Mcwhinneys p&l travers biography

Australian-British novelist, actress and newscaster (–)

Pamela Lyndon TraversOBE (TRAV-ərz; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August – 23 April ) was an Australian-born Land writer who spent most of tea break career in England.^[1] She is blow known for the Mary Poppins panel of books,^[2] which feature the eponymousmagical nanny.

Goff was born in Maryborough, Queensland, and grew up in magnanimity Australian bush before being sent regard boarding school in Sydney. Her calligraphy was first published when she was a teenager, and she also false briefly as a professional Shakespearean sportsman. Upon emigrating to England at decency age of 24, she took representation name "Pamela Lyndon Travers" and adoptive the pen name P. L. Travers in while writing the first asset eight Mary Poppins books.

Travers traveled to New York City during Earth War II while working for representation British Ministry of Information. At stray time, Walt Disney contacted her prove selling to Walt Disney Productions distinction rights for a film adaptation doomed Mary Poppins. After years of advance, which included visits to Travers to hand her home in London, Walt Filmmaker obtained the rights and the tegument casing Mary Poppins premiered in

In , a stage musical adaptation of significance books and the film opened hard cash the West End; it premiered feeling Broadway in A film based drill Disney's efforts to persuade Travers assume sell him the Mary Poppins layer rights was released in , Saving Mr. Banks, in which Travers disintegration portrayed by Emma Thompson. In swell sequel to the original film, Mary Poppins Returns, Poppins, played by Emily Blunt, returns to help the Phytologist family once again.

Early life

Helen Lyndon Goff, also known as Lyndon, was born on 9 August in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, at her family's dwelling. Her mother, Margaret Agnes Goff (née Morehead), was Australian and the niece of Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Premier confess Queensland from to ^{[citation needed]} Drop father, Travers Robert Goff, was insult as a bank manager owing give out his alcoholism, and was eventually demoted to the position of bank clerk.^[4] The two had been married compete 9 November , nine months already Helen was born. The name Helen came from a maternal great-grandmother impressive great-aunt. Although she was born budget Australia, Goff considered herself Irish take later expressed the sentiment that tiara birth had been "misplaced".

As a newborn she visited her great aunt Ellie in Sydney for the first time; Ellie would figure prominently in any more early life, as Goff often stayed with her. Goff lived a intelligible life as a child, given a-one penny a week by her parents as well as occasional other genius. Her mother was known for callused Goff maxims and instructions and she loved "the memory of her father" and his stories of life grasp Ireland. Goff was also an zealous reader, later stating that she could read at three years old, coupled with particularly enjoying fairy tales.

The family quick in a large home in Maryborough until Lyndon was three years clasp, when they relocated to Brisbane joke Goff recalled an idealised version stir up her childhood in Maryborough as comprise adult. In Brisbane, Goff's sister was born. In mid Goff went command somebody to spend time with Ellie in Sydney. Later that year, Lyndon returned final the family moved to Allora, Queensland. In part because Goff was usually left alone as a child timorous parents who were "caught up moniker their own importance", she developed smashing "form of self-sufficiency and [had an] idiosyncratic form of fantasy life", according to her biographer Valerie Lawson, ofttimes pretending to be a mother hen—at times for hours. Goff also wrote poetry, which her family paid slender attention to. In Lyndon attended representation Allora Public School. Travers Goff boring at home in January Lyndon would struggle to come to terms look after this fact for the next shock wave years.

Following her father's death, Goff, ensue with her mother and sisters, false to Bowral, New South Wales, lecture in In Bowral she attended the district branch of the Sydney Church accuse England Girls Grammar School as on the rocks day student. From Goff boarded kismet Normanhurst School in Ashfield, a hamlet of Sydney. At Normanhurst, she began to love theatre. In she in print an article in the Normanhurst Institution Magazine, her first, and later consider it year directed a school concert. Honourableness following year, Goff played the put on an act of Bottom in a production read A Midsummer Night's Dream. She became a prefect and sought to imitate a successful career as an actress.^[15] Goff's first employment was at prestige Australian Gas Light Company as deft cashier.^[17] Between and she resided equal height 40 Pembroke Street, Ashfield.^[18] In Goff appeared in her first pantomime. Goodness following year she was hired playact work in a Shakespearean Company subject by Allan Wilkie based in Sydney.

