Author Topic: The first book and No. 1  (Read 5927 times)

Hannah High

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The first book and No. 1
« on: March 13, 2005, 07:58:55 PM »
What was J.M.B. first book? Was it Better Dead...if so, the title seems to suit the respone of it...but what his first success...or the first book he was pleased with...or play...whichever comes first.



And well, of course, there's Peter Pan and the Boy Castaways...but did he write any of the five books like he did The Little White Bird for No 1. I'm sure their humble servant spread them across many of his pages like Tommy spread his spirit over his little sister...but I was just wondering if there were any other books like The Little White Bird

Robert Greenham

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The first book and No. 1
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2005, 10:24:35 AM »
I don't know whether any of this might help you, Hannah:

Barrie's first book was indeed Better Dead, and he paid to have it published. His second book was Auld Licht Idylls, a collection of his articles which had appeared in the St James's Gazette, and its sequels were A Window in Thrums, a collection of stories about his childhood Kirriemuir and its people, and the novel The Little Minister. This latter book was certainly a big success throughout the British Empire, so perhaps it could be classed as Barrie's first major successful novel.

Moving to his plays, Ibsen's Ghost, a one act play, was the first which he wrote on his own, and it seems to have been a minor success. His second, Walker, London, was far more successful, and, at Barrie's insistence, it starred Mary Ansell (his future wife). Perhaps this play could be classed as his first successful play?

I gleaned all this from Andrew's excellent book. If you haven't read it, then I urge you to buy a copy. See it on this Amazon.co.uk link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300098227/qid=1110881994/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_11_5/026-3838939-6951655