Peter Pan's NeverWorld

[AlexanderDavid]

Ah yes that is quite the contradiction isn't it. I remember reading about the shadow thing and I didn't like it. How on earth did that get commissioned? I always thought of the shadow as a piece of ones soul...i like to think Wendy in sewing that shadow back on gave back a part of Peter that was represented by the shadow...ie having no mother or female companionship etc

Read Peter Pan's NeverWorld.  Now.  You learn a LOT about shadows....

[TheWendybird]

*raises an eyebrow in a way she cannot do in real life* lol Is my theory right? Or is there something really super interesting that's popped up about them in there?

[Peter Pan]

First of all, needing a shadow to fly contradicts Barrie's canon (how did Peter get in Wendy's window to look for his shadow?), but even worse, that's done to artificially create a last minute flip-flop of an idea that I personally thought was good and "Barrie-ish" until the author turned it upside down (and committed blasphemy to do so), and thus she ruined it for me.

All it takes is faith, trust, pixie dust, and... shadows?

Note to self, don't ever try flying in diffuse lighting conditions.

[AlexanderDavid]

*raises an eyebrow in a way she cannot do in real life* lol Is my theory right? Or is there something really super interesting that's popped up about them in there?

Read the book....

Read the book....

Read the book....

[TheWendybird]

*raises an eyebrow in a way she cannot do in real life* lol Is my theory right? Or is there something really super interesting that's popped up about them in there?

Read the book....

Read the book....

Read the book....

LOL

ok...
ok...
ok...
LOL

[Westh76]

Glad to hear the book is a great read - if it ever comes to the UK, I might be tempted, reading your praise! I wonder why it was never picked up by a  publisher, rather than being self-published? But perhaps it will at some point...

I must pick a bone with Peter Von Brown if he really "said that the point of the sequel was to bring back all the characters to renew the copyright..."  GOSH commissioned the sequel (by competition, open to everyone with an agent or publisher) but would never have claimed it would renew the copyright to the characters. - they (and their lawyers!) would be aware this couldn't happen - what they did say was that the sequel would allow them to own a new work and therefore a new copyright which would benefit them for many more years after Peter Pan's copyright expired in Europe after 2007.
 
BTW, I do think Peter Pan in Scarlet is weak in parts (including the end!) but I had to remind myself it's aimed at children, not adults (which I think PP's NeverWorld and Hook & Jill do?) - and a lot of children seemed to have enjoyed Geraldine McCaughrean's book. After all, GOSH is a children's hospital so they had to choose something suitable for a younger audience... even if Barrie's story was dark in parts (something mostly forgotten nowadays, since Disney's cartoon and all those pantos...). It's still more imaginative than Somma's After the Rain, or Adair's PP and the Only Children...
 

[AlexanderDavid]

Glad to hear the book is a great read - if it ever comes to the UK, I might be tempted, reading your praise! I wonder why it was never picked up by a  publisher, rather than being self-published? But perhaps it will at some point...

I must pick a bone with Peter Von Brown if he really "said that the point of the sequel was to bring back all the characters to renew the copyright..."  GOSH commissioned the sequel (by competition, open to everyone with an agent or publisher) but would never have claimed it would renew the copyright to the characters. - they (and their lawyers!) would be aware this couldn't happen - what they did say was that the sequel would allow them to own a new work and therefore a new copyright which would benefit them for many more years after Peter Pan's copyright expired in Europe after 2007.
 
BTW, I do think Peter Pan in Scarlet is weak in parts (including the end!) but I had to remind myself it's aimed at children, not adults (which I think PP's NeverWorld and Hook & Jill do?) - and a lot of children seemed to have enjoyed Geraldine McCaughrean's book. After all, GOSH is a children's hospital so they had to choose something suitable for a younger audience... even if Barrie's story was dark in parts (something mostly forgotten nowadays, since Disney's cartoon and all those pantos...). It's still more imaginative than Somma's After the Rain, or Adair's PP and the Only Children...
 

I couldn't remember exactly what he said, all I remembered was that it was a dumb reason that stifles one's creativity--apparently he actually entered that contest but didn't win for that reason.  I think what you said is what he said, something just got lost in translation when I tried to repeat it (didn't have his exact quote on hand).

I don't think Peter Pan's NeverWorld is aimed exclusively at adults, not in the way Hook & Jill is.  I think the former is a lot closer to Barrie's original in terms of tone and intended audience.  (And Peter Von Brown mentioned how awful "After the Rain" was....  )

But I'm glad you sound interested! 

[Peter Pan]

I must pick a bone with Peter Von Brown if he really "said that the point of the sequel was to bring back all the characters to renew the copyright..."  GOSH commissioned the sequel (by competition, open to everyone with an agent or publisher) but would never have claimed it would renew the copyright to the characters. - they (and their lawyers!) would be aware this couldn't happen - what they did say was that the sequel would allow them to own a new work and therefore a new copyright which would benefit them for many more years after Peter Pan's copyright expired in Europe after 2007.

