P.L. Travers
| P. L. Travers | |
|---|---|
|
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| Born | Helen Lyndon Goff 9 August 1899 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 23 April 1996 (aged 96) London, England |
| Resting place | St Mary the Virgin's Church, Twickenham, England |
| Occupation | Writer, actress, journalist |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship | Australian, British |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | Mary Poppins book series |
| Children | Camillus Travers Hone |
Pamela Lyndon "P.L." Travers, OBE (/ˈtrævərs/; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-born British novelist, actress and journalist. She is known best for the Mary Poppins series of children's books featuring the magical English nanny Mary Poppins.
Upon emigrating to England in 1924, Goff began to write under the pen name P. L. Travers. In 1933, she began writing the novel Mary Poppins, first of the Poppins books. Travers travelled to New York City during World War II while working for the British Ministry of Information. At that time, Walt Disney contacted her about selling to Disney Studios the rights for a film adaptation of Mary Poppins, whose sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back was also in print. After years of contact, Walt Disney did obtain the rights and the Disney film Mary Poppins premièred in 1964. In 2004, a new British musical theatre adaptation of the books and the film opened in the West End; it premiered on Broadway in 2006.
For services to literature, Travers was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.
Helen Lyndon Goff, known within her family as Lyndon, was born on 9 August 1899 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. Her mother, Margaret Agnes Goff (née Morehead), was Australian and the sister of Boyd Dunlop Morehead, Premier of Queensland from 1888 to 1890. Her father, Travers Robert Goff, was of Irish descent and born in Deptford, south-east London, England. He was unsuccessful as a bank manager due to his chronic alcoholism, and was eventually demoted to the position of bank clerk. The family lived in a large home with servants in Maryborough until Lyndon was five years old, when they relocated to Allora in 1905. Two years later, Travers Goff died at home at the age of 43.
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