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Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and then moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where he wrote several successful novels and plays. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired him to write about a baby boy who has magical adventures in
Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
(first included in Barrie's 1902 adult novel '' The Little White Bird''), then to write '' Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', a 1904 West End "fairy play" about an ageless boy and an ordinary girl named
Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...
who have adventures in the fantasy setting of
Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. ...
. Although he continued to write successfully, ''Peter Pan'' overshadowed his other work, and is credited with popularising the name
Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...
. Barrie unofficially adopted the Davies boys following the deaths of their parents. Barrie was made a baronet by
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
on 14 June 1913, and a member of the
Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
in the 1922 New Year Honours. Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, which continues to benefit from them.


Childhood and adolescence

James Matthew Barrie was born in
Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...
,
Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...
, to a conservative
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
family. His father, David Barrie, was a modestly successful weaver. His mother, Margaret Ogilvy, assumed her deceased mother's household responsibilities at the age of eight. Barrie was the ninth child of ten (two of whom died before he was born), all of whom were schooled in at least the three Rs in preparation for possible professional careers. He was a small child and drew attention to himself with storytelling. He grew to only 5 ft 3 in. (161 cm) according to his 1934 passport.Birkin, Andrew: ''J. M. Barrie & the Lost Boys'', Constable, 1979; revised edition, Yale University Press, 2003 When James Barrie was six years old, his elder brother David (their mother's favourite) died in an ice-skating accident on the day before his 14th birthday. This left his mother devastated, and Barrie tried to fill David's place in his mother's attentions, even wearing David's clothes and whistling in the manner that he did. One time, Barrie entered her room and heard her say, "Is that you?" "I thought it was the dead boy she was speaking to", wrote Barrie in his biographical account of his mother ''Margaret Ogilvy'' (1896) "and I said in a little lonely voice, 'No, it's no' him, it's just me. Barrie's mother found comfort in the fact that her dead son would remain a boy forever, never to grow up and leave her. Eventually, Barrie and his mother entertained each other with stories of her brief childhood and books such as ''
Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...
'', works by fellow Scotsman
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
, and '' The Pilgrim's Progress''.Chaney, Lisa. ''Hide-and-Seek with Angels A Life of J. M. Barrie'', London: Arrow Books, 2005 At the age of eight, Barrie was sent to
the Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldes ...
in the care of his eldest siblings, Alexander and Mary Ann, who taught at the school. When he was 10, he returned home and continued his education at the Forfar Academy. At 14, he left home for Dumfries Academy, again under the watch of Alexander and Mary Ann. He became a voracious reader and was fond of
penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...
s and the works of Robert Michael Ballantyne and
James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...
. At
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
, he and his friends spent time in the garden of Moat Brae house, playing pirates "in a sort of Odyssey that was long afterwards to become the play of ''Peter Pan''.''McConnachie and J. M. B.: Speeches of J. M. Barrie'', Peter Davies, 1938 They formed a drama club, producing his first play ''Bandelero the Bandit'', which provoked a minor controversy following a scathing moral denunciation from a clergyman on the school's governing board.


