Author Topic: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"  (Read 17624 times)

SingsWithRavens

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"Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« on: September 08, 2010, 04:30:41 PM »
I've been wondering this for quite some time, but there seems to be very little information on the topic.
I own Barrie's novel and have read the play online, both released by Project Gutenberg. I am unsure of the publishing dates, but I believe the novel was published before the play.
In Barrie's novel, Hook's dying words are "Bad form" whereas in the play, his dying words are "Floreat Etona!" ("May Eton flourish"), (and in "Anon: A Play", Hook doesn't appear to have any last words whatsoever). I, being particularly interested in Hook's rather shadowy character and past, wonder why Barrie chose to change the quote in the novel, or vica versa. I suspect it may have something to do with the Davis boys attending Eton, but I'm quite unsure. What do you guys think? Is there any info on this online?

JAQ

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2010, 01:27:09 AM »
The play was published in 1928, 17 years after the novel, and after a quarter century of "tinkering" by JMB.  He didn't mention Eton by name in the novel, but alluded to it with a reference to "Pop", the elite social club at Eton.  George and Peter had both been there by 1911.

SingsWithRavens

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2010, 12:47:59 AM »
Ah. I've heard it mentioned that he had somewhere around 5 different versions of the play between "Anon" and the 1928 release. T'would be terribly interesting to see the differences between the versions.
Yep...Jas. was a Pop :D Part of the Eton Society, which is to be expected from the man. It is interesting, though, how the character changes as a result of the quote change. In saying "Bad form", Hook appears more jeering and his elegant side diminishes. In saying "Floreat Etona", however, Hook takes on a more accepting air, and we further understand his elegant nature.
I'm sure the boys' attendance at Eton had an effect on Barrie's change. Perhaps, in having "inside information", as it were, he decided to elaborate (even if just a little) on his character.

andrew

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2010, 10:07:44 AM »
"Floreat Etona!" was put in to humour Nico, an avid old Etonian. It also appears in Barrie's 1920 screenplay of Peter Pan (published as an appendix to Roger Lancelyn Green's "Fifty Years of Peter Pan", see p209). Barrie promised Nico that Hook's cabin would be based on his room at Eton...

SingsWithRavens

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2010, 03:57:44 PM »
AH! That makes a lot of sense! Thanks for the info C:

andrew

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2010, 05:56:03 PM »
I meant to add that if you look very carefully at the 1923 silent movie of PP, you can see a copy of the <i>Eton College Chronicle</i> lying on Hook's table -- just about the only element of Barrie's screenplay that Paramount retained!

Nicholas

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Re: "Floreat Etona!" and "Bad form!"
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2010, 01:13:53 PM »
Michael signs off his period as house captain in traditional style:

"Floreat Etona, Floreat haec domus et esto perpetua.
Michael Llewelyn Davies May 1913 - Dec 1918"
A rough paraphrase: "Houses may flourish and houses may wane, but m'tutors goes on for ever."

Michael originally wrote "June 1918" but crossed it out as he must have stayed on an extra term.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2010, 02:55:54 PM by Nicholas »