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Peter Pan's First XI: The Extraordinary Story of J. M. Barrie's Cricket Team
The creator of Peter Pan , J.M. Barrie, was a hugely enthusiastic cricketer of very little talent. That didn't stop him from leading perhaps the most extraordinary amateur cricket team ever to have taken the field. Some of the twentieth century’s most famous writers including A. A. Milne, P. G. Wodehouse, and Jerome K. Jerome, regularly turned out for Barrie’s team between 1890 and 1913. This very Edwardian vision of village cricket, what Barrie called "green fields dotted with white figures on reasonable terms," was only brought to an end by the First World War. In Peter Pan’s First XI , Kevin Telfer weaves cricket, literature, history, humor, and biography to create an entertaining account of this little-known band of cricketing Peter Pansand the age in which they lived.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 13, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 25, 2016
I’m not sure who this book is for. Little of it will keep the cricket buffs happy. It doesn’t, in my opinion, give enough insights into JM Barrie to warrant a substantial book. I guess it gives a snapshot view of an upper English class whiling away their lives – wasting them perhaps? It’s a little picture of the silliness of that particular class at a particular time.
In other words, I like the idea of the book more than its execution, which I don’t think is the fault of the author, there simply isn’t enough there to hold one’s attention for the required period.
In other words, I like the idea of the book more than its execution, which I don’t think is the fault of the author, there simply isn’t enough there to hold one’s attention for the required period.
June 10, 2017
I picked up this book having previously heard of J.M. Barrie's cricket team. At various times many famous authors played for the team, like Arthur Conan Doyle, Jerome K Jerome, PG Wodehouse and A.A. Milne. This book tells the story of the team and their matches as well as being something of a biography of Barrie himself.
What I liked best about this book was the way it used sources. All the information about the team's matches here comes from the words of Barrie and occasionally other members of the team and the team's scorebook. The author does an excellent job at questioning the accuracy of the sources and doesn't try to fill in information that didn't exist.
I really liked delving into this period of time. There's something joyous about the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. It was a time when Britain was perhaps at it's best, having begun to deal with the many social problems of the age but not yet reaching a point when technology had taken over. I learned all sorts of interesting things here too- Conan Doyle was a first class cricket player, Barrie was good friends with explorer Robert Scott and a remarkable group of authors worked together on propaganda during World War I.
My biggest issue was the way this was all put together. I felt like the author had done fantastic research but felt the need to include all of it in the book, shoving it in wherever it felt vaguely relevant. There were things that could have been left out here and as an editor I would have made the information flow more coherently. It at least need sub-sections or some sort of break to define a new subject.
A fascinating book about a remarkable man and his remarkable friends and the fun they had together on the cricket field.
What I liked best about this book was the way it used sources. All the information about the team's matches here comes from the words of Barrie and occasionally other members of the team and the team's scorebook. The author does an excellent job at questioning the accuracy of the sources and doesn't try to fill in information that didn't exist.
I really liked delving into this period of time. There's something joyous about the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. It was a time when Britain was perhaps at it's best, having begun to deal with the many social problems of the age but not yet reaching a point when technology had taken over. I learned all sorts of interesting things here too- Conan Doyle was a first class cricket player, Barrie was good friends with explorer Robert Scott and a remarkable group of authors worked together on propaganda during World War I.
My biggest issue was the way this was all put together. I felt like the author had done fantastic research but felt the need to include all of it in the book, shoving it in wherever it felt vaguely relevant. There were things that could have been left out here and as an editor I would have made the information flow more coherently. It at least need sub-sections or some sort of break to define a new subject.
A fascinating book about a remarkable man and his remarkable friends and the fun they had together on the cricket field.
July 27, 2017
Call me sentimental but I loved this book about J M Barrie and his cricket team 'The Allahakbarries'. What a wonderful cast of authors that were involved in his team - Conan Doyle, Jerome K Jerome, E W Hornung, E V Lucas, A A Milne and P G.Wodehouse. A golden age of writers playing cricket in its golden age. A heart warming story of the power of cricket to bring people together. And heart breaking to see the terrible impact WWI had on Barrie and his teammates.
