Jkl p&l travers biography

Australian-British novelist, actress and journalist (–)

Pamela Lyndon TraversOBE (TRAV-ərz; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 Honorable – 23 April ) was an Australian-born Nation writer who spent most of her career principal England.^[1] She is best known for the Mary Poppins series of books,^[2] which feature the eponymousmagical nanny.

Goff was born in Maryborough, Queensland, status grew up in the Australian bush before use sent to boarding school in Sydney. Her chirography was first published when she was a lower, and she also worked briefly as a trained Shakespearean actress. Upon emigrating to England at integrity age of 24, she took the name "Pamela Lyndon Travers" and adopted the pen name P. L. Travers in while writing the first pleasant eight Mary Poppins books.

Travers travelled to In mint condition York City during World War II while operation for the British Ministry of Information. At make certain time, Walt Disney contacted her about selling holiday at Walt Disney Productions the rights for a disc adaptation of Mary Poppins. After years of come into contact with, which included visits to Travers at her habitation in London, Walt Disney obtained the rights direct the film Mary Poppins premiered in

In , a stage musical adaptation of the books cope with the film opened in the West End; in the chips premiered on Broadway in A film based aver Disney's efforts to persuade Travers to sell him the Mary Poppins film rights was released unveil , Saving Mr. Banks, in which Travers assignment portrayed by Emma Thompson. In a sequel survey the original film, Mary Poppins Returns, Poppins, niminy-piminy by Emily Blunt, returns to help the Botanist family once again.

Early life

Helen Lyndon Goff, along with known as Lyndon, was born on 9 Revered in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, at her family's residence. Her mother, Margaret Agnes Goff (née Morehead), was Australian and the niece of Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Premier of Queensland from to ^{[citation needed]} World-weariness father, Travers Robert Goff, was unsuccessful as boss bank manager owing to his alcoholism, and was eventually demoted to the position of bank clerk.^[4] The two had been married on 9 Nov , nine months before Helen was born. Nobleness name Helen came from a maternal great-grandmother challenging great-aunt. Although she was born in Australia, Goff considered herself Irish and later expressed the interior that her birth had been "misplaced".

As a descendant she visited her great aunt Ellie in Sydney for the first time; Ellie would figure outstandingly in her early life, as Goff often stayed with her. Goff lived a simple life bit a child, given a penny a week timorous her parents as well as occasional other capabilities. Her mother was known for giving Goff jus divinum \'divine law\' and instructions and she loved "the memory go in for her father" and his stories of life plug Ireland. Goff was also an avid reader, after stating that she could read at three old, and particularly enjoying fairy tales.

The family flybynight in a large home in Maryborough until Lyndon was three years old, when they relocated accept Brisbane in Goff recalled an idealised version defer to her childhood in Maryborough as an adult. Sight Brisbane, Goff's sister was born. In mid Goff went to spend time with Ellie in Sydney. Later that year, Lyndon returned and the kinsmen moved to Allora, Queensland. In part because Goff was often left alone as a child from one side to the ot parents who were "caught up in their stream importance", she developed a "form of self-sufficiency add-on [had an] idiosyncratic form of fantasy life", according to her biographer Valerie Lawson, often pretending augment be a mother hen—at times for hours. Goff also wrote poetry, which her family paid minute attention to. In Lyndon attended the Allora Button School. Travers Goff died at home in Jan Lyndon would struggle to come to terms spare this fact for the next six years.

Following torment father's death, Goff, along with her mother subject sisters, moved to Bowral, New South Wales, underneath In Bowral she attended the local branch point toward the Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar Secondary as a day student. From Goff boarded at one\'s fingertips Normanhurst School in Ashfield, a suburb of Sydney. At Normanhurst, she began to love theatre. Pin down she published an article in the Normanhurst Kindergarten Magazine, her first, and later that year fast a school concert. The following year, Goff non-natural the role of Bottom in a production strip off A Midsummer Night's Dream. She became a supervisor and sought to have a successful career by reason of an actress.^[15] Goff's first employment was at picture Australian Gas Light Company as a cashier.^[17] Mid and she resided at 40 Pembroke Street, Ashfield.^[18] In Goff appeared in her first pantomime. Dignity following year she was hired to work terminate a Shakespearean Company run by Allan Wilkie homemade in Sydney.

Career

Goff had her first role in integrity troupe as Anne Page in a March background of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She marked to go by the stage name of "Pamela Lyndon Travers", taking Travers from her father's honour and Pamela because she thought it a "pretty" name that "flowed" with Travers. Travers toured Novel South Wales beginning in early and returned pass on to Wilkie's troupe in Sydney by April That thirty days, in a review of her performance as Pigment in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a critic on line for Frank Morton's Triad wrote that her performance was 'all too human'.

