The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington gardens

J.M. Barrie’s novel, The Little White Bird, combines fantastic and humorous happenings with social comedy. It represents the foundational work of what has now become a whole mythology established around the fictional character of Peter Pan. The different chapters differ in tone and in the degree of seriousness and intensity. The chapters featuring Peter pan are set in London’s famous Kensington Gardens of which they provide minute descriptions. When the gardens are closed to the public by the end of the day, supernatural beings such as fairies get out of their hiding places to roam in the park. The other chapters of the novel are generally set in the city of London. Among the most memorable characters of The Little White Bird, one can mention Captain W who is also the narrator of story, the little child David who takes part in the story before he was even born, and, of course, Peter pan, the strange young boy with magical powers who has many things in common with the fairies. The Peter Pan mythology is mainly based on the strange happenings and the eccentric celebrations and habits which are depicted in this book.