'I think a lot of it just comes from very good observation of people, of animals, and of himself.'Ĭonsider the following episode at the very start of Peter and Wendy’s adventures: Ridley emphasizes that Barrie did not just borrow others’ ideas, though – he embellished their theories and offered new insights that were completely his own. Even some of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales were inspired by new scientific and technological developments – such as the invention of the home microscope. Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies was written, in part, as a response to Darwin’s theory of evolution, while Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were a playful exploration of mathematics and logic. In this way, the stories appear to follow a tradition of great cross-pollination between the arts and the sciences – particularly in children’s literature. Through these connections, he would have heard the leading scientific theories of the day – discussions that may have fired his already fertile imagination and informed the tales he was writing. The character made his first public outing in 1902, with a minor role in Barrie’s adult novel, The Little White Bird, before taking centre stage in a play and children’s novel, Peter and Wendy, which was published in 1911.īy this point, Barrie was already an established writer, moving in a fashionable social circle that would have introduced him to, among others, the pioneering American psychologist William James (through his novelist brother, Henry James). Barrie had formulated some of the elements of Peter Pan’s adventures while still a child himself – stories he then elaborated on to entertain the Llewellyn Davies family, whom he met during a walk in London’s Kensington Gardens. Looking through Barrie's life, it is apparent that many influences may have shaped the tales, which took years to crystallise. 'Many of the things being discussed weren't discovered until the 1970s,' says Ridley, who is based at the University of Cambridge.

Indeed, Ridley argues that many of Peter’s adventures point to scientific theories that would only emerge decades after the tales were first written. The result of that initial interest is a fascinating new study, exploring his astute observations on the peculiarities of human memories, sleep and dreams, and the puzzle of consciousness. Here, she realised, was a tale that teaches us all how we learn to think. 'That just got me hooked, and the more I read, the more I found there.' Ridley had always been an avid reader and collector of books, but as she read on, she realised that this was more than just a charming children’s tale of fairies and talking animals: within Peter's whimsical adventures, Barrie was hiding some profound insights into the human mind, and in particular, the ways it develops over childhood. A couple of years ago, the neuropsychologist Rosalind Ridley was browsing through a friend's bookshelf when she came across JM Barrie’s original Peter Pan stories.

Peter pan by jm barrie