Better Dead

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (1860- 1937), more commonly known as J. M. Barrie, was a Scottish novelist and dramatist. He is best known for inventing the character of Peter Pan, whom he based on his friends, the Llewelyn Davies boys. Barries first novels were set in Kirriemuir, Scotland, which he referred to as Thrums (his father worked as a weaver). His Thrums novels were hugely successful when they were published, including Auld Licht Idylls (1888) and The Little Minister (1891). His two Tommy novels, Sentimental Tommy (1896) and Tommy and Grizel (1902), dealt with themes much more explicitly related to what would become Peter Pan. The first appearance of Pan came in The Little White Bird (1901), followed by a play, and then the classic, Peter and Wendy (1911), later retitled Peter Pan. He also wrote for the theatre, his plays including Quality Street (1901), What Every Woman Knows (1908) and The Admirable Crichton (1902).