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After the chance meering in Kenington Gardens, Barrie, Porthos, and the boys became great friends (1897). Barrie followed up his funny faces with wonderful stories that in the period before rafio and the novies, delighted the boys. That Dcember, Barrie met Sylvia for the first time at another chance encounter, this time at a dinner party. She was enchanted with him, surely in poart because of his social status. She of course invited him to the family home. Soon he was a frequent visitor to their house where he would tell the boys stories. One of these stories was about the youngest boy, Peter, who, according to Barrie, would one day fly away to Kensington Gardens so that he might be a boy forever. When children died, Peter would take them on a journey to a place called Never Never Land. When George heard the story, he said that "dying must be an awfully big adventure!". Barrie wrote the words down. They would later became the most famous words spoken in Peter Pan. Barrie became commonly seen with both Sylvia and the boys. This was rather unusual as both were already married. J.M. Barrie's relationship with the Llewellyn family continued and soon two more boys were born, Michael and Nico. Michael soon became Barrie's favorite and he even took photographs of him dressed as Peter Pan. Barrie invited the entire Llewellyn-Davies family to Black Lake Cottage--his country retreat (1901). There he oversaw a pirate adventure story with the boys. And the whole adventure was recorded in a photographic album with captioned photographs showing the boys acting out their parts (figure 1). The title was "The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island". Barrie made two copies. He gave the first to the boys' father who lost it on a train, perhaps on purpose. The surviving copy is in the collection of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. When Sylvia also died of cancer, Barrie took on the role of the boys' guardian. But soon tragedy was to follow the boys. The BBC in the late 1970s in its TV production of the The Lost Boys, dealt with the relationship between J.M. Barrie and Llewellyn-Davies family.
After the chance meering in Kenington Gardens, Barrie, Porthos, and the boys became great friends (1897). Barrie followed up his funny faces with wonderful stories that in the period before radio and the movies, delighted the boys.
That Dcember, Barrie met Sylvia for the first time at another chance encounter, this time at a dinner party. She was enchanted with him, surely in poart because of his social status.
It was Sylvia She of course invited him to the family home. Soon he was a frequent visitor to their house where he would tell the boys stories. One of these stories was about the youngest boy, Peter, who, according to Barrie, would one day fly away to Kensington Gardens so that he might be a boy forever. When children died, Peter would take them on a journey to a place called Never Never Land. When George heard the story, he said that "dying must be an awfully big adventure!". Barrie wrote the words down. They would later became the most famous words spoken in Peter Pan.
Barrie became commonly seen with both Sylvia and the boys around London. This was rather unusual as both were already married.
J.M. Barrie's relationship with the Llewellyn family continued and soon two more boys were born, Michael and Nico. Michael soon became Barrie's favorite and he even took photographs of him dressed as Peter Pan.
Barrie invited the entire Llewellyn-Davies family to Black Lake Cottage--his country retreat (1901). There he oversaw a pirate adventure story with the boys. And the whole adventure was recorded in a photographic album with captioned photographs showing the boys acting out their parts (figure 1). The title was "The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island". Barrie made two copies. He gave the first to the boys' father who lost it on a train, perhaps on purpose. The surviving copy is in the collection of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
When Sylvia also died of cancer, Barrie took on the role of the boys' guardian. But soon tragedy was to follow the boys. The J.M Barrie relationship with the Llewelly Davies. I don't think the other members of the family wanted to care for all the boys. Had Barrie not been on the scene the boys would have been split up. Barrie allowed the family to stay together.
The boys varied in their relationship with Barrie. Not all the boys liked him, but this seems to be more of an adult than a boyhood assessment. Gerorge the eldest was killed in World war I. The death at University of his favourite child was a blow and Peter committed suicide in 1960. Nico died from natural causes. Not before he left an audio acount of life with J.M Barrie.
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