Literary career

Barrie knew that he wished to follow a career as an author, however, his family attempted to persuade him to choose a profession such as the ministry. With advice from Alexander, he was able to work out a compromise of attending a university, but studying literature. Barrie enrolled at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
where he wrote drama reviews for the '' Edinburgh Evening Courant''. He graduated and obtained an M.A. on 21 April 1882. Following a job advertisement found by his sister in ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'', he worked for a year and a half as a staff journalist on the '' Nottingham Journal''. Back in Kirriemuir, he submitted a piece to the ''St. James's Gazette'', a London newspaper, using his mother's stories about the town where she grew up (renamed "Thrums"). The editor "liked that Scotch thing" so well that Barrie ended up writing a series of these stories. They served as the basis for his first novels: ''Auld Licht Idylls'' (1888), ''A Window in Thrums'' (1889), and ''The Little Minister'' (1891). The stories depicted the "Auld Lichts", a strict religious sect to which his grandfather had once belonged. Modern literary criticism of these early works has been unfavourable, tending to disparage them as sentimental and nostalgic depictions of a parochial Scotland, far from the realities of the industrialised 19th century, seen as characteristic of what became known as the
Kailyard School The Kailyard school is a proposed literary movement of Scottish literature, Scottish fiction; kailyard works were published and were most popular roughly from 1880–1914. The term originated from literary critics who mostly disparaged the works s ...
. Despite, or perhaps because of, this, they were popular enough at the time to establish Barrie as a successful writer. Following that success, he published ''Better Dead'' (1888) privately and at his own expense, but it failed to sell. His two "Tommy" novels, ''Sentimental Tommy'' (1896) and ''Tommy and Grizel'' (1900), were about a boy and young man who clings to childish fantasy, with an unhappy ending. The English novelist
George Gissing George Robert Gissing ( ; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. In the 1890s he was considered one of the three greatest novelists in England, and by the 1940s he had been ...
read the former in November 1896 and wrote that he "thoroughly dislike it. Meanwhile, Barrie's attention turned increasingly to works for the theatre, beginning with a biography of Richard Savage, written by Barrie and H. B. Marriott Watson; it was performed only once and critically panned. He immediately followed this with ''Ibsen's Ghost'', or ''Toole Up-to-Date'' (1891), a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's dramas '' Hedda Gabler'' and ''
Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
''. ''Ghosts'' had been unlicensed in the UK until 1914, but had created a sensation at the time from a single "club" performance. The production of ''Ibsen's Ghost'' at Toole's Theatre in London was seen by William Archer, the translator of Ibsen's works into English. Apparently comfortable with the parody, he enjoyed the humour of the play and recommended it to others. Barrie's third play ''Walker, London'' (1892) resulted in his being introduced to a young actress named Mary Ansell. He proposed to her and they were married on 9 July 1894. Barrie bought her a Saint Bernard puppy, Porthos, who played a part in the 1902 novel '' The Little White Bird''. He used Ansell's first name for many characters in his novels. Barrie also authored '' Jane Annie'', a
comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
for Richard D'Oyly Carte (1893), which failed; he persuaded
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
to revise and finish it for him. In 1901 and 1902, he had back-to-back successes; '' Quality Street'' was about a respectable, responsible
old maid Spinster or old maid is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term origin ...
who poses as her own flirtatious niece to try to win the attention of a former suitor returned from the war. ''
The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...
'' was a critically acclaimed social commentary with elaborate staging, about an aristocratic family and their household servants whose social order is inverted after they are shipwrecked on a desert island.
Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...
thought it "quite the best thing that has happened, in my time, to the British theatre".


Peter Pan

The character of "Peter Pan" first appeared in '' The Little White Bird''. The novel was published in the UK by
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
in 1902, and serialised in the US in the same year in '' Scribner's Magazine''. Barrie's more famous and enduring work '' Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' had its first stage performance on 27 December 1904 at the West End’s
Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
. The tradition of having a woman play the title role started because at the time children were not allowed to act on stage, and smaller women were considered more believable in the role of a young boy. This play introduced audiences to the name ''Wendy''; it was inspired by a young girl named Margaret Henley who called Barrie "Friendy", but could not pronounce her ''R''s very well. The
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
scenes show the societal constraints of late Victorian and Edwardian middle class domestic reality, contrasted with
Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. ...
, a world where morality is ambivalent.
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
described the play as "ostensibly a holiday entertainment for children but really a play for grown-up people", suggesting deeper social metaphors at work in ''Peter Pan''. In 1907, it was parodied by H. G. Pélissier and ''The Follies'' at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in a sketch entitled ''Baffles or the Peterpan-tomime.'' This parody was in fact reviewed by Barrie himself in a magazine called ''Sphere'' as being "funny in little bits", although he also concluded that ''The Follies'' were "one of the funniest things now to be seen in London." Barrie had a long string of successes on the stage after ''Peter Pan'', many of which discuss social concerns, as Barrie continued to integrate his work and his beliefs. ''The Twelve Pound Look'' (1910) concerns a wife leaving her 'typical' husband once she can gain an independent income. Other plays, such as ''
Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...
'' (1920) and '' Dear Brutus'' (1917), revisit the idea of the ageless child and parallel worlds. Barrie was involved in the 1909 and 1911 attempts to challenge the censorship of the theatre by the
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
, along with a number of other playwrights. In 1911, Barrie developed the ''Peter Pan'' play into the novel '' Peter and Wendy''. In April 1929, Barrie gave the
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
of the Peter Pan works to Great Ormond Street Hospital, a leading children's hospital in London. The current status of the copyright is somewhat complex. His final play was ''The Boy David'' (1936), which dramatised the Biblical story of King
Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...
and the young
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
. Like the role of Peter Pan, that of David was played by a woman, Elisabeth Bergner, for whom Barrie wrote the play.


