The loss of his 14-year-old brother inspired 'Peter Pan.' Its royalties have been helping sick children ever since

James Matthew Barrie was just six years old when his 13-year-old brother, David, died in an ice-skating accident. Heartbroken, his mother often said David was a boy who would never grow up. To comfort her, Barrie dressed like his brother and even imitated his whistle. Years later, in 1902, he created Peter Pan — a mischievous boy who could fly and never grew up. Many believe the character was inspired by David. Ever since the character materialized in his stories and stage plays, it has been acting as a life-changing and healing force for millions of people, particularly children, according to the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the National Trust for Scotland.

A character that became a phenomenon

Peter Pan first appeared in Barrie’s 1902 novel “The Little White Bird” in chapters titled “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.” In 1904, Barrie took the same character and used it as the central character for a theatre play in London titled “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” In 1906, Barrie’s publishers published the chapters with the title “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.” In 1911, the creator pulled the same storyline for a stage play and published it in a novel titled “Peter and Wendy.”

Art for a cause

For all these years, the author had been secretly sending cheques to GOSH to support children’s treatments. In 1929, the hospital’s committee asked him to join a meeting about buying land to build a new wing in the hospital. Barrie refused to be a part of it and just mentioned that he “hoped to find another way to help.”

A few months later, he walked into the solicitor’s office and signed every single right, including the copyright, of “Peter Pan” to the hospital. “At one time, Peter Pan was an invalid in the Hospital…and it was he who put me up to the little thing I did," he said, per GOSH. The philanthropic gesture proved transformative for GOSH. Every time he produced a play on Peter Pan’s story, wrote something related to it, or sold any books or merchandise, the hospital would receive royalties.

Across its nearly a century-old legacy, Peter Pan has been adapted into hundreds of versions, editions, and retellings, and millions of its copies have been sold worldwide. According to statistics, Peter Pan’s Disney adaptation has grossed over $1.1 billion. As for the hospital, Barrie requested that the hospital keep the amount confidential and secret.

This way, for nearly 97 years, the story of Peter Pan has tremendously benefited and aided ill children receive life-saving treatment from the hospital, many of whom can’t afford it. As a tribute to the great storyteller, the hospital designed a bronze sculpture of Peter Pan, which currently stands outside the premises, echoing the story of his generosity.

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