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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan:" A Story that Hasn't Died, About a Boy Who Doesn't Grow Up

"Peter Pan" is a remarkably large cultural icon in America, considering that it's a play written by a Scottish novelist, Sir James Matthew Barrie or J. M. Barrie, in the first years of the 20th century.

Peter Pan first appeared as a character in "The Little White Bird" (1902), a novel by Barrie. The novel was written for adults, but the "Peter Pan" chapters were lifted out and re-published as "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" (1906).

The play, "Peter Pan," opened in 1904.

Project Gutenberg makes these available as online books: There have been quite a few screen adaptations of "Peter Pan:"
  • "Peter Pan" 1924 (Cyril Chadwick, Mary Brian)
  • "Peter Pan" 1953 (Disney)
  • "Peter Pan" 1955 (television series, apparently made in Brazil, in Portuguese)
  • "Peter Pan" 1960 (Cyril Ritchard, Maureen Bailey) for television
  • "Peter Pan" 1962 (Wolf Ackva, Michael Ande, made in West Germany, in German)
  • "Peter Pan 1976 (Danny Kaye, Mia Farrow)
  • "Peter Pan" 1986 (Animated Australian version, it seems)
  • "Hook" 1991 (Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams)
  • "Peter Pan" 2003 (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter)
  • "Peter Pan" 2000 (Paul Schoeffler, Elisa Sagardia, made for television)
  • "Return to Neverland" 2002 (Disney)
  • "Peter Pan" 2003 (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter)
  • Even a video game1993
More, about Barrie and his works, at "Born in Scotland; Lives in Neverland – J.M. Barrie and the big adventure of Peter Pan."
Update May 21, 2008

Someone's adding to the Peter Pan phenomenon: "Peter Pan's Neverworld" ("A new novel by Peter Von Brown, based upon the expansion ideas of Sir J. M. Barrie"). The author left a comment on this post.

He has a blog: "Peter Von Brown." A recent entry (May 13, 2008) says that he has an advance copy, and that the book will soon be available: "So hang in there, Peter Pan is coming back…and he's not alone."

There's a pre-release review at Lulu Marketplace: Science Fiction & Fantasy.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 21, 2008 at 3:10 AM

    Thanks for being interested in Peter Pan!
    You might also be interested to know a new Peter Pan novel is on the way. And unlike the prequels and sequels out there, this book doesn't contradict Barrie's original stories. Actually, it's based on his idea to expand Pan's adventure!
    Click on my name for the announcement page...

    Believe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brian H. GillMay 21, 2008 at 10:14 AM

    The Never Fairy,

    You're quite welcome. I've updated the 'Peter Pan post' with some relevant links.

    Best wishes on the new Peter Pan book.

    I've wondered what accounts for the century-long durability of Peter Pan. He's a great deal like the trickster: like Loki, Eris, the raven, or Nezha.

    I can't think of a figure from mythology, though, that has Peter Pan's enduring childhood. Nezha, with his rather dysfunctional family background, comes close.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment!