by James Barrie

James Barrie was born into a Scottish weaver’s family in 1860. When Barrie was six, his 13-year-old brother died, leaving Barrie with an enduring image of the perfect child who would never grow up, and a melancholy mother, who then pinned all her hopes on James Barrie. From an early age Barrie was a passionate reader with dreams of being a writer. Deferring to his mother, he postponed this career to attend Edinburgh University but, in 1885, settled in London to work as a freelance journalist, novelist, and playwright. Barrie’s first taste of success came in 1891, with the publication of The Little Minister. Set in a fictionalized version of his birthplace, Kirriemuir, the novel established Barrie as a leading writer of the “Kailyard” school—fiction writers who sentimentally stereotyped the Scottish lowlanders. The following year, Barrie had...