George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (French: [dy mɔʁje]; 6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a French-British cartoonist, illustrator, and novelist. His first novel Peter Ibbetson was published in 1891 and has been adapted into films, an opera, and a play. He was known for his work in Punch and his 1894 Gothic novel Trilby, featuring the character Svengali.
His son was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier. The writers Angela du Maurier and Daphne du Maurier and the artist Jeanne du Maurier were all granddaughters of George. He was also father of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and grandfather of the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
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Early life
George du Maurier was born in Paris, son of Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier and wife Ellen Clarke, daughter of the Regency courtesan Mary Anne Clarke. He was brought up to believe his aristocratic grandparents had fled from France during the Revolution, leaving vast estates behind, to live in England as émigrés. In fact, du Maurier's grandfather, Robert-Mathurin Busson, was a tradesman who left Paris in 1789 to avoid charges of fraud and later changed the family name to the grander-sounding du Maurier.