Peter Pan is the boy hero in several fantasies written by the Scottish author J. M. Barrie. The character first appeared in Barrie’s novel The Little White Bird (1902). Barrie adapted part of the novel into the play Peter Pan (1904). Several chapters of the novel were published in 1906 as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Barrie also wrote the novel Peter Pan and Wendy (1911). See Barrie, J. M.
The play Peter Pan provides the best-known version of the boy’s adventures. In the play, Peter Pan has run away to Never-Never Land to escape growing up. One night, he returns to the human world and meets the three Darling children—Wendy, John, and Michael. Peter persuades them to fly with him and the fairy Tinker Bell back to Never-Never Land. There the Darlings and Peter have many adventures. Other characters include a crocodile, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the evil pirate Captain Hook.
The character of Peter Pan was partly inspired by Barrie’s relationship with the young sons of his friends Arthur and Sylvia Llewlyn (or Llewelyn) Davies. He had first met the family in 1898. The father died in 1907, and Barrie was named guardian of the boys following the death of their mother in 1910.
