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    Quality Street: "The best place a person can die, is where they die for others!
    Quality Street: "The best place a person can die, is where they die for others!
    Quality Street: "The best place a person can die, is where they die for others!
    Ebook125 pages1 hour

    Quality Street: "The best place a person can die, is where they die for others!

    By James Matthew Barrie

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    Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, was born in Kirriemuir, Angus the ninth of ten children on May 9th, 1860. From early formative experiences, Barrie knew that he wished to follow a career as an author. His family wished otherwise and sought to persuade him to choose a profession, such as the ministry. The compromise was that he would attend university to study literature at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated with an M.A. on April 21st, 1882. His first job was as a staff journalist for the Nottingham Journal. The London editor of the St. James's Gazette "liked that Scotch thing" in Barrie’s short stories about his mother’s early life. They also served as the basis for his first novels. Barrie though was increasingly drawn to working in the theatre. His first play, a biography of Richard Savage, was only performed once and critically panned. Undaunted he immediately followed this with Ibsen's Ghost in 1891, a parody of Ibsen's plays Hedda Gabler and Ghosts. Barrie's third play, Walker, London, in 1892 led to an introduction to his future wife, a young actress by the name of Mary Ansell. The two became friends, and she helped his family to care for him when he fell very ill in 1893 and 1894. Barrie proposed and they were married, in Kirriemuir, on July 9th, 1894. By some accounts the relationship was unconsummated and indeed the couple had no children. The story of Peter Pan had begun to formulate when Barrie became acquainted with the Llewelyn Davis family in 1897, meeting George, Jack and baby Peter with their nanny in London's Kensington Gardens. In 1901 and 1902, Barrie had back-to-back theatre successes with Quality Street and The Admirable Crichton. The character of "Peter Pan" first appeared in The Little White Bird in 1902. This most famous and enduring of his works; Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up had its first stage performance on December 27th, 1904. Peter Pan would overshadow everything written during his career. He continued to write for the rest of his life contributing many other fine and important works. Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, died of pneumonia on June 19th,1937 and was buried at Kirriemuir next to his parents and two of his siblings.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStage Door
    Release dateJun 15, 2017
    ISBN9781787373747
    Quality Street: "The best place a person can die, is where they die for others!
    Author

    James Matthew Barrie

    J.M. Barrie, the son of a weaver, was born near Dundee, Scotland, in 1860. He was a journalist and novelist and began writing for the stage in 1892. Peter Pan, first produced in London on December 27, 1904, was an immediate success. The story of Peter Pan first appeared in book form (titled Peter and Wendy, and later Peter Pan and Wendy) in 1911. Barrie died in 1937, bequeathing the copyright of Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, a hospital for children.

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      Book preview

      Quality Street - James Matthew Barrie

      Quality Street by J. M. Barrie

      A COMEDY

      Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, was born in Kirriemuir, Angus the ninth of ten children on May 9th, 1860.

      From early formative experiences, Barrie knew that he wished to follow a career as an author. His family wished otherwise and sought to persuade him to choose a profession, such as the ministry. The compromise was that he would attend university to study literature at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated with an M.A. on April 21st, 1882.

      His first job was as a staff journalist for the Nottingham Journal. The London editor of the St. James's Gazette liked that Scotch thing in Barrie’s short stories about his mother’s early life. They also served as the basis for his first novels.

      Barrie though was increasingly drawn to working in the theatre.  His first play, a biography of Richard Savage, was only performed once and critically panned. Undaunted he immediately followed this with Ibsen's Ghost in 1891, a parody of Ibsen's plays Hedda Gabler and Ghosts.

      Barrie's third play, Walker, London, in 1892 led to an introduction to his future wife, a young actress by the name of Mary Ansell. The two became friends, and she helped his family to care for him when he fell very ill in 1893 and 1894. Barrie proposed and they were married, in Kirriemuir, on July 9th, 1894.  By some accounts the relationship was unconsummated and indeed the couple had no children.

      The story of Peter Pan had begun to formulate when Barrie became acquainted with the Llewelyn Davis family in 1897, meeting George, Jack and baby Peter with their nanny in London's Kensington Gardens.

      In 1901 and 1902, Barrie had back-to-back theatre successes with Quality Street and The Admirable Crichton.

      The character of Peter Pan first appeared in The Little White Bird in 1902. This most famous and enduring of his works; Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up had its first stage performance on December 27th, 1904.

      Peter Pan would overshadow everything written during his career.  He continued to write for the rest of his life contributing many other fine and important works.

      Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, died of pneumonia on June 19th,1937 and was buried at Kirriemuir next to his parents and two of his siblings.

