About book Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life Of P.L. Travers (2013)
PL Travers is a far more interesting character to read than Mary Poppins is in her books. Mary Poppins is a demigod who's quite stuffy and cold to Jane and Michael. Disney's Mary Poppins does away with much of the undeserved harshness of the original character and adds greater levels of humanity bringing a far better character overall. The only downside is that we lose on the mystery and the godlike powers Mary Poppins has and is hinted at on several occasions throughout PL Travers' books.Travers' greatest achievement was the creation of this rather unlikable character that was beloved by all, which led to the creation of the film. The reasoning behind Mary Poppins can be better appreciated by learning about PL Travers, her background, her upbringing, her baggage (emotional complexes), and her dreams.The biography reminds readers that the most interesting and entertaining characters both in real life and in fiction aren't necessarily the most likable. For a biography to be effective, the reader must fall in love with the subject and that never happened for me. PL Travers was not a lovable individual. In fact, the book mentions, several times, just how unlovable she was. I wanted so much more on Mary Poppins and was sorely disappointed. Travers was interesting...but this biography didn't really do it for me. Parts were very confusing. And a word to the wise, Helen Lyndon Goff is Pamela Lyndon Travers.
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A pretty boring read. I skimned through most of it.
—tat
