小白鸟 (1902)

《小白鸟》（The Little White Bird）是J·M·巴里花费大约四年时间创作的一部奇幻小说，1902年11月在英国和美国同时出版成书，但实际上在当年8月开始已在美国的《斯克里布纳杂志》（Scribner's Magazine）上连载。其中的部分章节提到了彼得潘，这些章节在1906年又以《肯辛顿花园里的彼得潘》（Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens ）的名义再版。

此外，《小白鸟》全书还曾以《小白鸟，或肯辛顿花园冒险记》（The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington Gardens）的名义出版。

情节

本书的前几章故事发生于伦敦，时代就设定在巴里生活的年代。中间的部分章节，即后来的《肯辛顿花园里的彼得潘》，专门以伦敦的肯辛顿公园为背景。这部分章节提到公园关门后就是精灵与其他魔法生物的乐土。剩下的章节发生于伦敦其他地区，一度提及巴塔哥尼亚和阿尔比恩的白色悬崖。

这部作品中不仅出现了彼得潘，还出现了温蒂的前身“Maimie Mannering”（一个四岁的小女孩）。

外部连接

The Little White Bird，Project Gutenberg

LibriVox中的公有领域有声书《The Little White Bird》

The Little White Bird is a novel by the Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, ranging in tone from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark, aggressive undertones. It was published in November 1902 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Scribner's in the US. Scribner's also published it serially in the monthly Scribner's Magazine from August to November.

The book attained prominence and longevity thanks to several chapters written in a softer tone than the rest, which introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan. In 1906, those chapters were published separately as a children's book, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

The Peter Pan story began as one chapter and grew to an "elaborate book-within-a-book" of more than one hundred pages during the four years Barrie worked on The Little White Bird. The complete book has also been published under the title The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington Gardens.

Plot introduction

The Little White Bird is a series of short episodes, including both accounts of the narrator's day-to-day activities in contemporary London and fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens and elsewhere.

Plot summary

The story is set in several locations; the earlier chapters are set in the city of London, contemporaneous to the time of Barrie's writing, involving some time travel of a few years and other fantasy elements while remaining within the London setting. The middle chapters that later became Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens are set in London's famous Kensington Gardens, introduced by the statement that "All perambulators lead to Kensington Gardens". The Kensington Gardens chapters include detailed descriptions of the features of the Gardens, along with fantasy names given to the locations by the story's characters, especially after "Lock-Out Time", described by Barrie as the time at the end of the day when the park gates are closed to the public, and the fairies and other magical inhabitants of the park can move about more freely than during the daylight, when they must hide from ordinary people. The third section of the book, following the Kensington Gardens chapters, is again set generally in London, though there are some short returns to the Gardens that are not part of the Peter Pan stories. In a two-page diversion in chapter 24, Barrie brings the story to Patagonia and a journey by ship returning to England at the "white cliffs of Albion".

Characters

Captain W____, the first person narrator, described by the author and filmmaker Andrew Birkin as "Barrie thinly disguised". Captain W____, although narrating the story, also refers within the story to his own writing of the story, when in the book's conclusion he gives the newly-completed manuscript to the character Mary (mother of David and later Barbara, who has just been born), explaining to her that it is the story of her and her children, which she apparently wanted to write before her daughter was born and which she would have called "The Little White Bird".

David, a boy six years old at the start of the book, but who also appears at younger ages throughout the story, including as a foetus in the womb. The character is based on George Llewelyn Davies, one of several children of the Davies family who provided inspiration for many characters in Barrie's writings.

Mary A____, "The Little Nursery Governess", David's mother, who shares a name with Barrie's wife (born Mary Ansell) but who according to Birkin, is "closely modelled" on Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. During the story, Captain W____ sees Mary progress from young lover, to newlywed, through pregnancy and the birth of David, and as a young mother. The narrator's feelings expressed towards and about Mary vary from affection to anger and jealousy as he competes with her for David's affections.

Peter Pan, a magical boy who escaped from being human as an infant, and ever since has flown about and cavorted with fairies. He differs from the better-known portrayal of the character, primarily being a newborn baby rather than an older child.