J.M. BARRIE
THE MAN WHO COULDN’T GROW UP The fascinating story of J.M. Barrie, the author of the internationally famous book Peter Pan. The film Finding Neverland, starring actor Johnny Depp, is all about the life of J.M. Barrie. It’s an incredible story of the success, love and tragedy of the man who couldn’t grow up.
This idea of everlasting childhood stayed with Barrie for the rest of his life. It also became the inspiration for his most famous play, Peter Pan. However, it would be another 33 years before that inspiration emerged in the shape of the play and novel.
A Tragic Death J.M. Barrie was born on 9th May 1860 in the Scottish village of Kirriemuir. Barrie was the ninth of ten children, and he grew up with stories of pirates and adventure. When Barrie was six, something happened that would affect him for the rest of his life: his brother David, who was 14 at the time, died in a skating accident. As a result, Barrie’s mother fell into a depression as David had been her favourite child. Barrie was only six at the time, but he was overwhelmed by his mother’s grief. He later wrote about his desire to “become so like David that even my mother should not know the difference”. For a week, Barrie practised David’s way of whistling; and then, one morning, he dressed in his dead brother’s clothing and did his best to bring David back to life. And in his attempt to be loved and replace David, Barrie virtually became David.
The Lost Boys Later on, Barrie moved to London, where he became a popular writer. He knew all the great literary figures of the time, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of the Sherlock Holmes books) and H.G. Wells; and he often surprised them with his remarks. He once said to Wells, “It is all very well to be able to write books, but can you waggle your ears?” In 1897, Barrie began a relationship with a group of boys that was to dominate much of his life. One day, in Kensington Gardens in London, Barrie watched three little boys (five-year-old George, fouryear-old Jack, and baby brother Peter) who were playing in the park with their nanny. Barrie befriended them, and together they talked about cricket, pirates, and fairies. He amazed them by the way he could waggle his ears; and before long, Barrie was meeting them on a regular basis.
Young Forever All of this had a profound effect on Barrie; and it actually stunted his own development. When Barrie reached the age of 14 (the same age at which his brother had died), he literally stopped growing (he was only 160 cm tall), and never grew any taller.
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Meeting the Mother That same year, Barrie met the boys’ mother (Sylvia Llewelyn Davies) by chance during a New Year’s Eve party. Sylvia later invited Barrie to visit them at home, which Barrie promptly did. Soon, Barrie was going there all the time.