What doesn't make any sense about that though is, what was the rush? Peter Pan is public domain anyway, so you're right... there was really nothing to "renew." I do remember reading something to that effect in the newspaper when info about Scarlett first hit. It's like... why did they have to rush? Why not give it the time and effort it deserved instead of pushing it from first draft to binding as quickly as possible?

I'm guessing it didn't do them much good anyway. Disney's prequel stories are probably stomping all over Scarlett... even though the content in those books is even more ludicrous.

[Westh76]

Mmmh... I don't remember any rush. The competition was launched in 2004, the winner announced in Spring 05 and the book published in October 06 - so, about 2 years. I wouldn't call that rushed.  Peter Pan was actually not in the public domain then - at least in Europe - and GOSH were the only ones allowed to publish a sequel so it was in their interest to get it out before the end of 07 otherwise I guess everyone else would have jumped in - and they would have lost out. It was a shame Peter and Starcatchers came out before, l but in the UK at least, PP in Scarlet did better. 

[Peter Pan]

Mmmh... I don't remember any rush. The competition was launched in 2004, the winner announced in Spring 05 and the book published in October 06 - so, about 2 years. I wouldn't call that rushed.  Peter Pan was actually not in the public domain then - at least in Europe - and GOSH were the only ones allowed to publish a sequel so it was in their interest to get it out before the end of 07 otherwise I guess everyone else would have jumped in - and they would have lost out. It was a shame Peter and Starcatchers came out before, l but in the UK at least, PP in Scarlet did better. 

Maybe it's just a case of slim pickings as far as "finding the right author" goes. Any idea how many "serious" submissions they received? It saddens me to know that GOSH couldn't find an author who actually agreed with JMB. That to me is far more important than someone who can approximate his writing style.

[AlexanderDavid]

Mmmh... I don't remember any rush. The competition was launched in 2004, the winner announced in Spring 05 and the book published in October 06 - so, about 2 years. I wouldn't call that rushed.  Peter Pan was actually not in the public domain then - at least in Europe - and GOSH were the only ones allowed to publish a sequel so it was in their interest to get it out before the end of 07 otherwise I guess everyone else would have jumped in - and they would have lost out. It was a shame Peter and Starcatchers came out before, l but in the UK at least, PP in Scarlet did better. 

Maybe it's just a case of slim pickings as far as "finding the right author" goes. Any idea how many "serious" submissions they received? It saddens me to know that GOSH couldn't find an author who actually agreed with JMB. That to me is far more important than someone who can approximate his writing style.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "who actually agreed with JMB"....

[Peter Pan]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "who actually agreed with JMB"....

Somebody who actually thought the way he did. It's probably quoted in other articles too but I doubt I'd ever be able to find the one I read since it was just a local city paper. It quoted McCaughrean as disagreeing with Barrie on things he believed in, things which may or may not have been intentionally inserted as messages in Peter Pan.

[AlexanderDavid]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "who actually agreed with JMB"....

Somebody who actually thought the way he did. It's probably quoted in other articles too but I doubt I'd ever be able to find the one I read since it was just a local city paper. It quoted McCaughrean as disagreeing with Barrie on things he believed in, things which may or may not have been intentionally inserted as messages in Peter Pan.

I believe that about her, that she disagreed with Barrie about things....    The end of her book proves it.

[TheWendybird]

Just another example of how everyone looks at it as some unimportant cash cow that you don't need to worry about the message of it....like *cough*disney*cough* as much as I enjoy disney they are known for messing up fairy tales....tho they still turn out fun and all the depth is usually gone.

[Peter Pan]

Found something on it. Doesn't seem quite as anti-Barrie as what I remember, but this might not be the same exact quote.

From: http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-mccaughrean-geraldine.asp

"What was your inspiration for the story of PETER PAN IN SCARLET?"

"I badly wanted to be true to Barrie's original book. Not to the cartoon version or the pantomime or the last movie, but to the 1911 book. So I read and reread PETER PAN AND WENDY, and tried to soak up something of Barrie's style and sense of humor and quirky style. I also wanted to create something distinctly my own. So what I went for was a literary counterpart --- the matching bookend --- same world, but somewhat altered. You see, I don't really share Barrie's gloomy take on life: That we are born happy and dwindle down to unhappiness as we get older, and that life is perfect at three, but sadder with each passing year. Nor do I think grown-ups are an altogether bad thing."

Sounds at least a little bit like McCaughrean should've been writing Hook & Jane. When I read "Literary counterpart", I somehow keep seeing "Counterpoint."