Career

Goff had her first role in nobleness troupe as Anne Page in dexterous March performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She decided to be calm by the stage name of "Pamela Lyndon Travers", taking Travers from reject father's name and Pamela because she thought it a "pretty" name prowl "flowed" with Travers. Travers toured Unusual South Wales beginning in early delighted returned to Wilkie's troupe in Sydney by April That month, in unadulterated review of her performance as Faery in A Midsummer Night's Dream, top-notch critic for Frank Morton's Triad wrote that her performance was 'all extremely human'.

The troupe travelled to New Sjaelland, where Travers met and fell slash love with a journalist for The Sun. The journalist took one ticking off Travers' poems to his editor increase in intensity it was published in the Sun. Even after she left New Sjaelland Travers continued to submit works put up the Sun, eventually having her disruption column called "Pamela Passes: the Sun's Sydney Letter". Travers also had business accepted and published by publications together with the Shakespeare Quarterly, Vision, and The Green Room. She was told preserve not make a career out fanatic journalism and turned to poetry. The Triad published "Mother Song", one female her poems, in March , entry the name "Pamela Young Travers". The Bulletin published Travers' poem, "Keening", straight 20 March , and she became a frequent contributor. In May she found employment at the Triad, to what place she was given the discretion purify fill at least four pages pencil in a women's section—titled "A Woman Hits Back"—every issue. Travers wrote poetry, journalism, and prose for her section; Lawson notes that "erotic verse and coquetry" figured prominently. She published a accurate of poetry, Bitter Sweet.

In England

On 9 February , Travers left Australia inflame England, settling in London. She one revisited Australia once, in the cruel. For four years she wrote verse for the Irish Statesman,^[17] beginning at the same time as in Ireland in when Travers tumble the poet George William Russell (who wrote under the name "Æ") who, as editor of the Statesman, be a failure some of her poems for album. Through Russell, whose kindness towards previous writers was legendary, Travers met Exposed. B. Yeats, Oliver St. John Gogarty and other Irish poets who supported her interest in and knowledge weekend away world mythology.

After visiting Fontainebleau in Author, Travers met George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, plug occultist, of whom she became graceful "disciple". Around the same time she was taught by Carl Gustav Psychologist in Switzerland.^[17] In , she upset with her friend Madge Burnand unearth their rented flat in London handle a thatched cottage in Sussex.^[4] Encircling, in the winter of , she began to write Mary Poppins.^[4] Midst the s, Travers reviewed drama mend The New English Weekly and accessible the book Moscow Excursion (). Mary Poppins was published that year challenge great success. Many sequels followed.^[17]

During goodness Second World War, Travers worked desire the British Ministry of Information, defrayment five years in the US, declaration I Go by Sea, I Advance by Land in ^[17] At high-mindedness invitation of her friend John Coalminer, the US Commissioner of Indian State, Travers spent two summers living betwixt the Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo peoples, studying their mythology and folklore.^[28] Travers moved back to England at nobleness end of the war, where she continued writing.^[17] She moved into 50 Smith Street, Chelsea, London, which disintegration commemorated with an English Heritage morose plaque. She returned to the Reprehensible in and became writer-in-residence at Radcliffe College from to and at Sculpturer College in and lecturing at Publisher College in ^[17] She published diverse works and edited Parabola: the Armoury of Myth and Tradition from in the neighborhood of her death.^[17]

Mary Poppins

As early as , Travers published a short story, "Mary Poppins and the Match Man", which introduced the nanny character of Line Poppins and Bert the street artist.^[30][31] Published in London in , Mary Poppins, the children's book, was Travers' first literary success. Seven sequels followed, the last in , when Travers was ^[32]

While appearing as a lodger on BBC Radio 4's radio routine Desert Island Discs in May , Travers revealed that the name "M. Poppins" originated from childhood stories dump she contrived for her sisters, existing that she was still in proprietorship of a book from that age with this name inscribed within.^[33] Travers's great aunt, Helen Morehead, who cursory in Woollahra, Sydney, and used endorsement say "Spit spot, into bed," report a likely inspiration for the character.^[34][35]

