Pamela travers husband

1. Biography of P.L. Travers
2. Move to England and Literary Success
3. Mary Poppins and Later Works
4. Personal Life and Legacy

Biography of P.L. Travers

Pamela Lyndon Travers, known primarily as the author of the Mary Poppins series of children's books, was born in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. Her parents, Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes Morehead, were a bank manager and a former bank clerk respectively. Travers' father passed away when she was seven years old, and while the official cause of death was listed as an "epileptic seizure delirium," Travers herself believed that his prolonged alcoholism was the true cause. Travers began writing from a young age, crafting stories and plays for school performances and entertaining her siblings with magical tales. Her poems were published in the Australian magazine "The Bulletin" before she turned 20.

Move to England and Literary Success

In 1923, Travers traveled to England after exploring Australia and New Zealand. Initially, she pursued a career on the stage under the stage name Pamela, exclusively performing in Shakespearean plays. However, her love for literature eventually prevailed, and she dedicated herself entirely to writing, publishing her works under the pseudonym "P.L. Travers." In Ireland in 1925, Travers met the poet-mystic George William Russell, who had a significant influence on her both as a person and as a writer. Russell, the editor of "The Irish Statesman," accepted several of Travers' poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers also met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets, who sparked her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Yeats, in addition to being a prominent poet, was also a notable occultist, and this direction would shape Travers' work until the end of her life.

Mary Poppins and Later Works

In 1934, Travers achieved literary success with the publication of "Mary Poppins." This was followed by sequels to the book, as well as novels, poetry collections, and non-fiction works. The Disney film adaptation of "Mary Poppins" was released in 1964, with the lead role of Mary Poppins played by actress Julie Andrews. The film received 13 Academy Award nominations and won five. In the Soviet Union, the film "Mary Poppins, Goodbye!" was released in 1983. Travers maintained a friendly relationship with Alfred Orage, the publisher of the esoteric journal New Age, who introduced her to George Gurdjieff in 1938. Travers became a devoted student of the Russian mystic, participating in the work of many of his followers, meeting Jiddu Krishnamurti, and engaging in comparative religious studies in its esoteric form, seeking and finding underlying mythological motifs in teachings that were distant from each other in time and space.

Personal Life and Legacy

Travers was known for being private about her personal life, including her Australian heritage. When asked about the facts of her biography, she once said, "If you want to know about my life, it is in 'Mary Poppins' and other books of mine." Although she never married, Travers adopted an Irish boy named Camillus shortly before her 40th birthday. She separated him from his twin brother, as she declined to adopt both children (the boys were reunited several years later). In 1977, Travers was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire.