Mary Poppins, She Wrote

The Life of P. L. Travers

De: Valerie Lawson

Narrado por: Terry Donnelly

THE ONLY TRUE STORY BEHIND THE CREATOR OF MARY POPPINS

The remarkable life of P.L. Travers, the creator of Mary Poppins—perfect for fans of the movie Mary Poppins Returns and the original Disney classic!

“An arresting life…Lawson is superb at excavating the details.” —Library Journal

The spellbinding stories of Mary Poppins, the quintessentially English and utterly magical nanny, have been loved by generations. She flew into the lives of the unsuspecting Banks family in a children’s book that was instantly hailed as a classic, then became a household name when Julie Andrews stepped into the title role in Walt Disney’s hugely successful and equally classic film. But the Mary Poppins in the stories was not the cheery film character. She was tart and sharp, plain and vain. She was a remarkable character.

The story of Mary Poppins’ creator, as this definitive biography reveals, is equally remarkable. The fabulous English nanny was actually conceived by an Australian, Pamela Lyndon Travers, who came to London in 1924 from Queensland as a journalist. She became involved with Theosophy, traveled in the literary circles of W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot, and became a disciple of the famed spiritual guru, Gurdjieff. She famously clashed with Walt Disney over the adaptation of the Mary Poppins books into film. Travers, whom Disney accused of vanity for “thinking you know more about Mary Poppins than I do,” was as tart and opinionated as Julie Andrews’s big-screen Mary Poppins was cheery. Yet it was a love of mysticism and magic that shaped Travers’s life as well as the character of Mary Poppins. The clipped, strict, and ultimately mysterious nanny who emerged from her pen was the creation of someone who remained inscrutable and enigmatic to the end of her ninety-six years.

Valerie Lawson’s illuminating biography provides the first full look whose personal journey is as intriguing as her beloved characters.

Interesting Story, Poorly Written

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who might enjoy this book are those who want to experience P.L. Traverse early writing. It was terrible though, and the biography author shares far too much of it!

What do you think your next listen will be?

Listened to Disney Wars by James B Stewart. It was excellent!

What does Terry Donnelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Terry Donnelly's narration was very good. If I had been reading the book, I wouldn't have lasted as long.

What character would you cut from Mary Poppins, She Wrote?

P.L. Traverse early writing!

Any additional comments?

Skip this book! There are far too many good ones to spend time on this one!

Don’t Listen!

This was the driest, dullest book I think I have ever listened to. Please don’t waste your time.

Crazy lady makes for a decent read

I'm not sure if the writer is to be blamed but after 15 hours of listening and learning about P.L Travers I don't understand her any better then I did before.

I bought the book because of the Walt Disney movie and as a great fan of it I say that this book can be worth your hard earned money - maybe...

OK, NOW I can see the movie!

I like to read books before seeing the movie so I was in a hurry to get to this one now that “Saving Mr Banks” is in theatres.

I haven’t read any of the Mary Poppins books, in fact I never gave the source of the 60s movie much thought. I am one of those people that instinctively link Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews and I know of no other version.

I also wanted to read this biography because it occurred to me that if Disney puts out a movie of the making of a Disney movie, it’s going to be told with a very specific slant and I wanted to get a better picture of the whole. P. L. Travers’ life makes for interesting reading, but I can’t say we have much in common so overall I felt: “ok fine, now I know”.

I liked the segment on the making of the movie the best which tells me I’ll probably enjoy “Saving Mr Banks” very much… we’ll see!

This lady had issues

Listen to the book as a break from my normal stuff...Saw the movie "Saving Mister Banks" and enjoyed it...wanted to get a little deeper into the story...This book went A Lot Deeper...
Strange Woman...