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J. M. Barrie (Sir James Matthew, Baronet Barrie) (1860 - 1937), the Scottish playwright and author, is most remembered for the creation of Peter Pan and the world of Never Never Land.
Barrie first wrote about Peter Pan in The Little White Bird (1902). In it, a gentleman and child walk in Kensington Gardens. The gentleman narrates the story of Peter Pan, who runs away from home to avoid growing up. Barrie later excerpted six chapters to form the core of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
Barrie wrote Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up for the stage in 1904. It was a roaring hit. (The successful musical was created in 1954.) A narrative story entitled Peter and Wendy (1911) helped sustain its popularity. In the story, Peter Pan visits the Darling household and with the help of the fairy Tinker Bell teaches the Darling siblings to fly to Never Never Land. Hilarity ensues.
Among his many plays only The Admirable Crichton (1902) and What Every Woman Knows (1908) are still performed. His play My Lady Nicotine (1890), about the pleasures of tobacco, is still a cult favorite.
Barrie was great friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Together, the wrote a libretto for a light opera performed at the Savoy, Jane Annie. In jest, Barrie wrote a parody of a Sherlock Holmes story to celebrate the collaboration.
Barrie commissioned a statue of Peter Pan by Sir George Frampton in 1922. It stands today in Kensington Gardens.
"My Lady there are few more impressive sights in the world than a Scotsman on the make."
What Every Woman Knows,
J. M. Barrie
"Every time a child says 'I don't believe in fairies' there is a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead."
J. M. Barrie
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