Peter Pan is a mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up. He spends his never-ending childhood in the magical island of Neverland, having several adventures involving fairies, pirates, native americans, mermaids and, occasionally, children from the real world.
The story involves the Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael. Peter enters the Darling nursery, and the curious children fly with the exciting and dashing Peter back to Neverland. While there, they have several adventures, and slowly forget their parents and home. Wendy becomes the mother figure to Peter and the Lost Boys.
Captain Hook, the pirate chief, kidnaps all the children, forcing Peter to lead a daring rescue and a showdown culminating in Hook’s death. The children subsequently return to London, and the Darling family adopts all the Lost Boys, save for Peter, who chooses to return to Neverland and not grow up to become a man.
JM Barrie’s older brother died when he was just a boy. In their mother’s thoughts, he remained a small boy forever, inspiring Barrie to write a play with a central character as the boy who never grows up. His mother’s deep sadness at her lost child also inspired him, and the mother’s love for children is a central recurring theme throughout the book.
Disney sanitized and reworked the story heavily, but the original play was an interactive one which involved the audiences to participate by clapping, cheering and booing. The play was then adapted by Barrie himself into a novelization called “Peter and Wendy”, which is the version I read. It is a classic in children’s literature and a must read.