      Index of Contents

      ACT I - THE BLUE AND WHITE ROOM

      ACT II - THE SCHOOL

      ACT III - THE BALL

      ACT IV - THE BLUE AND WHITE ROOM

      J. M. Barrie – A Short Biography

      J. M. Barrie – A Concise Bibliography

      ACT I

      THE BLUE AND WHITE ROOM

      The scene is the blue and white room in the house of the Misses Susan and Phoebe Throssel in Quality Street; and in this little country town there is a satisfaction about living in Quality Street which even religion cannot give.  Through the bowed window at the back we have a glimpse of the street.  It is pleasantly broad and grass-grown, and is linked to the outer world by one demure shop, whose door rings a bell every time it opens and shuts.  Thus by merely peeping, every one in Quality Street can know at once who has been buying a Whimsy cake, and usually why.  This bell is the most familiar sound of Quality Street. Now and again ladies pass in their pattens, a maid perhaps protecting them with an umbrella, for flakes of snow are falling discreetly. Gentlemen in the street are an event; but, see, just as we raise the curtain, there goes the recruiting sergeant to remind us that we are in the period of the Napoleonic wars.  If he were to look in at the window of the blue and white room all the ladies there assembled would draw themselves up; they know him for a rude fellow who smiles at the approach of maiden ladies and continues to smile after they have passed.  However, he lowers his head to-day so that they shall not see him, his present design being converse with the Misses Throssel's maid.

      The room is one seldom profaned by the foot of man, and everything in it is white or blue.  Miss Phoebe is not present, but here are Miss Susan, Miss Willoughby and her sister Miss Fanny, and Miss Henrietta Turnbull.  Miss Susan and Miss Willoughby, alas, already wear caps; but all the four are dear ladies, so refined that we ought not to be discussing them without a more formal introduction.  There seems no sufficient reason why we should choose Miss Phoebe as our heroine rather than any one of the others, except, perhaps, that we like her name best.  But we gave her the name, so we must support our choice and say that she is slightly the nicest, unless, indeed, Miss Susan is nicer.

      Miss Fanny is reading aloud from a library book while the others sew or knit.  They are making garments for our brave soldiers now far away fighting the Corsican Ogre.

      MISS FANNY

      '... And so the day passed and evening came, black, mysterious, and ghost-like.  The wind moaned unceasingly like a shivering spirit, and the vegetation rustled uneasily as if something weird and terrifying were about to happen.  Suddenly out of the darkness there emerged a Man.

      (She says the last word tremulously but without looking up.  The listeners knit more quickly.)

      The unhappy Camilla was standing lost in reverie when, without pausing to advertise her of his intentions, he took both her hands in his.

      (By this time the knitting has stopped, and all are listening as if mesmerised.)

      Slowly he gathered her in his arms―

      (MISS SUSAN gives an excited little cry.)

      MISS FANNY

      And rained hot, burning―'

      MISS WILLOUGHBY

      Sister!

      MISS FANNY (greedily)

      'On eyes, mouth―'

      MISS WILLOUGHBY(sternly)

      Stop.  Miss Susan, I am indeed surprised you should bring such an amazing, indelicate tale from the library.

      MISS SUSAN (with a slight shudder)

      I deeply regret, Miss Willoughby—

      (Sees MISS FANNY reading quickly to herself.)

      Oh, Fanny!  If you please, my dear.

      (Takes the book gently from her.)

      MISS WILLOUGHBY

      I thank you.

      (She knits severely.)

      MISS FANNY (a little rebel)

      Miss Susan is looking at the end.

      (MISS SUSAN closes the book guiltily.)

      MISS SUSAN (apologetically)

      Forgive my partiality for romance, Mary.  I fear 'tis the mark of an old maid.

      MISS WILLOUGHBY

      Susan, that word!

      MISS SUSAN (sweetly)

      'Tis what I am.  And you also, Mary, my dear.

      MISS FANNY (defending her sister)

      Miss Susan, I protest.

      MISS WILLOUGHBY (sternly truthful)

      Nay, sister, 'tis true.  We are known everywhere now, Susan, you and I, as the old maids of Quality Street.

      (General discomfort.)

      MISS SUSAN

      I am happy Phoebe will not be an old maid.

      MISS HENRIETTA(wistfully)

      Do you refer, Miss Susan, to V. B.?

      (MISS SUSAN smiles happily to herself.)

      MISS SUSAN

      Miss Phoebe of the ringlets as he has called her.

      MISS FANNY

      Other females besides Miss Phoebe have ringlets.

      MISS SUSAN

      But you and Miss Henrietta have to employ papers, my dear. (Proudly) Phoebe, never.

      MISS WILLOUGHBY (in defence of FANNY)

      I do not approve

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