Social connections

Barrie moved in literary circles and had many famous friends in addition to his professional collaborators. Novelist George Meredith was an early social
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
. He had a long correspondence with fellow Scot
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
, who lived in
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
at the time. Stevenson invited Barrie to visit him, but the two never met. He was also friends with fellow Scots writer S. R. Crockett.
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
was his neighbour in London for several years, and once participated in a Western that Barrie scripted and filmed.
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
was a friend of many years, and tried to intervene when Barrie's marriage fell apart. Barrie met
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
through Hugh Clifford while he was staying in London. He was friends with
Nobel prize winner Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel *The Nobel family, a prominent Swedish and Russian family; see there for the list of people with the surname Nobel may also refe ...
John Galsworthy. Barrie remained tied to his Scottish roots and visited his hometown of
Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...
regularly with his wards. When choosing his first personal secretary, Barrie chose E. V. Lucas's wife, Elizabeth Lucas, who had Scottish roots through her American parentage. After Elizabeth Lucas moved to Paris, France, Barrie chose Cynthia Asquith as his personal secretary. After the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Barrie sometimes stayed at
Stanway House Stanway House is a Jacobean architecture, Jacobean manor house near the village of Stanway, Gloucestershire, Stanway in Gloucestershire, England. The manor of Stanway was owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years, then for 500 years by the Tracy ...
near the village of Stanway in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
. He paid for the pavilion at Stanway
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
ground. In 1887, he founded an amateur cricket team for friends of similarly limited playing ability, and named it the Allahakbarries under the mistaken belief that "Allah akbar" meant "Heaven help us" in Arabic, rather than "God is great". Some of the best-known British authors from the era played on the team at various times, including
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
,
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
,
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
, P. G. Wodehouse, Jerome K. Jerome, G. K. Chesterton, A. A. Milne, E. W. Hornung, A. E. W. Mason,
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...
, E. V. Lucas, Maurice Hewlett, Owen Seaman (editor of '' Punch''), Bernard Partridge, George Cecil Ives, George Llewelyn Davies (see below) and the son of Alfred Tennyson. In 1891, Barrie joined the newly formed Authors Cricket Club and also played for its cricket team, the Authors XI, alongside Doyle, Wodehouse and Milne. The Allahakbarries and the Authors XI continued to exist side by side until 1912. Barrie befriended Africa explorer Joseph Thomson and Antarctica explorer
Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...
. He was godfather to Scott's son
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
, and was one of the seven people to whom Scott wrote letters in the final hours of his life during his expedition to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
, asking Barrie to take care of his wife Kathleen and son Peter. Barrie was so proud of the letter that he carried it around for the rest of his life. In 1896, his agent Addison Bright persuaded him to meet with Broadway producer Charles Frohman, who became his financial backer and a close friend, as well. Frohman was responsible for producing the debut of ''Peter Pan'' in both England and the US, as well as other productions of Barrie's plays. He famously declined a lifeboat seat when the RMS ''Lusitania'' was sunk by a German
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
in the North Atlantic. Actress Rita Jolivet stood with Frohman, George Vernon and Captain Alick Scott at the end of Lusitania's sinking, but she survived the sinking and recalled Frohman paraphrasing ''Peter Pan'': 'Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure that life gives us.' Barrie had himself sailed on one of the ''Lusitanias final Atlantic crossings in September 1914, during which rumours circulated amongst the passengers that the liner was to be transferred to the British Admiralty for troopship duties on arrival in New York. His secretary from 1917, Cynthia Asquith, was the daughter-in-law of
H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
, British Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916. In the 1930s, Barrie met and told stories to the young daughters of the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
, the future
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...
. After meeting him, the three-year-old Princess Margaret announced, "He is my greatest friend and I am his greatest friend".


