'All children, except one, grow up.' Peter Pan

Peter Pan is one of those very British stories which deals with anxiety about emotion. It's about the dread of growing up - a subject about which author J.M. Barrie felt very strongly. He then turned this fear into a myth which touches everybody Daily Mail Intensely moving as well as enchanting in its evocation of childhood, the heartlessness of youth and parental grief as children grow older Daily Telegraph One of the classic children's stories of all time Daily Mail

James Matthew Barrie was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland in 1860. He attended Edinburgh University and began writing stories for regional newspapers, quickly building a reputation as a popular writer of nostalgic Scottish tales, before going to a highly successful career as a playwright. Barrie married the actress Mary Ansell in 1894 but the pair separated in a highly publicised divorce in 1909. Peter Pan was inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn-Davies family, and was originally written as a play - its first performance in 1904 met with instant widespread acclaim. Barrie then adapted the play into the 1911 novel Peter Pan and Wendy. He was made a baronet in 1913 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1922. J.M. Barrie died on June 19, 1937. In his will he confirmed the gift of the copyright of Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital.