The Little White Bird
Encyclopedia
The Little White Bird is a novel by J. M. Barrie
, published in 1902, ranging in tone from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark aggressive undertones. The book attained prominence and longevity due to several chapters written in a softer tone than the rest of the book, in which it introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan
. Those chapters were later published separately as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
as a children's book. The Peter Pan story began as one chapter of a longer work and during the four years that Barrie worked on the book prior to publication, grew to an "elaborate book-within-a-book" of over one hundred pages.
The complete book has also been published under the title The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington Gardens. Project Gutenberg
has digitized the full text of the book for no-cost download availability in the United States, where the book is in the public domain.
of its day, and fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens
and elsewhere.
, introduced by the statement that "All perambulator
s lead to Kensington Gardens". The Kensington Gardens chapters include detailed descriptions of the features of the Gardens, along with fantasy names given to the locations by the story's characters, especially after "Lock-Out Time", described by Barrie as the time at the end of the day when the park gates are closed to the public, and the fairies and other magical inhabitants of the park can move about more freely than during the daylight, when they must hide from ordinary people. The third section of the book, following the Kensington Gardens chapters, are again set generally in London, though there are some short returns to the Gardens that are not part of the Peter Pan stories. In a two-page diversion in chapter 24, Barrie brings the story to Patagonia
, and a journey by ship returning to England at the "white cliffs
of Albion
".
retired soldier and London bachelor, with a young boy born to a working-class married couple in the same neighborhood. The narrator secretly assists the couple financially, while meeting with the young boy in various "adventures", presented in a disjointed series of episodes in the book in which the narrator seeks to find a feeling of closeness with the boy, expressed as a desire for fatherhood, as well as other less clearly defined ideas. Peter Hollindale
, professor of English and Education Studies at the University of York (retired, 1999), has written extensively about James Barrie and the Peter Pan stories. He states that while modern psychology enables readers to find hints of various abnormalities in the story, it also remains "strangely innocent and asexual".
, which introduced the characters of Wendy
, Captain Hook
, and Tinker Bell, along with much of the mythos of Neverland
. That latter version of the character has been the basis of all popular adaptations and expansions to the material. The stage play became the basis for the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy
, later published under the titles Peter Pan and Peter Pan and Wendy. The script of the stage play itself was published in 1928.
, with the addition of illustrations by Arthur Rackham
. The text of this version is almost identical to those chapters, with minor differences appearing on only 9 of the original pages. This edition was published as a book for children, many of whom had experienced Peter Pan's exploits in the successful stage play.
Although sometimes described as a prelude or (less correctly) prequel to the play and novel about Peter Pan, there are inconsistencies between the two. Most significant is the character of Peter Pan himself, who is said to be only seven days old, and there isn't "the slightest chance of his ever having [a birthday]"; in the later work his physical age is never specified, except that he has his baby teeth and is portrayed as if he were school age.
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
, published in 1902, ranging in tone from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark aggressive undertones. The book attained prominence and longevity due to several chapters written in a softer tone than the rest of the book, in which it introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. Those chapters were later published separately as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is a novel by J. M. Barrie, published in 1906; it is one of four major literary works by Barrie featuring the widely known literary character he originated, Peter Pan.-Plot summary:...
as a children's book. The Peter Pan story began as one chapter of a longer work and during the four years that Barrie worked on the book prior to publication, grew to an "elaborate book-within-a-book" of over one hundred pages.
The complete book has also been published under the title The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington Gardens. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
has digitized the full text of the book for no-cost download availability in the United States, where the book is in the public domain.
Plot introduction
The Little White Bird is a series of short episodes, including accounts of the narrator's day to day activities in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of its day, and fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
and elsewhere.
Plot summary
The story is set in several locations; the earlier chapters are set in the town of London, contemporaneous to the time of Barrie's writing, and involving some time travel of a few years, and other fantasy elements, while remaining within the London setting. The middle chapters that later became Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens are set in London's famous Kensington GardensKensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
, introduced by the statement that "All perambulator
Perambulator
Perambulator may refer to*a kind of baby transport*a surveyor's wheel...
s lead to Kensington Gardens". The Kensington Gardens chapters include detailed descriptions of the features of the Gardens, along with fantasy names given to the locations by the story's characters, especially after "Lock-Out Time", described by Barrie as the time at the end of the day when the park gates are closed to the public, and the fairies and other magical inhabitants of the park can move about more freely than during the daylight, when they must hide from ordinary people. The third section of the book, following the Kensington Gardens chapters, are again set generally in London, though there are some short returns to the Gardens that are not part of the Peter Pan stories. In a two-page diversion in chapter 24, Barrie brings the story to Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, and a journey by ship returning to England at the "white cliffs
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
of Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
".
Characters
- Captain W____, the first person narrator, described by author and filmmaker Andrew Birkin as "Barrie thinly disguised" Captain W____, although narrating the story, also refers to his own writing of the story, within the story, when in the book's conclusion, he gives the newly-completed manuscript to the character Mary (mother of David and later Barbara, who has just been born), explaining to her that it is the story of her and her children, which she apparently wanted to write before her daughter was born and which she would have called "The Little White Bird".
- David, A boy child, 6 years old at the start of the book, but who appears at various ages throughout the story, ranging from an unborn baby in the womb to a baby, infant, and up to age 6. The character is based on George Llewelyn Davies, one of several children of the Davies family who provided inspiration for many characters in Barrie's writings.
- Mary A____, "The Little Nursery Governess", David's mother, who shares a name with Barrie's wife (born Mary Ansell) but according to Birkin is "closely modeled" on Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. During the story, Captain W____ sees Mary progress from young lover, to newlywed, through pregnancy and the birth of David, and as a young mother. The narrator's feelings expressed towards and about Mary vary from affection to anger and jealousy as he competes with her for David's affections.
- Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, A magical boy who escaped from being human as an infant, and ever since flies about and cavorts with fairies. He differs from the better known portrayal of the character, primarily being only a week old rather than an older child. - Maimie Mannering, a four year old girl who becomes one of Peter Pan's main cohorts in the Kensington Gardens part of the story. Her part of the adventure begins when she gets stuck inside Kensington Gardens after "lock-out time" because the fairies changed the large clock in the garden to show an earlier hour, in preparation for the fairy ball planned for that night. The Mamie character is the literary forerunner of the Wendy Darling character of the later Peter Pan play and novel.
- PorthosPorthosPorthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan...
, a very large St Bernard, based on Barrie's dog of the same name; Porthos was the literary forerunner of the character Nana, a NewfoundlandNewfoundland (dog)The Newfoundland is a breed of large dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, gray, or black and white. They were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland, now part of Canada. They are known for their giant size, tremendous strength, calm dispositions,...
appearing in the Peter Pan play and novel as the Darling family's nursemaid.
Major themes
The main theme of the book is an exploration of the intimate emotional relationship of the narrator, a childless Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
retired soldier and London bachelor, with a young boy born to a working-class married couple in the same neighborhood. The narrator secretly assists the couple financially, while meeting with the young boy in various "adventures", presented in a disjointed series of episodes in the book in which the narrator seeks to find a feeling of closeness with the boy, expressed as a desire for fatherhood, as well as other less clearly defined ideas. Peter Hollindale
Peter Hollindale
For the neighborhood in Fairfax County see HollindalePeter Hollindale is an educationalist and literary critic.- Three Levels of Ideology:...
, professor of English and Education Studies at the University of York (retired, 1999), has written extensively about James Barrie and the Peter Pan stories. He states that while modern psychology enables readers to find hints of various abnormalities in the story, it also remains "strangely innocent and asexual".
Literary significance and reception
The book is best known for its introduction of the character of Peter Pan. Although it is one of Barrie's better-remembered works based on this association, it has been eclipsed by the later stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow UpPeter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up...
, which introduced the characters of Wendy
Wendy Darling
Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character, the female protagonist of Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie, and in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the original play or novel by Barrie, though she is implied to be 12 or 13 years old or younger, as she is "just...
, Captain Hook
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most...
, and Tinker Bell, along with much of the mythos of Neverland
Neverland
Neverland is a fictional world featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is the dwelling place of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and others...
. That latter version of the character has been the basis of all popular adaptations and expansions to the material. The stage play became the basis for the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up...
, later published under the titles Peter Pan and Peter Pan and Wendy. The script of the stage play itself was published in 1928.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Following the highly successful debut of the play about Peter Pan in 1904, Barrie's publishers, Hodder and Stoughton, extracted chapters 13–18 of The Little White Bird and republished them in 1906 under the title Peter Pan in Kensington GardensPeter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is a novel by J. M. Barrie, published in 1906; it is one of four major literary works by Barrie featuring the widely known literary character he originated, Peter Pan.-Plot summary:...
, with the addition of illustrations by Arthur Rackham
Arthur Rackham
Arthur Rackham was an English book illustrator.-Biography:Rackham was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.In 1892 he left his job and started working for The...
. The text of this version is almost identical to those chapters, with minor differences appearing on only 9 of the original pages. This edition was published as a book for children, many of whom had experienced Peter Pan's exploits in the successful stage play.
Although sometimes described as a prelude or (less correctly) prequel to the play and novel about Peter Pan, there are inconsistencies between the two. Most significant is the character of Peter Pan himself, who is said to be only seven days old, and there isn't "the slightest chance of his ever having [a birthday]"; in the later work his physical age is never specified, except that he has his baby teeth and is portrayed as if he were school age.