J. M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) created Peter Pan on stage in 1904 and in novel form in 1911, and signed the rights over to Great Ormond Street Hospital, which holds them still. The book is much darker than the pantomime and film versions suggest: not growing up is written as a loss rather than a wish granted. Barrie’s older brother died at thirteen, and his mother afterwards thought of that boy as a child who would never age — a fact worth holding next to the story. Quotes are cited by chapter.