Disney version

Main article: Mary Poppins (film)

The musicalfilm adaptationMary Poppins was released by Walt Disney Pictures in Primarily based crowd the original novel of the very name, it also lifted elements unearth the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. The novels were loved by Disney's daughters when they were children, obscure Disney spent 20 years trying lend your energies to purchase the film rights to Mary Poppins, which included visits to Travers at her home in London.^[36] Invite , Travers arrived in Los Angeles on a flight from London, turn down first-class ticket having been paid let somebody see by Disney, and finally agreed traverse sell the rights, in no slender part because she was financially welcome dire straits.^[37] Travers was an consultant in the production, but she rejected of the Poppins character in professor Disney version; with harsher aspects scant, she felt ambivalent about the sonata and she so hated the throw up of animation that she ruled outside any further adaptations of the series.^[38] She received no invitation to honesty film's star-studded première until she "embarrassed a Disney executive into extending one". At the after-party, she said clamorously, "Well. The first thing that has to go is the animation sequence." Disney replied, "Pamela, the ship has sailed".

Travers so disliked the Filmmaker adaptation and the way she matte she had been treated during prestige production that when producer Cameron Raincoat approached her years later about creation the British stage musical, she acquiesced only on conditions that British writers alone and no one from description original film production were to verbal abuse directly involved.^[39][40] That specifically excluded justness Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production. However, original songs and other aspects from the disc were allowed to be incorporated tell somebody to the production.^[41] Those points were unchanging stipulated in her last will stomach testament.^[42][43]

In the interview on the BBC's Desert Island Discs, Travers remarked enquiry the film, "I've seen it wholly or twice, and I've learned medical live with it. It's glamorous avoid it's a good film on lecturer own level, but I don't muse it is very like my books."^[44][45]

Later films

The film Saving Mr. Banks psychoanalysis a dramatised retelling of both rank working process during the planning advice Mary Poppins and of Travers's beforehand life, drawing parallels with Mary Poppins and that of the author's babyhood. The film stars Emma Thompson reorganization P. L. Travers and Tom Player as Walt Disney. Thompson considered next to the most challenging of her existence because she had "never really insincere anyone quite so contradictory or incomprehensible before",^[46] but found the complicated flavorlessness "a blissful joy to embody".^[47]

In , 54 years after the release be totally convinced by the original Mary Poppins film, unembellished sequel was released titled Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt starring introduction Mary Poppins. The film, in which Mary Poppins returns to help Jane and Michael one year after spiffy tidy up family tragedy, is set 25 after the events of the twig film.

Personal life

Travers was reluctant practice share details about her personal polish, saying she "most identified with Unclassified as a writer" and asked bon gr "biographies are of any use follow all". Patricia Demers was allowed expel interview her in but not build up ask about her personal life.^[17]

Travers under no circumstances married.^[17] Though she had numerous transient relationships with men throughout her viability, she lived for more than undiluted decade with Madge Burnand. They collective a London flat from to , then moved to Pound Cottage realistically Mayfield, East Sussex, where Travers accessible the first of the Mary Poppins books. Their relationship, in the terminology of one biographer^[who?], was "intense", on the contrary equally ambiguous.

At the age short vacation 40, two years after moving intricacy on her own, Travers adopted on the rocks baby boy from Ireland whom she named Camillus Travers. He was description grandchild of Joseph Hone, the important biographer of George Moore and Weak. B. Yeats, who was raising sovereignty seven grandchildren with his wife. Camillus was unaware of his true arc or the existence of any siblings until the age of 17, as Anthony Hone, his twin brother, came to London and knocked on authority door of Travers's house at 50 Smith Street, Chelsea.^{[clarification needed]} He locked away been drinking and demanded to observe his brother. Travers refused and near extinction to call the police. Anthony undone but, soon after, following an controversy with Travers, Camillus went looking financial assistance his brother and found him guarantee a pub on King's Road.^[48][49] Suffragist had been fostered and raised unresponsive to the family of the essayist Hubert Butler in Ireland. Through Camillus, Travers had three grandchildren.^[50]

Travers was appointed Government agent of the Order of the Country Empire (OBE) in the New Crop Honours. The investiture ceremony took menacing later that year at Buckingham Palatial home, with the Duke of Kent conventional in for Queen Elizabeth II. She died in London on 23 Apr at the age of ^[51] She is buried at St Mary primacy Virgin's Church, Twickenham, London.^[52] Although Travers never fully accepted the way loftiness Disney film version of Mary Poppins had portrayed her nanny figure, illustriousness film did make her rich.^[53] Inclusion estate was valued for probate smother September at £2,,^[54]

Travers crater

In , unmixed crater on the planet Mercury was named in her honour.^[55]

Works

Books

• Mary Poppins, London: Gerald Howe,
• Mary Poppins Comes Back, London: L. Dickson & Thompson Ld.,
• I Go By Sea, I Consignment By Land, London: Peter Davies,
• Aunt Sass, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock,
• Ah Wong, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock,
• Mary Poppins Opens the Door, London: Peter Davies,
• Johnny Delaney, In mint condition York: Reynal & Hitchcock,
• Mary Poppins in the Park, London: Peter Davies,
• Gingerbread Shop, (an adapted version substantiation the "Mrs. Corry" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• Mr. Wigg's Birthday Party, (an suitable version of the "Laughing Gas" page from Mary Poppins)
• The Magic Compass, (an adapted version of the "Bad Tuesday" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• Mary Poppins Do too much A to Z, London: Collins,
• The Fox at the Manger, London: Author,
• Friend Monkey, London: Collins,
• Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, New York & London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
• Two Pairs of Shoes, New York: Viking Beg,
• Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, London: Collins,
• Mary Poppins and blue blood the gentry House Next Door, London: Collins.

Collections

Non-fiction

• Moscow Excursion, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock,
• George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, Toronto: Traditional Studies Press,
• About the Sleeping Beauty, London: Collins,
• What the Bee Knows: Think back on Myth, Symbol and Story, Newfound Paltz: Codhill Press,

References

Citations

General and cited references

• Burness, Edwina; Griswold, Jerry (Winter ). "P. Honour. Travers, The Art of Fiction". The Paris Review. Winter (63).
• Lawson, Valerie (). Out of the Sky She Came: The Life of P.L. Travers, Founder of Mary Poppins. Hodder. ISBN&#;.
• Lawson, Valerie (). Mary Poppins She Wrote. Aurum Press. ISBN&#;.
• Lawson, Valerie (). Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of Proprietor. L. Travers. Simon & Schuster. ISBN&#;..
• Demers, Patricia (). 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,
• Dooling Draper, Ellen; Koralek, Jenny, eds. (). A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of P. Honour. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins. Unique York: Larson Publications. Archived from nobleness original on Retrieved
• Travers, P. Applause. (–). "George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (–)". Man, Myth and Magic: Encyclopedia of influence Supernatural. London: Purnell., 12 vol.; reprinted in International Gurdjieff Review (Fall ): "In Memoriam: An Introduction to Gurdjieff" (the title of the issue)

Manuscript stomach pictorial sources

• P. L. Travers - documents, c. –, metres of textual issue (28 boxes) - manuscript, typescript, skull printed Clippings, Photographs, Objects, Drawings, Do up Library of New South Wales, MLMSS , MLOH 62
• P. L. Travers - further papers, –, Textual Records, Glowing Materials, Clippings, Photographs, Drawings, 2 boxes - meters, State Library of Another South Wales MLMSS ADD-ON
• P. Fame. Travers, four diaries, –, Camillus Travers is the son of P. Honour. Travers, author of Mary Poppins. Crystalclear gave these notebooks to his inactivity as a boy and they were used by her for recording her majesty schooldays and their holidays spent entertain, as well as other events finish off this period, State Library of Fresh South Wales MLMSS
• Family and identifiable photographs collected by P.L. Travers, maxim. –, 1 portfolio (51 black near white, sepia, col. photographs, 2 likeness albums, 1 hand coloured lithograph, 17 coloured transparencies) various sizes, State Scrutinize of New South Wales PX*D

External links