper, but his family had other ambitions for him, and persuaded him to go to university. He was an unenthusiastic student at Edinburgh University and channelled his energies into writing theatre reviews instead, an experience that ultimately led him to defy his family’s wishes and immerse himself in the theatrical and literary world of faraway London.
A series of flops and moderate successes marked Barrie’s early years as a writer – he first wrote stories about Scotland and then turned to comedic plays – and it was during the staging of his third play that he met the young
