On snailed the curious figure, its feet neatly clearing the tops of the trees. They could see the face now, and the well-known features - coal-black hair, bright blue eyes and nose turned upwards like the nose of a Dutch doll.
The figure drifted down between the Lime Trees and alighted primly upon the grass. "Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins!" they cried, and flung themselves upon her
P.L. Travers was born in 1899 in Maryborough in Queensland, Australia and was one of three sisters.She worked as a secretary, a dancer and an actress, but writing was P.L. Travers's real love, and for many years she was a journalist. It was while recuperating from a serious illness that she wrote Mary Poppins - "to while away the days, but also to put down something that had been in my mind for a long time", she said. She recieved an OBE in 1977, and died in 1996.
"Like all great children's classics Mary Poppins is frightening and sad as well as magic and very funny."
The Observer
"Absolutely alive, and aglint with magic."
Walter de la Mare