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My Lady Nicotine

Today I learned of J. M. Barrie's inspiration for Peter Pan.

James Barrie1 lost his older brother David to an ice skating accident when he was young. This left his mother devastated and James tried to keep the essence of childhood alive for his mother. Although many cite the relationship with Lleweln Davies family2 as the primary inspiration, I would cite the former for his foray into children's literature.

Peter Pan was named after Peter Llewelyn Davies3 who was named after the character Petter Ibbetson of his father's novel which became a film in 19354. Peter Llewelyn Davies' death in 1960 is cited as a suicide influenced by ill health and alcoholism. The newspapers at the time reporting on it referred to him as Peter Pan. The Peter Pan syndrome of pop-psychology didn't really occur until the publication of The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up 5 in 1983 which is based on a quote from Aldous Huxley's 1962 final novel Island 6 . The copyright to Peter Pan was given to a children's hospital in London.

I pick up on this after reading My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke (1890) in the The Public Domain Review 7 and watching the 1909 film Princess Nicotine about a smoker pitted against Tinkerbell's cousin. I used to smoke cigarettes and I still chew Nicorette gum on occasion which is likely why I took the read it. It's fascinating to read about substance addiction from an author known for children's adventures. Even that book seems to have the same influence as you can very clearly sense the attachment to fleeting youth.

Footnotes​

  1. J.M. Barrie - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie ↩

  2. Llewlyn Davie Family - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie#Llewelyn_Davies_family ↩

  3. Peter Llewelyn Davies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Llewelyn_Davies ↩

  4. Peter Ibbetson - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ibbetson ↩

  5. Peter Pan syndrome - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_syndrome ↩

  6. Island (1963) - Aldous Huley - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_(Huxley_novel) ↩

  7. Never-again Land: J. M. Barrie's My Lady Nicotine (1896) - https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/my-lady-nicotine/ ↩