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‘Mary Poppins’ author destroyed adopted son’s life

Emma Thompson plays the Australian-born creator of Mary Poppins in a new movie. But omitted from the film are details from Pamela Lyndon Travers’ personal life that reveal a far darker side to the famously difficult writer.

“Saving Mr. Banks” also stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, with the film depicting Disney’s 20-year battle to secure the movie rights for Travers’ story.

Particularly disturbing was Travers’ adoption of her son, a twin who was separated from his brother because Travers decided she only wanted one of the boys. This decision was to have terrible repercussions for both their lives.

Travers was born in Queensland to British parents but it wasn’t till she moved to London in her 20s that her career took off.

After failed attempts at acting she devoted herself to writing, publishing “Mary Poppins” to great acclaim in 1934.

In spite of her literary success true love eluded her and craving a child, but without a partner, she decided to adopt from the Hones, an Irish family of artists and writers.

According to a report in the Mail Online, the Hone patriarch pleaded with Travers to take the family’s twin sons but the writer insisted she could only look after one, selecting the baby based on advice from her astrologer.

Split from his twin, Camillus was raised in luxury and told by his mother he was the son of a wealthy sugar baron.

However, when he was 17 his twin Anthony appeared at Travers’ home in Chelsea. Although Travers threw the boy out, she was unable to hide the truth from Camillus for long.

According to the boys’ oldest brother, Joseph Hone, Travers’ decision to separate the brothers ruined both their lives.

Unable to cope with the deception both brothers descended in to alcoholism and Travers, who became a millionaire after she sold the rights to “Mary Poppins” to Disney in 1961, was so concerned that Camillus would fritter away the family fortune she put all her money in trust for him and her grandchildren after she died.

“Pamela Travers saw herself as Mary Poppins and thought she could play Poppins with poor little Camillus,” Joseph Hone told the Mail.

This article originally appeared on News.com.au.