Find Out How JM Barrie Gifted The Rights To Peter Pan To A Hospital

By Londonist Staff Last edited 94 months ago

Last Updated 04 June 2016

Find Out How JM Barrie Gifted The Rights To Peter Pan To A Hospital
The Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens. Photo by Anatoleya in the Londonist Flickr pool

Fan of JM Barrie's swords and crocodile classic? You'll already know about the Florence Nightingale Museum's current exhibition, Take Me to Neverland: Peter Pan from Play to Book and Beyond.

In a talk to accompany that exhibition, Peter Pan director Christine De Poortere explains how Barrie donated the rights to his book to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929 — and how the museum is still befitting from the author's generosity now. The talk takes place on 16 June at 3.30pm, and is free to attend with a museum ticket.

Another fascinating talk takes place at the museum a week earlier, on 9 June, when historic childhood Professor Hugh Cunningham asks: What Happened to Childhood? Cunningham delves into the view of Victorian childhood as idyllic, while childhood today seems to be uniformly negative. This talk costs £8 (free for members of the Florence Nightingale Museum) and includes a glass of wine and a chance to explore the Take Me to Neverland exhibition.

Both talks take place at the Florence Nightingale Museum, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, SE1 7EW