January 2, 2020
Browsing in a library leads to strange things; I never thought I would read an entire book about a cricket team. I knew of the Allahakberries from other sources, and this book is a pleasant history of them. My biggest issue with it is the lack of footnotes or endnotes. I’m a pedant who footnotes my sermons, and the bibliography isn’t enough for me.
The strangest part of reading this book about Edwardian English cricket during an Australian bushfire season is the resonance I’m feeling with those who stopped playing cricket after the slaughter of WW1 because it seemed so much less important after all that needless death. At this very moment in Australia, as fires are raging, the PM has had his photo taken with the AUS and NZ cricket teams, and has talked absolute rubbish about cricket raising Australians’ spirits. He doesn’t have the empathy and integrity of someone like JMB: ‘Barrie does not once seem to have contemplated a reprise of the Allahakbarries. Perhaps because George had played in the last game before the war and how could the team possibly play again after what had happened to him, and others?’ p. 298
The strangest part of reading this book about Edwardian English cricket during an Australian bushfire season is the resonance I’m feeling with those who stopped playing cricket after the slaughter of WW1 because it seemed so much less important after all that needless death. At this very moment in Australia, as fires are raging, the PM has had his photo taken with the AUS and NZ cricket teams, and has talked absolute rubbish about cricket raising Australians’ spirits. He doesn’t have the empathy and integrity of someone like JMB: ‘Barrie does not once seem to have contemplated a reprise of the Allahakbarries. Perhaps because George had played in the last game before the war and how could the team possibly play again after what had happened to him, and others?’ p. 298
December 23, 2016
It was well written and i enjoyed it a lot. An interesting history.
May 2, 2013
In lots of ways this was a fascinating book about the great and the good of the late Victorian and early Edwardian era, and in particular world class writers such as Conan Doyle, Milne and Wodehouse who were all members of the Allahakbarries cricket team.
This team was created by J.M Barrie, write of Peter Pan. He had huge enthusiasm for the game of cricket, but had very little talent. Barrie created this team that played at Shere for the first few matches, and as years went on played elsewhere. Some of the members of the team were first class cricketers in their own right, as well as being published authors. Sadly some members were not particularly good at cricket, or sport for that matter.
The make up of the team and members is hugely complicated; not helps by fragmentary documentation that there is on them, but the narrative was not always easy to follow. The book also looks at the literary achievements of the members, most were very successful authors, playwrights and a lot of them wrote for Punch. The narrative weaves its way through the closely knit establishment figures and details the relationships between theses men.
That said, the author has done a good job of making an interesting story, and eliciting the facts from the fragments.
This team was created by J.M Barrie, write of Peter Pan. He had huge enthusiasm for the game of cricket, but had very little talent. Barrie created this team that played at Shere for the first few matches, and as years went on played elsewhere. Some of the members of the team were first class cricketers in their own right, as well as being published authors. Sadly some members were not particularly good at cricket, or sport for that matter.
The make up of the team and members is hugely complicated; not helps by fragmentary documentation that there is on them, but the narrative was not always easy to follow. The book also looks at the literary achievements of the members, most were very successful authors, playwrights and a lot of them wrote for Punch. The narrative weaves its way through the closely knit establishment figures and details the relationships between theses men.
That said, the author has done a good job of making an interesting story, and eliciting the facts from the fragments.
February 27, 2012
A beautiful book, full of British eccentrics and a way of life well gone. The golden era of the Edwardians? JM Barrie (Peter Pan) was the driving force behind a sporadic cricket team that included (at various times) Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), PG Wodehouse (Jeeves and Wooster), Jerome K Jerome (Three Men in a Boat)and AA Milne (Winne the Pooh) as well as an assembly of writers, big game hunters, publishers and journalists. A rich and rewarding read.
March 16, 2012
Fascinating book about J.M. Barrie's cricket team and various famous authors who played with him. I still don't really know what cricket is about, even after reading the book, but the real fascination is the author connections, and cricket is just one of the instruments that brought them together.
October 4, 2013
An absolutely lovely book. It is at times difficult to follow everything that is happening because there are so many characters taking part and most of them famous figures, but I honed in on those that appealed most and thoroughly enjoyed it. Barrie himself is a fascinating and charming character.
January 1, 2012
I really enjoyed this book, however I recommend brushing up on your cricket terminology before reading it.
September 14, 2012
Excellent.
April 3, 2015
What a great little book about this amazing group of people.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews