Audiobook · read by volunteers
Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie (1860–1937)
Read by Meredith Hughes, Peter Eastman, Julian Jamison, Will Ching, Mark F. Smith, Neil Satterlund, Catharine Eastman, Lizzie Oldfather, Becky Miller, Eric McKenzie · 17 chapters · 5 h 04
About the book
Second to the right, and straight on till morning. Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up, flies into the Darling nursery one night and invites Wendy and her brothers to Neverland. There they meet the Lost Boys, the mermaids in their lagoon, the fierce Princess Tiger Lily, and the villainous Captain Hook, who is never far from a certain ticking crocodile.
Adventure follows adventure, with fairy dust, swordfights and daring rescues. But under the fun, J. M. Barrie weaves a wistful story about childhood, mothers and the passing of time.
Seventeen chapters, about five hours, read by LibriVox volunteers. A story for all ages, and a classic that gains with every listening. The book blends laughter and wistfulness with great skill, and its narrator speaks to the reader as a friend, teasing, comforting and sometimes breaking the spell on purpose. It is a story that children and grown-ups hear differently, and each hearing finds something new.
Introduction
James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) was a Scottish playwright and novelist who became one of the most popular writers in Britain around 1900. Peter Pan began as a character in his 1902 novel The Little White Bird, and then appeared on stage in 1904 in the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The prose version, Peter and Wendy, followed in 1911 and is the form in which most readers know the story.
The tale was inspired by Barrie’s friendship with the Llewelyn Davies boys, to whom he told stories in the parks of London. Their adventures with him fed the details of Neverland, and the pirates, fairies and mermaids that fill it. In 1929 Barrie gave the rights to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which continues to benefit from them. Peter Pan has since been adapted countless times, in film, animation, musical theatre and ballet.
What distinguishes the book is the voice of its narrator, who is playful, ironic and often moving. He interrupts the story to comment on it, teases the reader, and approaches serious matters, such as death, with a light touch that does not diminish them. The central idea of a boy who never grows up is both attractive and sad, and Barrie keeps both feelings alive.
This recording has seventeen chapters and lasts about five hours, read by LibriVox volunteers. It is a wonderful choice for families to share, and for adults returning to the book after many years.
Public domain
J. M. Barrie died in 1937: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text