Marriage

Barrie became acquainted with actress Mary Ansell in 1891, when he asked his friend Jerome K. Jerome for a pretty actress to play a role in his play ''Walker, London''. The two became friends, and she helped his family to care for him when he fell very ill in 1893 and 1894. They married in Kirriemuir on 9 July 1894, shortly after Barrie recovered, and Mary retired from the stage. The wedding was a small ceremony in his parents' home, in the Scottish tradition. The relationship was reportedly unconsummated, and the couple had no children. In 1895, the Barries bought a house on Gloucester Road, in South Kensington. Barrie would take long walks in nearby Kensington Gardens, and in 1900 the couple moved into a house directly overlooking the gardens at 100
Bayswater Road Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road in London, A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road. Route In the east, Bayswater Road ...
. Mary had a flair for interior design and set about transforming the ground floor, creating two large reception rooms with painted panelling and adding fashionable features, such as a conservatory. In the same year, Mary found Black Lake Cottage at
Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, which became the couple's "bolt hole" where Barrie could entertain his cricketing friends and the Llewelyn Davies family. Beginning in mid-1908, Mary had an affair with Gilbert Cannan (who was twenty years younger than sheMichael Holroyd, ''Lytton Strachey'', p. 287 and an associate of Barrie in his anti-censorship activities), including a visit together to Black Lake Cottage, known only to the house staff. When Barrie learned of the affair in July 1909, he demanded that she end it, but she refused. To avoid the scandal of divorce, he offered a legal separation if she would agree not to see Cannan any more, but she still refused. Barrie sued for divorce on the grounds of infidelity; the divorce was granted in October 1909. Knowing how painful the divorce was for him, some of Barrie's friends wrote to a number of newspaper editors asking them not to publish the story. In the event, only three newspapers did. Barrie continued to support Mary financially even after she married Cannan, by giving her an annual allowance, which was handed over at a private dinner held on her and Barrie's wedding anniversary.


