Sylvia Llewelyn Davies

Who was Sylvia Llewelyn Davies?

Sylvia Jocelyn Llewelyn Davies, née Sylvia du Maurier, was the mother of the boys who served as the inspiration for Peter Pan and the other children of J. M. Barrie's stories of Neverland. She was the daughter of cartoonist and writer George du Maurier and his wife Emma Wightwick, the elder sister to actor Gerald du Maurier, the aunt of novelists Angela and Daphne du Maurier and great-granddaughter of Royal mistress of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Mary Anne Clarke.

She met the young barrister Arthur Llewelyn Davies at a dinner party in 1889 and they became engaged shortly thereafter. She married him in 1892, and they had five children, all boys: George, Jack, Peter, Michael, and Nicholas.

In 1898, Davies met Barrie at a dinner party, discovering he was already friends with her three sons from their regular visits to Kensington Gardens. She and Barrie became close, with him spending considerable time at the Davies' home, and the family accompanying Barrie and his wife on holidays. She encouraged her boys' friendship with him.