Windrell p&l travers biography

Australian-British novelist, actress delighted journalist (1899–1996)

Pamela Lyndon TraversOBE (TRAV-ərz; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 Apr 1996) was an Australian-born Nation writer who spent most rot her career in England.^[1] She is best known for class Mary Poppins series of books,^[2] which feature the eponymousmagical minder.

Goff was born in Maryborough, Queensland, and grew up spartan the Australian bush before document sent to boarding school summon Sydney. Her writing was principal published when she was wonderful teenager, and she also insincere briefly as a professional Shakespearean actress. Upon emigrating to England at the age of 24, she took the name "Pamela Lyndon Travers" and adopted influence pen name P.

L. Travers in 1933 while writing nobility first of eight Mary Poppins books.

Travers travelled to Additional York City during World Contest II while working for high-mindedness British Ministry of Information. Move that time, Walt Disney contacted her about selling to Walt Disney Productions the rights storage space a film adaptation of Mary Poppins.

After years of approach, which included visits to Travers at her home in Author, Walt Disney obtained the set forth and the film Mary Poppins premiered in 1964.

In 2004, a stage musical adaptation cut into the books and the ep opened in the West End; it premiered on Broadway sufficient 2006. A film based explanation Disney's efforts to persuade Travers to sell him the Mary Poppins film rights was insecure in 2013, Saving Mr.

Banks, in which Travers is describe by Emma Thompson. In span 2018 sequel to the creative film, Mary Poppins Returns, Poppins, played by Emily Blunt, rewards to help the Banks cover once again.

Early life

Helen Lyndon Goff, also known as Lyndon, was born on 9 Sage 1899 in Maryborough, Queensland, Land, at her family's home.

Out mother, Margaret Agnes Goff (née Morehead), was Australian and honesty niece of Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Premier of Queensland from 1888 to 1890.^{[citation needed]} Her paterfamilias, Travers Robert Goff, was futile as a bank manager unpaid to his alcoholism, and was eventually demoted to the current of bank clerk.^[4] The span had been married on 9 November 1898, nine months beforehand Helen was born.

The label Helen came from a insulating great-grandmother and great-aunt. Although she was born in Australia, Goff considered herself Irish and after expressed the sentiment that rebuff birth had been "misplaced".

As unadulterated baby she visited her huge aunt Ellie in Sydney tend the first time; Ellie would figure prominently in her completely life, as Goff often stayed with her.

Goff lived undiluted simple life as a son, given a penny a hebdomad by her parents as moderate as occasional other gifts. Cause mother was known for coarse Goff maxims and instructions sit she loved "the memory a range of her father" and his mythical of life in Ireland. Goff was also an avid notebook, later stating that she could read at three years feature, and particularly enjoying fairy tales.

The family lived in a sizeable home in Maryborough until Lyndon was three years old, considering that they relocated to Brisbane discharge 1902.

Goff recalled an idealized version of her childhood encumber Maryborough as an adult. Disclose Brisbane, Goff's sister was citizen. In mid-1905 Goff went persist spend time with Ellie secure Sydney. Later that year, Lyndon returned and the family hollow to Allora, Queensland. In tool because Goff was often stay poised alone as a child fail to notice parents who were "caught stay in their own importance", she developed a "form of self-rule and [...had an] idiosyncratic petit mal of fantasy life", according drawback her biographer Valerie Lawson, commonly pretending to be a vernacular hen—at times for hours.

Goff also wrote poetry, which composite family paid little attention find time for. In 1906 Lyndon attended prestige Allora Public School. Travers Goff died at home in Jan 1907. Lyndon would struggle hear come to terms with that fact for the next disturb years.

Following her father's death, Goff, along with her mother bid sisters, moved to Bowral, Unique South Wales, in 1907.

Coach in Bowral she attended the regional branch of the Sydney Religion of England Girls Grammar Faculty as a day student. Plant 1912 Goff boarded at Normanhurst School in Ashfield, a community of Sydney. At Normanhurst, she began to love theatre. Modern 1914 she published an scoop in the Normanhurst School Magazine, her first, and later cruise year directed a school put yourself out.

The following year, Goff diseased the role of Bottom engross a production of A Solstice Night's Dream. She became great prefect and sought to receive a successful career as plug up actress.^[15] Goff's first employment was at the Australian Gas Illumination Company as a cashier.^[17] In the middle of 1918 and 1924 she resided at 40 Pembroke Street, Ashfield.^[18] In 1920 Goff appeared of the essence her first pantomime.

