J. M. Barrie's importance to children's literature can be summed up in one name: Peter Pan. The mythic boy who would not grow up has flown across countless stages throughout the Western world, starred in major motion pictures, and loaned his name to everything from peanut butter to a psychological disorder. Ironically, the creator of one of the most famous characters in children's literature was only incidentally a children's writer: Barrie built his career as a journalist, novelist, and playwright. Other than the play and book about Peter Pan and a few private theatricals, Barrie did not write for children. However, the creation of Peter Pan assures Barrie a place among the immortals.

James Matthew Barrie, the seventh of eight children was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland on 9 May 1860. His father, David Barrie, was a hand-loom weaver; his mother, known by her maiden name of Margaret Ogilvy, was the...