Ebook: P. L. Travers

xii, 140 p. ; 23 cm.
ISBN: 0805770054 (alk. paper)
LC classification: PR6039.R32 Z6 1991
LC Subjects: Travers, P. L. (Pamela Lyndon), 1899-1996--Criticism and interpretation.
Children--Books and reading--Great Britain--History--20th century.
Children's stories, English--History and criticism.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-137) and index.
Series: Twayne's English authors series ; TEAS 483
LCCN: 90046168
Dewey class no.: 823/.912
Geographic area code: e-uk---
Type of material: Book

FEW CHARACTERS HAVE MADE AS INDELIBLE A
mark on children’s literature as Mary Poppins. In
ten books published over a period of more than
fifty years, this magical and irrepressibly optimis­
tic nanny has charmed generations of children,
earning her creator, P. L. Travers, a worldwide
reputation as one of the premier writers of fantasy
literature.
In P. L. Travers Patricia Demers places the
Mary Poppins books in the context of Travers’s
career, demonstrating their connections to her
other work as a poet, essayist, and theater critic to
reveal the organic unity of her writing. Focusing
on Travers’s use of myth and fairy tale in all her
work, Demers examines Travers’s contention that
“children’s literature” is in many ways a mis­
nomer: careful analysis of her complete works
reveals that the very qualities that make the Mary
Poppins books so appealing to children are those
that enliven her works for an adult audience.
Demers thus places Travers in a broader tradition
and demonstrates that her works have equal ap­
peal to children and to the child in every adult.
The most wide-ranging study to date of the
subject, P. L. Travers provides an insightful
portrait of the author’s life and work and a revalua­
tion of the genre of children’s literature. It will
prove an invaluable reference tool for students of
all levels and for scholars.