It’s common literary practice to use the people around you as inspiration for fictional characters. Sometimes, truth can be more interesting than fiction, and, as writers, we come across people who give us inspiration for a story to tell. These truths might mean more than what one can think up from scratch. Many authors have used the facts of the people around them, but they don’t usually publicize them. Broad Street investigates the real people behind some famous characters. 
Peter Pan
The boys of the famous Llewelyn Davies family spent a lot of time playing and adventuring with author J.M. Barrie. The boys’ wild adventures and antics, specifically the ones of the middle child, Peter, inspired J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, a story about a boy who couldn’t grow up. Sadly, at age 60 Peter Llewelyn Davies committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. 
Catherine Barkley, A Farewell to Arms
Agnes von Kurowsky was the inspiration for Catherine Barkley in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway met Kurowsky when she was a nurse and he was a soldier on the Italian front. She cared for 19-year-old Hemingway when he was injured and they quickly fell in love. They made planned to be married, but Kurowsky left Hemingway for another. This heartbreak was thought to have damaged Hemingway’s trust in relationships. 
Long John Silver
According to Robert Louis Stevenson, his friend and poet William Ernest Henley was the inspiration for Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Henley had suffered from tuberculosis which resulted in the loss of his left leg. This, paired with how large and burly Henley was, helped create the image of the villainous pirate. 
Dill, To Kill a Mockingbird
Scout’s best friend, Dill, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was inspired by author Truman Capote. Lee and Capote were neighbors in Monroeville, Alabama, and became lasting friends. Lee might have based Scout on herself, because she was a tomboy and a bit of a troublemaker as a child. Like Dill, Capote was adventurous and outgoing. 
Ebenezer Scrooge
John Elwes was British politician who was a member of Parliament. In letters, Dickens has suggested that Elwes was the inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. He was known to be an eccentric and miser, and would do strange things to save money—for example going to bed as soon as it was dark to save money on candles.