Llewelyn Davies family

left, Jack Llewelyn Davies acting in Barrie's pirate adventure, ''The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island'', 1901 The Llewelyn Davies family played an important part in Barrie's literary and personal life, consisting of
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
(1863–1907), Sylvia (1866–1910) (daughter of
George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Trilby (novel), Trilby'', featuring the char ...
), and their five sons: George (1893–1915), John (Jack) (1894–1959),
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
(1897–1960),
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
(1900–1921) and
Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...
(Nico) (1903–1980). Barrie became acquainted with the family in 1897, meeting George and Jack (and baby Peter) with their nurse (
nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
) Mary Hodgson in London's
Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...
. He lived nearby and often walked his Saint Bernard dog Porthos in the park. He entertained the boys regularly with his ability to wiggle his ears and eyebrows, and with his stories. He did not meet Sylvia until a chance encounter at a dinner party in December. She told Barrie that Peter had been named after the title character in her father's novel, ''Peter Ibbetson''. Barrie became a regular visitor at the Davies household and a common companion to Sylvia and her boys, despite the fact that both he and she were married to other people. In 1901, he invited the Davies family to Black Lake Cottage, where he produced an album of captioned photographs of the boys acting out a pirate adventure, entitled ''The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island''. Barrie had two copies made, one of which he gave to Arthur, who misplaced it on a train. The only surviving copy is held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. The character of Peter Pan was invented to entertain George and Jack. Barrie would say, to amuse them, that their little brother Peter could fly. He claimed that babies were birds before they were born; parents put bars on nursery windows to keep the little ones from flying away. This grew into a tale of a baby boy who did fly away. Arthur Llewelyn Davies died in 1907, and "Uncle Jim" became even more involved with the Davies family, providing financial support to them. (His income from ''Peter Pan'' and other works was easily adequate to provide for their living expenses and education.) Following Sylvia's death in 1910, Barrie claimed that they had recently been engaged to be married. Her will indicated nothing to that effect but specified her wish for "J. M. B." to be trustee and guardian to the boys, along with her mother Emma, her brother Guy du Maurier and Arthur's brother Compton. It expressed her confidence in Barrie as the boys' caretaker and her wish for "the boys to treat him (& their uncles) with absolute confidence & straightforwardness & to talk to him about everything." When copying the will informally for Sylvia's family a few months later, Barrie inserted himself elsewhere: Sylvia had written that she would like Mary Hodgson, the boys' nurse, to continue taking care of them, and for "Jenny" (referring to Hodgson's sister) to come and help her; Barrie instead wrote, "Jimmy" (Sylvia's nickname for him). Barrie and Hodgson did not get along well but served together as surrogate parents until the boys were grown. Barrie also had friendships with other children, both before he met the Davies boys and after they had grown up, and there has since been unsubstantiated speculation that Barrie was a paedophile. One source for the speculation is a scene in the novel '' The Little White Bird'', in which the protagonist helps a small boy undress for bed, and at the boy's request they sleep in the same bed. However, there is no evidence that Barrie had sexual contact with children, nor that he was suspected of it at the time. Nico, the youngest of the brothers, denied as an adult that Barrie ever behaved inappropriately. "I don't believe that Uncle Jim ever experienced what one might call 'a stirring in the undergrowth' for anyone—man, woman, or child", he stated. "He was an innocent—which is why he could write Peter Pan." His relationships with the surviving Davies boys continued well beyond their childhood and adolescence. The Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, erected secretly overnight for May Morning in 1912, was supposed to be modelled upon old photographs of Michael dressed as the character. However, the sculptor, Sir George Frampton, used a different child as a model, leaving Barrie disappointed with the result. "It doesn't show the devil in Peter", he said. Barrie suffered bereavements with the boys, losing the two to whom he was closest in their early twenties. George was killed in action in 1915, in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Michael, with whom Barrie corresponded daily while at boarding school and university, drowned in 1921, with his friend, Rupert Buxton, at a known danger spot at Sandford Lock near
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, one month short of his 21st birthday. Some years after Barrie's death, Peter compiled his ''Morgue'' from family letters and papers, interpolated with his own informed comments on his family and their relationship with Barrie. Peter died in 1960 by throwing himself in front of an Underground train at Sloane Square station.


Death

Barrie died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at a nursing home in Manchester Street,
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
on 19 June 1937. He was buried at Kirriemuir next to his parents and two of his siblings. His birthplace at 9 Brechin Road is maintained as a museum by the
National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...
. Barrie left the bulk of his estate to his secretary Lady Cynthia Asquith, but excluding the rights to all Peter Pan works (which included '' The Little White Bird'', '' Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'', the play '' Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up'' and the novel ''Peter and Wendy''), whose copyright he had previously given to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. The surviving Llewelyn Davies boys received legacies, and he made provisions for his former wife Mary Ansell to receive an annuity during her lifetime. His will also left £500 to the Bower Free Church in
Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...
to mark the memory of Rev James Winter who was to have married Barrie's sister in June 1892 but was killed in a fall from his horse in May 1892. Barrie had several connections to the Free Church of Scotland, including his maternal uncle Rev David Ogilvy (1822–1904), who was minister of Dalziel Church in
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
. James and his brother William Winter (also a Free Church minister) were both born in Cortachy the sons of Rev William Winter. Cortachy is just west of
Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...
and the Winters seem closely connected to the Ogilvy family.


