Arthur Llewelyn Davies
| Arthur Llewelyn Davies | |
|---|---|
Davies in 1890
|
|
| Born |
February 20, 1863 Kirkby Lonsdale |
| Died | 19 April 1907 (aged 44) London |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | barrister |
| Spouse(s) |
Sylvia du Maurier (1892-1907, his death) |
| Children | 5 sons |
Arthur Llewelyn Davies (20 February 1863 – 19 April 1907) was a barrister, but is best known as the father of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.
Davies was the second son of Mary Crompton and the Reverend John Llewelyn Davies, Vicar of Kirkby Lonsdale. His father was a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, an early alpinist who was the first ascendant of the third highest mountain in the Alps, and an outspoken foe of poverty and inequality who was active in Christian Socialist groups. Arthur attended Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was briefly a Master at Eton College, but left that position to practice law. His sister was suffragist Margaret Llewelyn Davies.
He met Sylvia du Maurier (daughter of cartoonist George du Maurier and sister of future actor Gerald du Maurier) at a dinner party in 1889 and they became engaged shortly thereafter. He married her in 1892, and they had five children, all boys: George (1893–1915), Jack (1894–1959), Peter (1897–1960), Michael (1900–1921), and Nicholas (1903–1980).
In 1897, his pre-school sons George and Jack became friends with Barrie, whom they met during outings in Kensington Gardens with their nurse Mary Hodgson and their infant brother Peter. Davies and his wife Sylvia met Barrie and his wife Mary at a New Year's Eve dinner party that year, and she took up a close friendship with the writer as well. Although Davies did not encourage the ongoing friendship of his wife and sons with Barrie, and did not share their fondness for him, he did little to stand in the way of it. He permitted Barrie to spend considerable time at the Davies home, and for his family to visit with the Barries – who were childless – at their country cottage. During one of the holidays the families spent together, Barrie took a series of photographs of the boys' adventures, which he compiled into a photo book titled The Boy Castaways; Barrie gave one of the two copies printed to Davies, who misplaced his copy on a train.
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