Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is a novel by J. M. Barrie, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, and published by Hodder & Stoughton in late November or early December 1906; it is one of four major literary works by Barrie featuring the widely known literary character he created, Peter Pan. Most of the text originally appeared as chapters 13–18 of Barrie's 1902 novel The Little White Bird.
Author
English
fantasy, children's literature
1906
United Kingdom
Setting[edit]
The story is set in Kensington Gardens, one of the London Royal Parks, mostly after "Lock-Out Time", described by Barrie as the time at the end of the day when the park gates are closed to the public. After this time the fairies, and other magical inhabitants of the park, can move about more freely than during the daylight, when they must hide from ordinary people.[5] The fairy inhabitants of the gardens are first described in Thomas Tickell's 1722 poem Kensington Gardens.
Illustrations and editions[edit]
Rackham was commissioned to illustrate the book following the success of his work on the 1905 edition of Rip Van Winkle. The owners of the Leicester Galleries, Brown and Phillips, instigated a preliminary meeting between Barrie and Rackham in June 1905, and he was given almost 18 months to complete the illustrations.[6][7] The first edition was released in both a trade edition and a larger signed limited edition of 500 copies. Both versions contain 50 colour plates and 3 black and white line drawings,[8] which were exhibited at the Leicester Galleries from November 1906.
In 1912 a revised edition containing some reworking and 9 more black and white drawings was published. This impression also differed in that the plates were placed within the text, whereas the 1906 edition placed all the images at the end of the book, after the text.[9][10]
Adaptations[edit]
In 2019, theatre company Betwixt-and-Between brought Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens to Edinburgh Fringe and Moat Brae. The novel was adapted for stage and directed by Charlotte Ellen[11][12]
