02 Oct JM Barrie

JM Barrie was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland in 1860, but lived most of his adult life in England. Although he was a prolific and successful playwright, Barrie’s reputation nowadays is largely based on the popularity of Peter Pan (published as a play in 1904 and as a novel in 1911). Best known adaptations are the Disney film Peter Pan (1953) and Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991) (which was nominated for five Oscars). The delightful movie Finding Neverland (2004), with Johnny Depp at his most appealing, tells the story of Barrie’s friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family, whose boys were probably the inspiration for the Darling children in Peter Pan.

Towards the end of his life Barrie donated the copyright of Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. This is surely his greatest memorial and the hospital continues to derive benefit from Barrie’s generous gift. For your literary tour of England, however, the only visible memorial to Barrie is the somewhat bizarre statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, close by his home in west London.