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| The very globe. |
Here's one of the fun ponderings author Andrea Hook & Jill Jones and I had together during her last visit.
Andrea pointed out that in my interquel I have a degree of emphasis on the great length of time when traveling to the Neverland from London. Indeed, for there's quite a lot in Peter and Wendy that often gets brushed under the rug. It's the sort of story bit that doesn't show up in adaptations. Well, imagine Peter Pan's first flight - how long it must have seemed.
Anyway, I told Andrea I'd wondered if it would be eaiser or shorter to fly around the other way. But keeping with Barrie, I used the same path in the novel. Andrea asked if I had a globe. I could only pop up and answer "Yes" for it so happens I do have one. It's the globe I carried with me from my childhood home, one of the 'treasured' objects I somehow thought I sentimentally thought I needed. And here I did.
With anticipation we watched as the globe spun. It is a long way around for sure. But it turns out it looks equidistant flying around toward China. At least as the crow flies... But Andrea had another solution. It becomes much shorter if one flies by way of the North Pole.
So it seems the quickest route is to go over the top.
And you know what?
This just gave me an idea for Book 3. Which, by the way, now has a title.
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13 comments:
Hello there :-)
I thought Neverland had no fixed location? Doesn't the book say that the Darling children would never have found the island if it had not been looking for them too or something?
Also, a quick question, does some of the money you make with your Peter Pan sequel go to GOSH?
Yes, the book does say that... and that fact is accounted for in my book.
When creating for the world of Barrie, I use all of his resources available, with a primary focus on the novel since I am writing in that medium. He did indeed give the Neverland a fixed location in the Pacific Ocean. (The exact spot is unknown, of course.) When we used the globe we guesstimated on a spot, but the answers we came up with seem to hold true regardless of pinpointing it.)
Although I would gladly donate to GOSH as a hospital, no great sum of money has been made so far to be honest. And also quite frankly, should I ever be in a position, it would be from me personally, not from my work with Peter Pan (since I am entirely displeased with how they handled the rights and the 'official sequel.')
Thanks for the reply =)
Where did you find that mention of the island being in the Pacific ocean? Is it in the novel or did you have access to some of Barrie's unpublished work?
(sorry for all my questions ^^)
It's in Barrie's silent film screenplay of Peter Pan (which had not been used.)
Ok thanks! I had no idea he had written a screenplay for a silent movie version of Peter Pan, has it been published anywhere?
Not that I am aware.
Barrie's film screenplay was published in full in Roger Lancelyn Green's 50 Years of Peter Pan, copies of which you can still find on Abebooks, eBay and other second-hand book sites.
Thanks, Erik!
It's been over a decade since I've had to be on the lookout for it which is why I'd not known. Again, thanks for the info.
I actually downloaded the screenplay for free, don't ask me where, though....
It is AWESOME, and really makes you wish it had been used (although I would have done the order of a few things differently because it drags a little in the middle....).
Anon, any chance you could post an extract (two or three lines) or that screenplay? It would greatly help finding it on line (I've looked but haven't succeeded yet)
I can't at the moment, but I do remember a few things from it that are unique to it: there was a part where flowers were following Peter, and another part that involved a rolling pin that allowed Peter to "re-shape" the Darling children so that they would fit into the hollow trees that served as their entrances into the Home Under the Ground. You might try doing a search for those things: "Peter Pan", "screenplay", "flowers", "rolling pin"....
Good luck to you--it's a really good screenplay!
Audrey - have you thought of posting your question on the forum of www.jmbarrie.co.uk? I'm sure there'll to be someone there who could help in your search.
The first lines of the screenplay are:
"There was once a poor London clerk and his wife, called Mr and Mrs Darling; but what do you think they had?"
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