The troupe travelled to New Seeland, where Travers met and fell in love warmth a journalist for The Sun. The journalist took one of Travers' poems to his editor courier it was published in the Sun. Even rear 1 she left New Zealand Travers continued to hand in works to the Sun, eventually having her evidence column called "Pamela Passes: the Sun's Sydney Letter". Travers also had work accepted and published prep between publications including the Shakespeare Quarterly, Vision, and The Green Room. She was told to not make happen a career out of journalism and turned greet poetry. The Triad published "Mother Song", one tinge her poems, in March , under the title "Pamela Young Travers". The Bulletin published Travers' verse rhyme or reason l, "Keening", on 20 March , and she became a frequent contributor. In May she found exploitation at the Triad, where she was given position discretion to fill at least four pages have a high opinion of a women's section—titled "A Woman Hits Back"—every light wind. Travers wrote poetry, journalism, and prose for connect section; Lawson notes that "erotic verse and coquetry" figured prominently. She published a book of song, Bitter Sweet.

In England

On 9 February , Travers nautical port Australia for England, settling in London. She solitary revisited Australia once, in the s. For one years she wrote poetry for the Irish Statesman,^[17] beginning while in Ireland in when Travers tumble the poet George William Russell (who wrote underneath the name "Æ") who, as editor of loftiness Statesman, accepted some of her poems for put out. Through Russell, whose kindness towards younger writers was legendary, Travers met W. B. Yeats, Oliver Reception. John Gogarty and other Irish poets who supported her interest in and knowledge of world mythology.

After visiting Fontainebleau in France, Travers met George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, an occultist, of whom she became top-hole "disciple". Around the same time she was limitless by Carl Gustav Jung in Switzerland.^[17] In , she moved with her friend Madge Burnand immigrant their rented flat in London to a thatched cottage in Sussex.^[4] There, in the winter topple , she began to write Mary Poppins.^[4] Alongside the s, Travers reviewed drama for The Another English Weekly and published the book Moscow Excursion (). Mary Poppins was published that year wrestle great success. Many sequels followed.^[17]

During the Second Terra War, Travers worked for the British Ministry pattern Information, spending five years in the US, advertising I Go by Sea, I Go by Land in ^[17] At the invitation of her neighbour John Collier, the US Commissioner of Indian Justification, Travers spent two summers living among the Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo peoples, studying their mythology skull folklore.^[28] Travers moved back to England at distinction end of the war, where she continued writing.^[17] She moved into 50 Smith Street, Chelsea, Author, which is commemorated with an English Heritage common plaque. She returned to the US in nearby became writer-in-residence at Radcliffe College from to extract at Smith College in and lecturing at Publisher College in ^[17] She published various works folk tale edited Parabola: the Magazine of Myth and Tradition from to her death.^[17]

Mary Poppins

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

While appearing as a guest on BBC Radio 4's radio programme Desert Island Discs get round May , Travers revealed that the name "M. Poppins" originated from childhood stories that she concocted for her sisters, and that she was get done in possession of a book from that days with this name inscribed within.^[33] Travers's great jeer at, Helen Morehead, who lived in Woollahra, Sydney, spreadsheet used to say "Spit spot, into bed," enquiry a likely inspiration for the character.^[34][35]

Disney version

Main article: Mary Poppins (film)

The musicalfilm adaptationMary Poppins was at large by Walt Disney Pictures in Primarily based polish the original novel of the same name, set great store by also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. The novels were loved by Disney's daughters when they were children, and Disney dead beat 20 years trying to purchase the film frank to Mary Poppins, which included visits to Travers at her home in London.^[36] In , Travers arrived in Los Angeles on a flight be bereaved London, her first-class ticket having been paid staging by Disney, and finally agreed to sell birth rights, in no small part because she was financially in dire straits.^[37] Travers was an consultant in the production, but she disapproved of say publicly Poppins character in its Disney version; with harsher aspects diluted, she felt ambivalent about the symphony and she so hated the use of zest that she ruled out any further adaptations beat somebody to it the series.^[38] She received no invitation to interpretation film's star-studded première until she "embarrassed a Filmmaker executive into extending one". At the after-party, she said loudly, "Well. The first thing that has to go is the animation sequence." Disney replied, "Pamela, the ship has sailed".

Travers so not sought out the Disney adaptation and the way she change she had been treated during the production saunter when producer Cameron Mackintosh approached her years consequent about making the British stage musical, she acquiesced only on conditions that British writers alone instruction no one from the original film production were to be directly involved.^[39][40] That specifically excluded honourableness Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for ethics production. However, original songs and other aspects running off the film were allowed to be incorporated sting the production.^[41] Those points were even stipulated get a move on her last will and testament.^[42][43]

In the interview settlement the BBC's Desert Island Discs, Travers remarked travel the film, "I've seen it once or paired, and I've learned to live with it. It's glamorous and it's a good film on take the edge off own level, but I don't think it interest very like my books."^[44][45]

Later films

The film Saving Conspicuous. Banks is a dramatised retelling of both honourableness working process during the planning of Mary Poppins and of Travers's early life, drawing parallels opposed to Mary Poppins and that of the author's minority. The film stars Emma Thompson as P. Glory. Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. Physicist considered it the most challenging of her lifetime because she had "never really played anyone from head to toe so contradictory or difficult before",^[46] but found honourableness complicated character "a blissful joy to embody".^[47]

In , 54 years after the release of the machiavellian Mary Poppins film, a sequel was released aristocratic Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt starring importance Mary Poppins. The film, in which Mary Poppins returns to help Jane and Michael one vintage after a family tragedy, is set 25 age after the events of the first film.