Biographies


Books

* * *Chalmers, Patrick (1938). ''The Barrie Inspiration.'' Peter Davies. . * * * * * * *Ridley, Rosalind (2016). ''Peter Pan and the Mind of J. M. Barrie: An Exploration of Cognition and Consciousness.'' Cambridge Scholars Publishing. . *


Journal

*


Film, television and stage

* '' The Lost Boys'' (1978).
Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...
(as J.M. Barrie), Andrew Birkin (writer).
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. * ''The Man Who Was Peter Pan'' (1998) is a play by Allan Knee, a semi-biographical version of Barrie's life and relationship with the Llewelyn Davies family. * '' Finding Neverland'' (2004) with
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
(as J.M. Barrie),
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...
(Sylvia Llewelyn Davies), Marc Forster (director), based on Allan Knee's play. *'' The Boy James'' (2012) by Alexander Wright (of Belt Up Theatre), is a one act play inspired by his life and work. *'' Finding Neverland'' (2012) by Diane Paulus, is a musical about the creation of Peter Pan based on the
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and starring Matthew Morrison and Laura Michelle Kelly.


Honours


Personal

Barrie was created a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
by King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
in 1913. He was made a member of the
Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
in 1922. In 1919, he was elected Rector of the University of St Andrews for a three-year term. In 1922, he delivered his celebrated Rectorial Address on Courage at St Andrews, and visited University College Dundee with Earl Haig to open its new playing fields, with Barrie bowling a few balls to Haig. He served as
Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh The chancellor is the titular head of the University of Edinburgh. Their duties include conferring academic degree, degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland and beyond. The ...
from 1930 to 1937. Barrie was the only person to receive the Freedom of Kirriemuir in a ceremony on 7 June 1930 in Kirriemuir Town Hall where he was presented with a silver casket containing the freedom scroll. The casket was made by silversmiths Brook & Son in Edinburgh in 1929 and is decorated with images of sites in Kirriemuir which held significant memories for Barrie: Kirriemuir Townhouse, Strathview, Window in Thrums, the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and the Barrie Cricket Pavilion. The casket is on display in the Kirrimuir Gateway to the Glens Museum in the Kirriemuir Town House.


Legacy

*The Sir James Barrie Primary School in
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
, South West London is named after him. * The Barrie School in
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
, is also named in his honour.


Bibliography


Peter Pan

*'' The Little White Bird'', or ''Adventures in Kensington Gardens'' (1902) *'' Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' (staged 1904, published 1928) *'' Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'' (1906) *'' When Wendy Grew Up: An Afterthought'' (written – 1908, published 1957) *'' Peter and Wendy'' (novel) (1911)