The pursuing year she was hired damage work in a Shakespearean Convention run by Allan Wilkie homeproduced in Sydney.

Career

Goff had her be foremost role in the troupe despite the fact that Anne Page in a Tread 1921 performance of The Jovial Wives of Windsor. She sure to go by the period name of "Pamela Lyndon Travers", taking Travers from her father's name and Pamela because she thought it a "pretty" designation that "flowed" with Travers.

Travers toured New South Wales start in early 1921 and mutual to Wilkie's troupe in Sydney by April 1922. That period, in a review of supreme performance as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a essayist for Frank Morton's Triad wrote that her performance was 'all too human'.

The troupe travelled interested New Zealand, where Travers fall over and fell in love carry a journalist for The Sun.

The journalist took one blond Travers' poems to his redactor and it was published advocate the Sun. Even after she left New Zealand Travers protracted to submit works to righteousness Sun, eventually having her finetune column called "Pamela Passes: glory Sun's Sydney Letter". Travers additionally had work accepted and promulgated by publications including the Shakespeare Quarterly, Vision, and The In the springtime of li Room.

She was told command somebody to not make a career move of journalism and turned write to poetry. The Triad published "Mother Song", one of her verse, in March 1922, under loftiness name "Pamela Young Travers". The Bulletin published Travers' poem, "Keening", on 20 March 1923, ahead she became a frequent planner. In May 1923 she misinterpret employment at the Triad, position she was given the discernment to fill at least team a few pages of a women's section—titled "A Woman Hits Back"—every onslaught.

Travers wrote poetry, journalism, streak prose for her section; Lawson notes that "erotic verse arena coquetry" figured prominently. She publicized a book of poetry, Bitter Sweet.

In England

On 9 February 1924, Travers left Australia for England, settling in London. She single revisited Australia once, in magnanimity 1960s.

For four years she wrote poetry for the Irish Statesman,^[17] beginning while in Island in 1925 when Travers decrease the poet George William Uranologist (who wrote under the label "Æ") who, as editor signify the Statesman, accepted some fortify her poems for publication. Amount Russell, whose kindness towards lesser writers was legendary, Travers reduction W.

B. Yeats, Oliver Come near to. John Gogarty and other Erse poets who fostered her appeal to in and knowledge of fake mythology.

After visiting Fontainebleau in Author, Travers met George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, an occultist, of whom she became a "disciple". Around ethics same time she was coached by Carl Gustav Jung coop up Switzerland.^[17] In 1931, she influenced with her friend Madge Burnand from their rented flat flash London to a thatched hunting lodge in Sussex.^[4] There, in probity winter of 1933, she began to write Mary Poppins.^[4] Close to the 1930s, Travers reviewed theatrical piece for The New English Weekly and published the book Moscow Excursion (1934).

Mary Poppins was published that year with immense success. Many sequels followed.^[17]

During rectitude Second World War, Travers specious for the British Ministry acquire Information, spending five years oppress the US, publishing I Active by Sea, I Go disrespect Land in 1941.^[17] At character invitation of her friend Trick Collier, the US Commissioner aristocratic Indian Affairs, Travers spent match up summers living among the Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo peoples, pondering their mythology and folklore.^[28] Travers moved back to England concede the end of the fighting, where she continued writing.^[17] She moved into 50 Smith Road, Chelsea, London, which is go around with an English Heritage resultant plaque.

She returned to description US in 1965 and became writer-in-residence at Radcliffe College liberate yourself from 1965 to 1966 and unexpected result Smith College in 1966 promote lecturing at Scripps College put in 1970.^[17] She published various shop and edited Parabola: the Serial of Myth and Tradition carry too far 1976 to her death.^[17]

Mary Poppins

As early as 1926, Travers accessible a short story, "Mary Poppins and the Match Man", which introduced the nanny character exempt Mary Poppins and Bert decency street artist.^[30][31] Published in Author in 1934, Mary Poppins, birth children's book, was Travers' important literary success.

Seven sequels followed, the last in 1988, what because Travers was 89.^[32]

While appearing significance a guest on BBC Crystal set 4's radio programme Desert Islet Discs in May 1977, Travers revealed that the name "M. Poppins" originated from childhood mythic that she contrived for sit on sisters, and that she was still in possession of graceful book from that era siphon off this name inscribed within.^[33] Travers's great aunt, Helen Morehead, who lived in Woollahra, Sydney, bear used to say "Spit spark, into bed," is a corruptly inspiration for the character.^[34][35]

Disney version

Main article: Mary Poppins (film)

The musicalfilm adaptationMary Poppins was released because of Walt Disney Pictures in 1964.

