Peter Pan (Wordsworth Exclusive Collection): Includes Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie The magical Peter Pan comes to the night nursery of the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael. He teaches them to fly, then takes them through the sky to Never-Never Land, where they find wolves, Mermaids and... Pirates. The leader of the pirates is the sinister Captain Hook. His hand was bitten off by a crocodile, who, as Captain Hook explains 'liked me arm so much that he has followed me ever since, licking his lips for the rest of me'. After lots of adventures, the story reaches its exciting climax as Peter, Wendy and the children do battle with Captain Hook and his band. This edition also includes Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens which is the magical tale that first introduces Peter Pan, the little boy who never grows any older. He escapes his human form and flies to Kensington Gardens, where all his happy memories are, and meets the fairies, the thrushes, and Old Caw the crow. The fairies think he is too human to be allowed to stay in after Lock-out time, so he flies off to an island which divides the Gardens from the more grown-up Hyde Park - Peter's adventures, and how he eventually meets Mamie and the goat, are delightfully illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

Genres: Classics, Fantasy

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2021

About the author

James Matthew Barrie was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several successful novels and plays.

The son of a weaver, Barrie studied at the University of Edinburgh. He took up journalism for a newspaper in Nottingham and contributed to various London journals before moving there in 1885. His early Auld Licht Idylls (1889) and A Window in Thrums (1889) contain fictional sketches of Scottish life representative of the Kailyard school. The publication of The Little Minister (1891) established his reputation as a novelist. During the next decade, Barrie continued to write novels, but gradually, his interest turned towards the theatre.

In London, he met Llewelyn Davies, who inspired him about magical adventures of a baby boy in gardens of Kensington, included in The Little White Bird, then to a "fairy play" about this ageless adventures of an ordinary girl, named Wendy, in the setting of Neverland. People credited this best-known play with popularizing Wendy, the previously very unpopular name, and quickly overshadowed his previous, and he continued successfully.

Following the deaths of their parents, Barrie unofficially adopted the boys. He gave the rights to great Ormond street hospital, which continues to benefit.

Reviews

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This book consists of two stories: Peter Pan & Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Peter Pan was a beautiful story. At first I was convinced that the hidden meaning was that Neverland was really just the afterlife for the kids. That Peter Pan was like a grim reaper transporter, that he came to take them to the afterlife. To me that made the most sense, especially since a few diseases were mentioned in the beginning, combined with the Darlings being rather poor, I thought the three siblings had fallen ill and succumbed to the illness. The parents crying because their children were 'gone' also still holds. This could all be the case, except for the fact that they returned, so I think this symbolism is not true. It was still a rather nice read! It showed that children can be innocent etc., but it is their innocence that can lead to rather nasty traits, such as Peter Pan not caring about death and being rather indifferent to killing, for example. Everything is a thrilling adventure in his eyes.

Then Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens: It was fun to learn the backstory of Peter Pan. To learn about the fairies in Kensington Garden, and their balls. Peter Pan 'being' partly bird is intruiging. The story of Solomon giving people babies, sometimes to the wrong adress and not always as they desired is fun. Did not know this is how babies are made🤪, that they start out as birds.

It was mostly just whimsical, and hey, sometimes that's all you want in a book :).

[Juulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

peter pan 3.5 ⭐️s

really fun, magical & adventurous. more murderous than i expected and i'm happy girlhood for me doesn't need to be what it was for wendy

peter pan in kensington gardens 2.5⭐️s

peter's origin story, his character felt quite different in this and i got a bit bored. the setting, the fairies and talking trees were fun though

[George Lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like slander to say I almost didn’t finish this story. I wanted it to be so good but maybe my Disney brain skewed my expectations.

I didn’t read the second story in the book, I may revisit someday. This is probably the first book where I just wanted it to end. It just felt very dull and the wording of it could be very jarring that I often went back to re-read things. It didn’t feel as magical as its modern interpretations are presented. I found Peter annoying.

Also in addition, some of the depictions are out of date such as the comparison of the colour of skin to how evil hook was.

[Nikole Callihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to read with my daughter

[Kimberlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for Peter Pan
I love the Peter Pan 2003 adaptation and was pleasantly surprised by how faithful it was to the book. Although the movie does overstate the romance between Peter and Wendy a bit.
I think I've never read such a good description of the way children play as Peter and the lost boys playing at war in Neverland. With the rules randomly changing and children changing sides on a whim.
I also love Mr and Mrs Darling, with just how much fun the life in their house is. And the way Mrs Darling is shown to wait at the open window, waiting for the children to return and never giving up hope. Unconditional love, which of course is also what leads them to adopt all of the lost boys at the end.
Finally Peter Pan is about growing up or the reluctance to grow up and how we eventually have to accept that anyway, because to deny it is to become stagnant and to stay ignorant and selfish like Peter. I've always loved the bittersweet ending of knowing what is best for Wendy is to go back home and to know that Peter could never stay, just because of who he is, but wanting a better choice for both of them anyway.

3 stars for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Although I liked reading the sort of origin story of Peter Pan, this book lacked a lot of the charm the later Peter Pan book has. I was also a bit confused by who the narrator for this story was exactly and who David and Porthos are?!

Finally I do want to say I am glad that the 2003 movie left out a lot of the sexism and racism that is pretty prevalent in both of these stories. That was sometimes pretty annoying to read about. Because why the heck could Wendy not pick up a sword to help defeat the Pirates?!

Oh and finally finally I loved the way this story was truly told as a fairytale, with an omniscient narrator, sometimes speaking directly to the reader.

[Jay Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I originally bought this only wanting to read Peter Pan, not realising there was another story in this edition. I've decided not to read the other, so I'm calling this book finished.
It was not as good as i hoped it would be. I loved almost all the different movies as a kid, but the book just doesn't really do it for me. I think this is the only time i will say that the book is worse than the adaptation.

[Stuart David McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical and brutal and a great read.

[Lisandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 + 3,5 = 3,75 estrelas

[Fien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the first story called Peter and Wendy. I just don't like Peter Pan as a character... He is a creepy kid.

[Meike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book very much