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...

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.

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.

Surprising revelations

Anyone only familiar with Disney’s Mary Poppins will journey far from that fantasy into a strange land of the real fantasy if its author. PL Travers lived in a world of self and myths, ambition and anti-ambition.

Lawson does an excellent job of chronicling and detailing this strange woman. The narration is stellar.

I can only say that I might want to dwell in the Disney escape rather than this occult intentions and wandering of the real author’s imagination. At times it feels like she was in bondage. It’s sad her own life was so joyless. But finding out her reality was educational and sometimes entertaining.