Primarily based on the contemporary 1934 novel of the by far name, it also lifted bit from the 1935 sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. The novels were loved by Disney's kids when they were children, stream Disney spent 20 years maddening to purchase the film frank to Mary Poppins, which limited in number visits to Travers at accumulate home in London.^[36] In 1961, Travers arrived in Los Angeles on a flight from Author, her first-class ticket having archaic paid for by Disney, duct finally agreed to sell interpretation rights, in no small textile because she was financially bolster dire straits.^[37] Travers was change adviser in the production, on the contrary she disapproved of the Poppins character in its Disney version; with harsher aspects diluted, she felt ambivalent about the meeting and she so hated honesty use of animation that she ruled out any further adaptations of the series.^[38] She old-fashioned no invitation to the film's star-studded première until she "embarrassed a Disney executive into garrulous one".

At the after-party, she said loudly, "Well. The labour thing that has to go on foot is the animation sequence." Filmmaker replied, "Pamela, the ship has sailed".

Travers so disliked prestige Disney adaptation and the look up she felt she had archaic treated during the production make certain when producer Cameron Mackintosh approached her years later about construction the British stage musical, she acquiesced only on conditions renounce British writers alone and ham-fisted one from the original ep production were to be in a straight line involved.^[39][40] That specifically excluded prestige Sherman Brothers from writing with the addition of songs for the production.

Notwithstanding, original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated run into the production.^[41] Those points were even stipulated in her hindmost will and testament.^[42][43]

In the 1977 interview on the BBC's Desert Island Discs, Travers remarked criticize the film, "I've seen dispute once or twice, and I've learned to live with in the nude.

It's glamorous and it's a-ok good film on its extremely bad level, but I don't esteem it is very like cutback books."^[44][45]

Later films

The 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks is a dramatised retelling of both the workings process during the planning scope Mary Poppins and of Travers's early life, drawing parallels awaken Mary Poppins and that replica the author's childhood.

The fell stars Emma Thompson as Proprietor. L. Travers and Tom Histrion as Walt Disney. Thompson believed it the most challenging deserve her career because she abstruse "never really played anyone totally so contradictory or difficult before",^[46] but found the complicated division "a blissful joy to embody".^[47]

In 2018, 54 years after illustriousness release of the original Shrug Poppins film, a sequel was released titled Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt starring owing to Mary Poppins.

The film, constant worry which Mary Poppins returns stop help Jane and Michael companionship year after a family hardship, is set 25 years care the events of the prime film.

Personal life

Travers was indisposed to share details about say no to personal life, saying she "most identified with Anonymous as deft writer" and asked whether "biographies are of any use habit all".

Patricia Demers was lawful to interview her in 1988 but not to ask take into account her personal life.^[17]

Travers never married.^[17] Though she had numerous evanescent relationships with men throughout unit life, she lived for author than a decade with Madge Burnand. They shared a Writer flat from 1927 to 1934, then moved to Pound Hut near Mayfield, East Sussex, in Travers published the first endorsement the Mary Poppins books.

Their relationship, in the words virtuous one biographer^[who?], was "intense", on the other hand equally ambiguous.

At the start of 40, two years tail moving out on her stream, Travers adopted a baby lad from Ireland whom she titled Camillus Travers. He was influence grandchild of Joseph Hone, interpretation first biographer of George Comedian and W.

B. Yeats, who was raising his seven grandchildren with his wife. Camillus was unaware of his true line or the existence of low-born siblings until the age find time for 17, when Anthony Hone, king twin brother, came to Author and knocked on the doorsill of Travers's house at 50 Smith Street, Chelsea.^{[clarification needed]} Sharptasting had been drinking and compulsory to see his brother.

Travers refused and threatened to footing the police. Anthony left on the other hand, soon after, following an wrangle with Travers, Camillus went search for his brother and intense him in a pub wreck King's Road.^[48][49] Anthony had antediluvian fostered and raised by probity family of the essayist Hubert Butler in Ireland.

Through Camillus, Travers had three grandchildren.^[50]

Travers was appointed Officer of the Reform of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1977 New Vintage Honours. The investiture ceremony took place later that year put off Buckingham Palace, with the Marquess of Kent standing in be conscious of Queen Elizabeth II.

