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Peter and Wendy
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Peter and Wendy Paperback - 2014

by James Matthew Barrie; F. D. Bedford (Illustrator)


About this book

Peter and Wendy (1911) is the title of James M. Barrie's novelization of his most famous play, Peter Pan: or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904). Inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family, both the play and the novel tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous young boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers. The novel follows the play closely, though its final chapter is an addition to the original work.

Peter and Wendy was first published in 1911 by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom and Charles Scribner's Sons in the United States. In 1929, Barrie gave the copyright to the works featuring Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Britain's leading children's hospital.

From the publisher

Peter and Wendy

The Original Peter Pan

J. M. Barrie

Illustrated by F. D. Bedford

Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy is J. M. Barrie's most famous work, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and the pirate Captain Hook. The play and novel were inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Barrie continued to revise the play for years after its debut until publication of the play script in 1928.
Although the character appeared previously in Barrie's book The Little White Bird, the play and its novelisation contain the story of Peter Pan mythos that is best known. The two versions differ in some details of the story, but have much in common. In both versions Peter makes night-time calls on the Darlings' house in Bloomsbury, listening in on Mrs. Mary Darling's bedtime stories by the open window. One night Peter is spotted and, while trying to escape, he loses his shadow. On returning to claim it, Peter wakes Mary's daughter, Wendy Darling. Wendy succeeds in re-attaching his shadow to him, and Peter learns that she knows lots of bedtime stories. He invites her to Neverland to be a mother to his gang, the Lost Boys, children who were lost in Kensington Gardens. Wendy agrees, and her brothers John and Michael go along.

Their magical flight to Neverland is followed by many adventures. The children are blown out of the air by a cannon and Wendy is nearly killed by the Lost Boy Tootles. Peter and the Lost Boys build a little house for Wendy to live in while she recuperates (a structure that, to this day, is called a Wendy House.) Soon John and Michael adopt the ways of the Lost Boys.

Peter welcomes Wendy to his underground home, and she immediately assumes the role of mother figure. Peter takes the Darlings on several adventures, the first truly dangerous one occurring at Mermaids' Lagoon. At Mermaids' Lagoon, Peter and the Lost Boys save the princess Tiger Lily and become involved in a battle with the pirates, including the evil Captain Hook. Peter is wounded when Hook claws him. He believes he will die, stranded on a rock when the tide is rising, but he views death as "an awfully big adventure." Luckily, a bird allows him to use her nest as a boat, and Peter sails home.

First Edition Identification

First UK editions of Peter and Wendy have no subsequent printings noted and contain 13 plates, including frontispiece and title page, illustrated by artist F. D. Bedford. First US editions can be identified by the Scribner colophon on the copyright page.

Details

  • Title Peter and Wendy
  • Author James Matthew Barrie; F. D. Bedford (Illustrator)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 154
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Date 2014-12
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9781505377088 / 1505377080
  • Weight 0.61 lbs (0.28 kg)
  • Dimensions 10 x 7 x 0.33 in (25.40 x 17.78 x 0.84 cm)
  • Ages 09 to 12 years
  • Grade levels 4 - 7
  • Reading level 500
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC