What is the theme in J.M. Barrie & the Lost Boys by Andrew Birkin?

Family relationships is a major theme in the biography. JM Barrie was the seventh of ten children born to David Barrie and Margaret Ogilvy. By all accounts, Margaret was the driving force in the family. David Barrie was a weaver and made an above average income. The focus in the Barrie household revolved around educational ambition. When James was six years old his oldest brother Alexander had already graduated from Aberdeen University with honors in Classics and became headmaster of a private school in Lanarkshire. The second eldest son, David, was the golden apple of Margaret's eye. The great hope was that David would become a minister. It is understandable that Barrie would live in David's shadow until the boy's death at age 14 from the skating accident. David was everything that James was not. David was tall, handsome, athletic, and intelligent. James was the runt.

The effect of David's death on Margaret was beyond measure. Barrie, who does not remember much of the incident, wrote about his mother's condition in the book "Margaret Ogilvy."

Barrie was saved from a life of feeling completely inadequate through the adoration of his younger sister, Maggie. Jane Ann, Barrie's older sister, also played a large part in Barrie's life.

Perhaps the most influential family relationships came when Barrie met George, Jack and Peter Llewelyn Davies, three of the five boys that would become the inspiration for "Peter Pan." Barrie fell in love with the children, perhaps in part because he had no children of his own. Barrie became an integral part of the Llewelyn Davies family, often to the chagrin of Arthur Llewelyn Davies, the boys' father. The bond between Barrie and the boys solidified when Barrie became their guardian after the death of Sylvia.