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JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan, has made the ticking of an alarm clock, a medley of pirates, fairies, Lost Boys and an alligator not just myth and legend, but a traditional story known by every household across the globe.

Cifra logo eu j&m barrie biography Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (/ ˈ b æ r i /; 9 May – 19 June ) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several successful novels and plays.

His timeless tale of the boy who wouldn’t grow up, made its stage debut in London’s Duke of York Theatre on 27 December , and its popularity hasn’t waned since.

There’s a festive feel-good factor to this children’s tale. In , the writer and creator, James Matthew Barrie, signed over the rights of Peter Pan to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, with one proviso: that the income they received was never disclosed.

To this day, the monies from Barrie’s creation constitute one of the greatest gifts the hospital receives.

Following the trail of J.M. Barrie and Peter Pan brings this magical story to life, and takes us to some of Britain’s most unexplored corners.

The story starts at the birthplace of J.M.

Barrie, who was born on 9 May in the small weaving town of Kirriemuir in Angus, Scotland. A modest cottage housed Barrie’s family of ten. His father’s handloom and materials were stored downstairs, while upstairs is the cosy kitchen where his mother spun fantastic tales by the fireside. The whitewashed cottage is now the J.M.

Barrie Birthplace Museum.

At the back of the house is Barrie’s first ‘theatre’, an old washhouse where he and his friends entertained each other with simple plays.

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Sir J.M. Barrie was a Scottish dramatist, best known for writing Peter Pan in , or The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up. The son of Scottish weavers, he moved to London to pursue his interest.

On display are programmes from the first stage performance of Peter Pan and original stage costumes, while the leafy cottage garden is home to a ticking crocodile sculpture.

The Birthplace Museum sensitively explores how family tragedy is at the heart of the Peter Pan story. James was the ninth child of ten, two of whom passed away before he was born.

When James was six years old, his much-loved elder brother David was killed in an ice-skating accident on the eve of his 14th birthday. David was said to be his mother’s favourite child, and his loss could never be healed: a child frozen in time, a boy who never grew up.

The museum houses the family christening gown that Barrie’s mother clung to in the aftermath of the accident.

Barrie recalled how his mother asked from her bed, “Is that you?” Young James thought it was David she was speaking to, so he replied, “No, it’s no’ him, it’s just me.”

Despite such loss, J.M. Barrie retained a fondness for his hometown, gifting a camera obscura housed in a cricket pavilion to the community in Today the site is staffed by friendly volunteers who run a quiet café, offer free tours of the camera obscura, and invite visitors to admire their extensive Barrie memorabilia, including photographs and a signed cricket bat.

At the age of eight Barrie was sent away to live with his elder siblings, Alexander and Mary Ann.

He joined them in Glasgow, and later in Dumfries as a teenager, describing his five years there as “probably the happiest of my life, for indeed I have loved this place”. Here, Barrie wrote his first play, Bandolero the Bandit, which was performed at Dumfries Theatre Royal.

In Dumfries James befriended Stewart and Hal Gordon, whose family owned a rambling manor called Moat Brae.

The friends formed their own pirate crew, and hours of swashbuckling games in the grounds – in Barrie’s words, “escapades in a certain Dumfries garden, which is enchanted land to me” – sparked the idea of Peter Pan.

Logo eu jorge e mateus J.M. was a Scottish dramatist, best known for writing the play 'Peter Pan.' Updated: Aug 16, PM EDT Photo: Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images // Getty Images.

After successfully publishing articles in several London newspapers, Barrie followed his writing dreams, moving to London in A few books in, his Peter Pan character first emerged in The Little White Bird (), a magical boy who flies out over Kensington Gardens.

Barrie often took Porthos, his big St Bernard, for walks in Kensington Gardens, where he befriended the Llewelyn Davies family – Arthur and Sylvia and their five children, George, Jack, Peter, Michael and Nico – later becoming the boys’ guardian.

Barrie entertained the youngsters with stories of pirates, fairies and adventurous children, and later based the Lost Boys and Peter Pan himself on them.

In Kensington Gardens, look out for a metre-high Peter Pan statue with animals and fairies frolicking around its base. The statue was secretly installed overnight in because Barrie wanted children to think it had appeared by magic.

Kensington Gardens is also home to the Peter Pan-inspired Diana Memorial Playground, which features a wooden pirate ship.

Barrie himself lived just outside the grounds at Bayswater Road, now marked by a blue English Heritage plaque. Lauded for Peter Pan, he was awarded a Baronetcy in , an Order of Merit in and the Freedom of the City of London in

The last London stop on the Barrie trail has to be Big Ben, where the children famously work out their route to Neverland – second star to the right and straight on ’til morning!

London was an inspiration, but Scotland brought peace and solitude.

A favourite retreat for Barrie was the island of Eilean Shona on the west coast, where he holidayed in the s. It’s thought that he worked on the screenplay of Peter Pan in this wild rural bolthole.

Cifra logo eu j e At the age of eight, Barrie attended the Glasgow Academy and later studied at the Forfar Academy and Dumfries Academy. He then attended University of Edinburgh before settling in London as a freelance playwright in His first successful book titled ‘Auld Licht Idylls’ was published in Barrie married actress Mary Ansell in

Today the private tidal island describes itself as ‘Neverland Found’, offering eight cottages to rent in an unspoiled rural idyll.

The story ends where it began, in Kirriemuir. J.M. Barrie passed away on 19 June He had declined the invitation to be buried in the grandeur of London’s Westminster Abbey, and instead was laid to rest in the family plot in Kirriemuir’s Hill Cemetery, next to his precious cricket pavilion.

In the immortal words of Peter Pan: “To die will be an awfully big adventure…”