Happy Peter Pan Day 2025!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday/winter season!
You know it?s funny, when I was younger, I thought I?d grow out of my love of Peter Pan the more I aged, but I just turned 30 this year this past June and I?ve realized that instead of growing more apart from Peter, I?ve actually grown closer to him and I relate to him more as I?ve aged! How interesting!
And I think part of the reason I?ve related to him more as time has gone on and I?m comfortable admitting that to myself and to this website is because of this forum! Seeing that I?m not alone in my love for Peter Pan as an adult and that it?s okay to love fairy tales and children?s stories in general even though you are no longer a child! I?ve even made a great friend Hannah Grippo or Hannah High as she used to called, because of this forum, to which I will forever be grateful!
And two days ago, on Christmas Day, I finally finished the first draft of my script for my play adaptation of Peter Pan! I had been working on it on and off (mostly off) since 2023. My inspiration for doing so was because of my anger towards the recent awful Disney remake Peter Pan and Wendy and Andrew?s wonderful Peter Pan script that he wrote in the 80?s!
I?m not sure the play will ever be performed, but I hope to have it at least read out loud by actors at some point! But I?m just very proud of myself for FINALLY getting it done! The play is not perfect by any means, it is only a first draft, but I love many parts of it! It has a mixture of my words and Barrie?s! Mostly Barrie?s, rest assured! And a lot of my words are Barrie-inspired, if that makes sense!
Anyway, to end this long Peter Pan Day post for this year, I will end it not with my words, but Laura Duguid?s, Nico?s daughter!
Recently, on the Wayback Machine, I discovered an older version of this website and forum, and Laura actually made a comment, and it is the best feedback to this website you can get! She wrote it on May 20th, 2004:
?As the daughter of Nico, and the only surviving child of any of the Lost Boys, I want to say how thrilled I am, and how grateful to Andrew Birkin for having created this truly wonderful site. Hearing my father's voice after more than 20 years was a thrilling and moving experience. How exciting to think there is still more to come! Surely this must be one of the most original and beautiful sites on the internet.
My heartfelt thanks to you, Andrew.?

Hello all!

I would love to read the second section of the Morgue that "ecb" has mentioned in another thread about the Morgue.  (Jan 13 2021)
"I just finished the first two sections of Peter's Morgue with his annotations and comments- right up to to Arthur's death.  Thank you so much for uploading this Andrew.  What a sad story and how perfectly the letters and comments bring their world and the people in it to life.  And thank you Peter - although I know it cost you tremendously to do this."

I found "Some Davies Letters and Papers (aka the Morgue) 1889-1897" in the database and thoroughly enjoyed it... I tried searching the "morgue" and a few other word combinations such as "Peter Davies Collection" (referencing the seven volumes of the Morgue that are mentioned in the site's introduction page) but the "1889-1897" is the only page that comes up in the search engine for me... any leads or links would be greatly appreciated to be able to find the post-1897 collected material!

I'm so impressed and thankful for the resources and discussion posted on this forum!  An invaluable resource.  Thank you!

Josh

Information on ?The Real Thing At Last?, a 30-minute film Barrie wrote and directed (the film actually had an ?official? director, L.C. MacBean, but according to A.E. Matthews, one of the actors in the film, ?Barrie did all the work ? MacBean just looked on admiringly??.) in 1916 as a parody of what if an American film company made a film of Macbeth. I just discovered today that this film existed! So sad that it?s lost!

https://thebioscope.net/2008/05/30/pen-and-pictures-no-3-jm-barrie/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Thing_at_Last

http://neverpedia.com/pan/The_Real_Thing_at_Last

Transcriptions of the Mrs. Pearsall letters:

20 June, 1921:

Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
Thank you very much for your kind letter about Mr. Davies. It was a great happiness to me that you made him so comfortable and he loved to tell me how nice you were to him. I saw it too for myself. I am at present so broken by this blow that I cannot attend to things, but if you will be so good as just to keep his rooms closed for a time ? all the matters will be attended to by and by. I know he had furniture stored at ? ? and that will be seen by ? also. Also kindly let me know of expenses. ? I do very much like your letter, which is full of tender feeling.
Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie


9 September, 1921:
Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
Thank you very much for sending on the trunk with clothes by which has searched me safely.
Would you know kindly get all the books packed in boxes and have them sent on here. Also anything else such as pictures, ornaments, papers or letters of ?, ? ? ??that is, everything ? except furniture, ? and bed clothes, which I want to store at Oxford for Mr. Davies?s brother, who may be going up as an undergraduate in a year?s time. They could be stored at the place where there are already some of his things stored and I would be much obliged if you can put that ? in communication with me about the matter, as I do not have their name and address. They could do the packing also of the things to be sent here.
You have been so very kind in all matters that I am always afraid of trying you too hard.
Thank you for your kind messages about myself. I am as well as one can expect who has lost the dearest person in life to him. I always want to come to Oxford and then I feel I can?t.

Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie

P.S The rugs should also be sent here.


20 September, 1921:
Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
My hearty thanks to you for sending on the things so carefully. They have all arrived safely.
I do not know about those curtains I think they were sent from us, but it is possible they were got in Oxford to match the sofa.
Only in that case I should have thought they would have been bought by Mr. Davies. However the shop people should have some proof of the transaction if any, and if they do belong to them should get them back.
Please thank Mr. Pearsall from me for so kindly seeing ? ? ? ? about storing the furniture, I expect to hear from them.
You will of course let me know about all your expenses in these matters. But apart from that altogether, please let me have the pleasure of sending you the enclosed cheque for ?50, in memory of your great kindness to my adopted son. I am indeed most grateful to you.
Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie


22 September, 1921:
Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
Yes, it will be a pleasure to me if you will keep the ? in memory of Mr. Davies and I thank you for all you say. I have not yet heard from ? Arthur ? ? and hope they will write soon.
Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie


18 November, 1921:
Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
Thank you for your letter about those extra things of Mr. Davies which I shall be glad to have at your convenience. I am not certain about the ? but I think it also must be his as he ? had me at Oxford. Perhaps you can find out for certain that it is not Mr. ?. With kindest regards.
Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie


9 October, 1922:
Dear Mrs. Pearsall,
Thank you for your kind letter. I have not been able to answer ? ? because I am not very well. Mr. Davies?s brother goes up on Thursday to New College, but kindly send the things to him at Mrs. Bird?s 108 Abingdon Road, where he will be resident with a friend at first. Would you also be so good as to tell the firm who are storing some furniture to send it to that address. I should be much obliged. With best regards.
Yours Sincerely
J.M. Barrie

Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the Peter Pan film released on December 29, 1924, directed by Herbert Brenon, written by Willis Goldbeck, and starring Mary Brian, Ernest Torrence, and Betty Bronson as Peter Pan himself!
This film is, so far, the best direct adaptation of Peter Pan ever made! Even all these years later and with many film adaptations being made after this one!
This is also the only Peter Pan film J.M. Barrie was involved in. Paramount may not have used Barrie?s script, which is unfortunate, but I still think this movie was very well done!
If you?ve never seen this film before, or you want to re-watch it, here?s a link below to watch the film for free! Enjoy!


https://archive.org/details/PeterPan1924