Posted
on August 9, 2014
Happy
birthday to the creator of Mary Poppins!
Pamela
Lyndon Travers was born Helen Lyndon Goff on this date in 1899. She
was born and raised in Australia, and as a young adult she emigrated to England.
She was not only a famous author, she was an
actress, a journalist, and she worked for the British Ministry of
Information during World War II!
 |
| Travers as an actress |
Lyndon
Goff began working early—publishing her poems while she was just a
teenager and writing for periodicals while building her reputation as
an actress. She adopted the stage name Pamela Lyndon Travers—using
her father's first name as her last name. When she went to England,
she decided to throw herself into writing, and she adapted her stage
name as her pen name, P. L. Travers.
 |
| Actress Julie Andrews, Walt Disney, and P. L. Travers at the premiere of "Mary Poppins" |
You
may know that many women writers use initials rather than their full
names, in part because so many men and boys are less likely to try
novels (or believe articles) penned by women. J. K. Rowling is a
current example. However, a lot of men use (and used) their initials
as well, such as Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie and J. R. R.
Tolkien. It's interesting to note that some authors use different pen
names for different sorts of writing.
Speaking
of J. M. Barrie, apparently Travers greatly admired his work and
copied some structural aspects of his children's novels. As a matter
of fact, Travers's first publisher was Barrie's adopted son.
Did
you know...?
Travers
spent two summers living among the Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo peoples,
studying their mythology and folklore.
Travers
also studied Zen mysticism in Japan.
Celebrate!
Enjoy
reading or watching Mary Poppins (remember, there are eight
Mary Poppins books!).
Or
find out more about Travers by watching Saving Mr. Banks, the
story of the Disney adaptation of Travers's book.
Also
on this date:
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