In our ongoing series #WomenThatDid, ENTITY profiles inspirational and famous women in history whose impact on our world can still be felt today. If you have a suggestion for a historical powerhouse you would like to see featured, tweet us with the hashtag #WomenThatDid.
Helen Lyndon Goff
August 9, 1899- April 23, 1996.
In light of the release of Saving Mr. Banks, you may know a bit more about P.L Travers, the writer of the Mary Poppins series, than you might think. But there’s still a few blank spots the movie didn’t go over, or over-exaggerated. Born in Australia, Travers was indeed the daughter of a banker—and a heavy drinker— that died when she was 7, but her mother actually came from a wealthy family.
P. L. Travers is a stage name. “Travers” she took in honor of her father, which was his first name. Travers was also originally a dancer, journalist, and Shakespearean actress in Australia before she moved to London to pursue literature. Both her fictional and journalistic pieces were published.
She published Mary Poppins in 1934, and although the movie doesn’t have a sequel there are 5 sequels to the book. Travers didn’t really like the movie version of Mary Poppins. She hated it to the point she cried at the movie premier, and there is an entire movie dedicated to how much Travers hated the movie.
These weren’t her only books, as she wrote a play, young adult novels, and several essays and lectures on mythology and symbols. Although extremely private, she also had a long-time lover named Madge Burnard, and adopted son named Camillus.
Mary Poppins today still lives in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people. Whether it’s the books or the Disney movie, generations have come to enjoy the story of the Banks and their governess, and it doesn’t look like that shows any sign of stopping.
One of the papers publishing her poems was The Irish Statesman, and through the editor Travers became friends with W.B. Yeats and G.I. Gurdjieff.