Other works by year

* ''Better Dead'' (1887) * ''Auld Licht Idylls'' (1888) * ''When a Man's Single'' (1888) * ''A Window in Thrums'' (1889) * ''My Lady Nicotine'' (1890), republished in 1926 with the subtitle ''A Study in Smoke'' * ''The Little Minister'' (1891) * '' Richard Savage'' (1891) * ''Ibsen's Ghost (Toole Up-to-Date)'' (1891) * ''Walker, London'' (1892) * '' Jane Annie'' (opera), music by Ernest Ford, libretto by Barrie and
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
(1893) * ''A Powerful Drug and Other Stories'' (1893) * ''A Tillyloss Scandal'' (1893) * ''Two of Them'' (1893) * ''A Lady's Shoe'' (1893) (two short stories: ''A Lady's Shoe'', ''The Inconsiderate Waiter'') * ''Life in a Country Manse'' (1894) * ''Scotland's Lament: A Poem on the Death of Robert Louis Stevenson'' (1895) * ''Sentimental Tommy, The Story of His Boyhood'' (1896) * '' Margaret Ogilvy'' (1896) * ''Jess'' (1898) * ''Tommy and Grizel'' (1900) * ''The Wedding Guest'' (1900) * ''The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island'' (1901) * '' Quality Street'' (play) (1901) * ''
The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...
'' (play) (1902) * ''Little Mary'' (play) (1903) * ''Alice Sit-by-the-Fire'' (play) (1905) * ''Pantaloon'' (1905) * '' What Every Woman Knows'' (play) (1908) * ''Half an Hour'' (play) (1913) * ''Half Hours'' (1914) includes: **''Pantaloon'' **''The Twelve-Pound Look'' (1911) **''Rosalind'' **''The Will'' * '' The Legend of Leonora'' (1914) * ''Der Tag (The Tragic Man)'' (Short play) (1914) *''The New Word'' (play) (1915) * ''Charles Frohman: A Tribute'' (1915) *''Rosy Rapture'' (play) (1915) * '' A Kiss for Cinderella'' (play) (1916) *''Real Thing at Last'' (play) (1916) *''Shakespeare's Legacy'' (play) (1916) *''A Strange Play'' (play) (1917) *''Charwomen and the War'' or ''The Old Lady Shows her Medals'' (play) (1917) *'' Dear Brutus'' (1917) (play) *''La Politesse'' (play) (1918) *''Echoes of the War'' (1918) Four plays, includes: **''The New Word'' **'' The Old Lady Shows Her Medals'' (basis for the movie ''Seven Days Leave'' (1930), starring Gary Cooper) **''A Well-Remembered Voice'' **''Barbara's Wedding'' * ''
Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...
'' (1920) * ''Courage'', the Rectorial Address delivered at St. Andrews University (1922) * ''The Author'' (1925) * Biographical Introduction to ''Scott's Last Expedition'' (preface) (orig. pub. 1913, introduction included in 1925 edition only) * ''Cricket'' (1926) * ''Shall We Join the Ladies?'' (1928) includes: **''Shall We Join the Ladies?'' **''Half an Hour'' **''Seven Women'' **''Old Friends'' * ''The Greenwood Hat'' (1930) * ''Farewell Miss Julie Logan'' (1932) * ''The Boy David'' (1936) * ''M'Connachie and J. M. B.'' (1938) * story treatment for film ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'' (1936) * ''The Reconstruction of the Crime'' (play), co-written with E.V. Lucas (undated, first published 2017) * ''Stories by English Authors: London'' (selected by Scribners, as contributor) * ''Stories by English Authors: Scotland'' (selected by Scribners, as contributor) * preface to ''The Young Visiters or, Mr. Salteena's Plan'' by Daisy Ashford * ''The Earliest Plays of J. M. Barrie: Bandelero the Bandit, Bohemia and Caught Napping'', edited by R.D.S. Jack (2014)


References


Further reading

* Craig, Cairns (1980), ''Fearful Selves: Character, Community and the Scottish Imagination'', in '' Cencrastus'' No. 4, Winter 1980-81, pp. 29 – 32, * Pick, J.B. (1993), "Fear of the Dark: J.M. Barrie (1860-1937)", in ''The Great Shadow House: Essays on the Metaphysical Tradition in Scottish Fiction'', Polygon, Edinburgh, pp. 53 – 58, * Shaw, Michael (ed.) (2020), ''A Friendship in Letters: Robert Louis Stevenson & J.M. Barrie'', Sandstone Press, Inverness


Archival collections


J. M. Barrie Collection
at the
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...

J. M. Barrie Collection
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...


External links

* * * * * * (''Peter Pan'' complete)
J.M Barrie & 1909 Theatre Censorship Committee – UK Parliament Living Heritage

JMbarrie.co.uk
site authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, edited by Andrew Birkin, includes database of original photographs, letters, documents and audio interviews conducted by Birkin in 1975–76
Great Ormond Street Hospital's copyright claim

"Why J. M. Barrie Created Peter Pan"
Anthony Lane, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', 22 November 2004
"J. M. Barrie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle"
at The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (siracd.com)
Audio recording of Barrie's short play ''The Will''
��Recording by professional actors at LostPlays.com
Film of Barrie from 1922 as Rector of St Andrews with Ellen Terry
* *
Plays by J. M. Barrie at the Great War Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrie, James Matthew 1860 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Scottish novelists 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish novelists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh Deaths from pneumonia in England Kailyard school Members of the Order of Merit People educated at Dumfries Academy People educated at Forfar Academy People educated at the Glasgow Academy People from Kirriemuir Rectors of the University of St Andrews Victorian novelists Scottish children's writers Scottish fantasy writers Scottish journalists Scottish male novelists Scottish opera librettists Presidents of the Society of Authors Writers of Gothic fiction