Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
_-_Arthur_Rackham,_Peter_Pan_-_Under_the_bridge.jpg) "He passed under the bridge." | |
| Written by: | J. M. Barrie |
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| First published: | 1906 |
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J. M. Barrie is the first novel centered around his most famous creation, Peter Pan. It first appeared as a collection of chapters in his 1902 novelThe Little White Bird, but was split out into its own book in 1906. In this story, it's revealed that all children begin life as birds until Solomon Caw sends them out to expecting mothers, where they become human children. Peter, an infant of seven days old, is still young enough that he's still half-bird and therefore has complete faith in his ability to fly. He escapes his home by flying out through the open window and arrives in Kensington Gardens. Upon realizing that he really is no longer a bird, he loses the ability to fly because once you doubt your ability to fly, you can no longer do it.
This book is a sort of predecessor to Peter Pan, though there are some differences. The first, obviously, is that Peter lives in Kensington Gardens, not Never Land. Secondly, he's perpetually a baby, not a child as most of us know him to be.
- Cargo Ship: Peter asks Maimie to marry him because her furry coat reminds him of a bird's nest.
- Crows and Ravens: Solomon Caw is some kind of corvid.
- The Fair Folk: The fairies. They're tiny, but really shouldn't be messed with.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Peter is described as half-human and half-bird, or a "Betwixt-and-Between."
- Horse of a Different Color: The imaginary-goat-turned-real-by-the-fairies.
- Downer Ending: The book ends on the note that Peter occasionally finds the bodies of children who were stuck in the gardens after Lock-out Time and thus died of exposure. He buries them in the gardens.
- Puff of Logic: As soon as you doubt your ability to fly, you won't be able to do it anymore. Oh snap.
- Raised by Wolves: Or birds, in this case.
- Swans-a-Swimming: There are swans in the garden.