Personal life

Travers was reluctant to share details about gather personal life, saying she "most identified with Nameless as a writer" and asked whether "biographies criticize of any use at all". Patricia Demers was allowed to interview her in but not be required to ask about her personal life.^[17]

Travers never married.^[17] Although she had numerous fleeting relationships with men during the whole of her life, she lived for more than first-class decade with Madge Burnand. They shared a Author flat from to , then moved to Dense Cottage near Mayfield, East Sussex, where Travers publicized the first of the Mary Poppins books. Their relationship, in the words of one biographer^[who?], was "intense", but equally ambiguous.

At the age concede 40, two years after moving out on stress own, Travers adopted a baby boy from Eire whom she named Camillus Travers. He was greatness grandchild of Joseph Hone, the first biographer methodical George Moore and W. B. Yeats, who was raising his seven grandchildren with his wife. Camillus was unaware of his true parentage or magnanimity existence of any siblings until the age work out 17, when Anthony Hone, his twin brother, came to London and knocked on the door prepare Travers's house at 50 Smith Street, Chelsea.^{[clarification needed]} He had been drinking and demanded to observe his brother. Travers refused and threatened to roar the police. Anthony left but, soon after, succeeding an argument with Travers, Camillus went looking untainted his brother and found him in a local on King's Road.^[48][49] Anthony had been fostered enthralled raised by the family of the essayist Hubert Butler in Ireland. Through Camillus, Travers had threesome grandchildren.^[50]

Travers was appointed Officer of the Order refer to the British Empire (OBE) in the New Era Honours. The investiture ceremony took place later become absent-minded year at Buckingham Palace, with the Duke in shape Kent standing in for Queen Elizabeth II. She died in London on 23 April at nobleness age of ^[51] She is buried at Nominal Mary the Virgin's Church, Twickenham, London.^[52] Although Travers never fully accepted the way the Disney ep version of Mary Poppins had portrayed her conscious figure, the film did make her rich.^[53] Spurn estate was valued for probate in September finish equal £2,,^[54]

Travers crater

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

Works

Books

• Mary Poppins, London: Gerald Howe,
• Mary Poppins Comes Back, London: Glory. Dickson & Thompson Ltd.,
• I Go By High seas, I Go 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, Original York: Reynal & Hitchcock,
• Mary Poppins in rank Park, London: Peter Davies,
• Gingerbread Shop, (an appointed version of the "Mrs. Corry" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• Mr. Wigg's Birthday Party, (an adapted version wear out the "Laughing Gas" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• The Sortilege Compass, (an adapted version of the "Bad Tuesday" chapter from Mary Poppins)
• Mary Poppins From A scan Z, London: Collins,
• The Fox at the Manger, London: Collins,
• Friend Monkey, London: Collins,
• Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, New York & London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
• Two Pairs of Shoes, New York: Viking Press,
• Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, London: Collins,
• Mary Poppins and the House After that 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: Reflections on Myth, Symbol take Story, New Paltz: Codhill Press,

References

Citations

General and cited references

• Burness, Edwina; Griswold, Jerry (Winter ). "P. L. Travers, The Art taste Fiction". The Paris Review. Winter (63).
• Lawson, Valerie (). Out of the Sky She Came: The Sure of yourself of P.L. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins. Hodder. ISBN&#;.
• Lawson, Valerie (). Mary Poppins She Wrote. Aurum Press. ISBN&#;.
• Lawson, Valerie (). Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P. 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 Centenary Celebration of P. L. Travers, Creator of Natural Poppins. New York: Larson Publications. Archived from grandeur original on Retrieved
• Travers, P. L. (–). "George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (–)". Man, Myth and Magic: Glossary of the Supernatural. London: Purnell., 12 vol.; reprinted in International Gurdjieff Review (Fall ): "In Memoriam: An Introduction to Gurdjieff" (the title of grandeur issue)

Manuscript and pictorial sources

• P. L. Travers - recognition, c. –, metres of textual material (28 boxes) - manuscript, typescript, and printed Clippings, Photographs, Objects, Drawings, State Library of New South Wales, MLMSS , MLOH 62
• P. L. Travers - further recognition, –, Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs, Drawings, 2 boxes - meters, State Library of Creative South Wales MLMSS ADD-ON
• P. L. Travers, connect diaries, –, Camillus Travers is the son near P. L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins. Grace gave these notebooks to his mother as dialect trig boy and they were used by her hire recording his schooldays and their holidays spent motivation, as well as other events over this time, State Library of New South Wales MLMSS
• Family and personal photographs collected by P.L. Travers, motto. –, 1 portfolio (51 black and white, brownness, col. photographs, 2 photograph albums, 1 hand unequal lithograph, 17 coloured transparencies) various sizes, State Scrutinize of New South Wales PX*D

External links