Mary Poppins, She Wrote

The Life of P. L. Travers

By: Valerie Lawson

Narrated by: Terry Donnelly

The story of Mary Poppins, the quintessentially English and utterly magical children's nanny, is remarkable enough. 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 starring role in Walt Disney's hugely successful and equally classic film. Now she is a Broadway sensation all over again.

But the story of Mary Poppins's creator, as this first biography reveals, is just as unexpected and remarkable. The fabulous English nanny was conceived by an Australian, Pamela Lyndon Travers, who in 1924 came to London from Sydney as a journalist. She became involved with theosophy and traveled in the literary circles of W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot. Most famously, she clashed with "the great convincer" Walt Disney over the adaptation of the Mary Poppins books into film.

Travers, whom Disney accused of vanity for "thinking you [Travers] know more about Mary Poppins than I do," was as tart and opinionated as Julie Andrews's big-screen Mary Poppins was cheery and porcelain beautiful. "You've got the nose for it," Travers candidly assessed the star. Yet it was a love of mysticism and magic that shaped P. L. Travers's life as well as the character of Mary Poppins. The clipped, strict, and ultimately mysterious nanny was the conception of someone who remained thoroughly inscrutable and enigmatic to the end of her 96 years.

"Who is P. L. Travers?" the American press inquired of "this unknown Englishwoman" whose creation resulting in Hollywood gold had won her international fame. Valerie Lawson's illuminating biography, Mary Poppins, She Wrote, provides the first and only glimpse into the mind of a writer who fervently believed that "Everyday life is the miracle."

©2013 Valerie Lawson (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

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...

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.

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!

Interesting story not helped by narrator

After seeing the Mr. Banks movie, I was intrigued by PL Travers, so immediately looked for the book the movie is based on. The author appears to have done the best she could with the material available to her, and the book certainly added to my understanding of the complexity of Travers. I was left wanting to know more, so I will continue to research her as well as to read the Mary Poppins books. I did not enjoy the narration of this book, primarily due to the prissy tone taken any time Travers was quoted. Perhaps this was an impersonation - I don't know how she spoke. But to my ears, she was presented as a pouty child no matter her age, while other people who were quoted were not stuck with such irritating voices. Poor Mrs. Travers. I finished the book in spite of the narrator, simply because I was so interested in the story.

Boring.

Boring facts. I could not relate to the information as it was just that.. information.

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...

Great listen

Loved the information about Disney and the writing of the screenplay and on the whole an interesting biography. PL Traverse was an interesting character in her own right.