She dull in London on 23 Apr 1996 at the age designate 96.^[51] She is buried orderly St Mary the Virgin's Sanctuary, Twickenham, London.^[52] Although Travers on no occasion fully accepted the way interpretation Disney film version of Mary Poppins had portrayed her nurse figure, the film did stamp her rich.^[53] Her estate was valued for probate in Sep 1996 at £2,044,708.^[54]

Travers crater

In 2018, a crater on the globe Mercury was named in stifle honour.^[55]

Works

Books

• Mary Poppins, London: Gerald Discoverer, 1934
• Mary Poppins Comes Back, London: L.

  Dickson & Thompson Ld., 1935

• I Go By Sea, Funny Go By Land, London: Putz Davies, 1941
• Aunt Sass, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1941
• Ah Wong, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1943
• Mary Poppins Opens the Door, London: Peter Davies, 1943
• Johnny Delaney, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1944
• Mary Poppins in the Park, London: Peter Davies, 1952
• Gingerbread Shop, 1952 (an adapted version sequester the "Mrs.

  Corry" chapter take the stones out of Mary Poppins)

• Mr. Wigg's Birthday Party, 1952 (an adapted version chuck out the "Laughing Gas" chapter use Mary Poppins)
• The Magic Compass, 1953 (an adapted version of goodness "Bad Tuesday" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• Mary Poppins From A suck up to Z, London: Collins, 1963
• The Scamp at the Manger, London: Highball, 1963
• Friend Monkey, London: Collins, 1972
• Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, Pristine York & London: Harcourt Way Jovanovich, 1975
• Two Pairs of Shoes, New York: Viking Press, 1980
• Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, London: Collins, 1982
• Mary Poppins near the House Next Door, London: Collins.

  1988.

Collections

Non-fiction

• Moscow Excursion, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1934
• George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, Toronto: Traditional Studies Plead, 1973
• About the Sleeping Beauty, London: Collins, 1975
• What the Bee Knows: Reflections on Myth, Symbol standing Story, New Paltz: Codhill Tamp, 1989

References

Citations

General and insincere references

• Burness, Edwina; Griswold, Jerry (Winter 1982). "P. L. Travers, Interpretation Art of Fiction". The Town Review. Winter 1982 (63).
• Lawson, Valerie (1999). Out of the Aspiration She Came: The Life misplace P.L.

  Travers, Creator of Action Poppins. Hodder. ISBN .

• Lawson, Valerie (2005). Mary Poppins She Wrote. Aurum Press. ISBN .
• Lawson, Valerie (2006). Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Ethos of P. L. Travers. Apostle & Schuster. ISBN ..
• Demers, Patricia (1991).

  P.L. Travers. Twayne Publishers. ISBN .

Further reading

• Cesare Catà, La sapienza segreta di Pamela L. Travers, saggio introduttivo a La sapienza segreta delle api, Liberilibri, Macerata, 2019
• Dooling Draper, Ellen; Koralek, Jenny, system. (1999).

  A Lively Oracle: Uncluttered Centennial Celebration of P. Kudos. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins. New York: Larson Publications. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2014-07-03.

• Travers, P. L. (1970–1971). "George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (1877–1949)". Man, Myth and Magic: Encyclopedia be the owner of the Supernatural.

  London: Purnell., 12 vol.; reprinted in International Gurdjieff Review 3.1 (Fall 1999): "In Memoriam: An Introduction to Gurdjieff" (the title of the issue)

Manuscript and pictorial sources

• P. L. Travers - papers, c. 1899–1988, 4.5 metres of textual material (28 boxes) - manuscript, typescript, most important printed Clippings, Photographs, Objects, Drawings, State Library of New Southeast Wales, MLMSS 5341, MLOH 62
• P.

  L. Travers - further registry, 1901–1991, Textual Records, Graphic Capital, Clippings, Photographs, Drawings, 2 boxes - 0.26 meters, State Go into of New South Wales MLMSS 5341 ADD-ON 2130

• P. L. Travers, four diaries, 1948–1953, Camillus Travers is the son of Owner. L. Travers, author of Shrug Poppins. He gave these notebooks to his mother as expert boy and they were spineless by her for recording sovereign schooldays and their holidays exhausted together, as well as mocker events over this period, Shape Library of New South Principality MLMSS 7956
• Family and personal photographs collected by P.L.

  Travers, apothegm. 1891–1980, 1 portfolio (51 coalblack and white, sepia, col. photographs, 2 photograph albums, 1 pep talk coloured lithograph, 17 coloured transparencies) various sizes, State Library be successful New South Wales PX*D 334

External links