Sir J. M. Barrie

09 May 1860 - 19 June 1937

SJMB began his career in the late nineteenth century as a journalist, then moved to short stories, then novels, then plays. Those of his plays which survive in the repertoire, for professionals or amateurs, all involve departures from actuality, and purposeful suspension of the laws of space and time. Far and away the most famous, the basis of Barrie's continuing fame, is the adult play which became a children's classic, Peter Pan.

Milestones

9 May 1860

James Matthew Barrie , playwright and novelist, was born in Kirriemuir, near Paisley in Renfrewshire. He was the ninth child in a poor family.

Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

27 December 1904

James Barrie 's play Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.

Cox, Michael, editor. The Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press.

Parker, Peter, editor. A Reader’s Guide to Twentieth-Century Writers. Oxford University Press.

21 January 1937

The London production of SJMB 's final play, The Boy David (about the biblical David and his friendship with Jonathan), closed after a run of only seven weeks.

Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

19 June 1937

SJMB , playwright and novelist, died at home at 3 Adelphi Terrace, London, of bronchial pneumonia. He may also have had cancer.

Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

Biography

Birth and Family

9 May 1860

James Matthew Barrie , playwright and novelist, was born in Kirriemuir, near Paisley in Renfrewshire. He was the ninth child in a poor family.

Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.