J. M. Barrie 
The Little Minister (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: The traumatic life of J. M. Barrie, source of universal creativity

First published in 1891, “The Little Minister” is a popular sentimental novel written by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie, best remembered as the creator of
Peter Pan. ‘The Little Minister’ was made for the stage in 1897 and, due to its great success, has been adapted for the cinema on several occasions.



‘The Little Minister’ is not a children’s book, but a reflection on life in a remote Scottish village. The story is set in Thrums, a Scottish weaving village based on Barrie’s birthplace, to which Gavin Dishart, an impoverished young minister, and his mother have moved. The minister must earn the respect of the villagers, threading his way through class differences, politics and suspicion of the travelling gypsies. But what would happen if the newly respectable minister of Thrums fell in love with a gypsy woman? And how will her secret impact upon them all?