Fantasy Barrie, J. M.: The Little White Bird. v1. 16 Dec 2016

[GrannyGrump]

The Little White Bird
or, Adventures in Kensington Gardens
by J.M. Barrie (1860–1937)

First published in 1902.
Text is in the public domain in countries where copyright is “Life+70” or less, and in the USA.

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Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, a Scottish novelist and playwright, wrote a number of successful novels and plays. He is best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan.

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“The Little White Bird” is a novel for adult readers, ranging in tone from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark, aggressive undertones.

This book is a series of short episodes, including accounts of the narrator's day-to-day activities in contemporary London, as well as fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens and elsewhere; with the two main characters being the first-person narrator Captain W—— (“Barrie thinly disguised”), and the boy David (based on George Llewelyn Davies, one of several children of the Davies family who provided inspiration for many characters in Barrie's writings). The main theme of the book is an exploration of the emotional relationship of the narrator, a childless Victorian-era retired soldier and London bachelor, with a young boy born to a working-class married couple in his neighbourhood.

The book attained prominence and longevity thanks to several chapters written in a softer tone than the rest of the book, which introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan. In 1906, those chapters were published separately as an illustrated children's book, “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens”. Although “The Little White Bird” is one of Barrie's better-known works based on the association with the character of Peter Pan, it has been eclipsed by the 1904 stage play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up”; and the 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy”, later published under the titles “Peter Pan” and “Peter Pan and Wendy”.

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Text was obtained from gutenberg.org Ebook #1376. Some transcription errors were corrected, italics and scene breaks restored, punctuation formatted. Chapter heads are cross-linked to Table of Contents. Embedded font “Renaissance” used for drop caps.

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Sorry, no illustrations in this one, but it is an amusing read all the same.

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