Neverland: J. M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan

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Neverland: J. M. Barrie, the du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan (eBook) Pub. Date: 7/12/2011 Publisher: Pegasus Books
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Neverland: J. M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan Pub. Date: 7/15/2011 Publisher: Pegasus
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Neverland: J. M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan Pub. Date: 10/15/2009 Publisher: Pegasus

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Overview

In his revelatory Neverland, Piers Dudgeon tells the tragic story of J. M. Barrie and the Du Maurier family. Driven by a need to fill the vacuum left by sexual impotence, Barrie sought out George du Maurier, Daphne du Maurier’s grandfather (author of the famed Trilby), who specialized in hypnosis. Barrie’s fascination and obsession with the Du Maurier family is a shocking study of greed and psychological abuse, as we observe Barrie as he applies these lessons in mind control to captivate George’s daughter Sylvia, his son Gerald, as well as their children—who became the inspiration for the Darling family in Barrie’s immortal Peter Pan.

Barrie later altered Sylvia’s will after her death so that he could become the boys’ legal guardian, while pushing several members of the family to nervous breakdown and suicide. Barrie’s compulsion to dominate was so apparent to those around him that D. H. Lawrence once wrote: J. M Barrie has a fatal touch for those he loves. They die.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Dudgeon (The Woman of Substance: The Secret Life That Inspired the Renowned Storyteller Barbara Taylor Bradford) explores the relationship between J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, and the Du Maurier family. Dudgeon has extensively researched the literary work of George and Daphne Du Maurier and Barrie to draw parallels between their works and their real lives; he also uses archival material such as letters and third-party accounts. Dudgeon argues that Barrie had a close relationship with the Du Maurier boys, and he drew on this relationship in the creation of Peter Pan. Dudgeon also portrays Barrie as a dark and troubled man who may have used hypnotism to gain an obsessive control over the Du Maurier boys and their mother. He goes on to look at Barrie's link to the tragic demise of the boys, from the drowning of Michael to the suicide of Peter. VERDICT Given its detail and extensive reference to the literary works of Barrie and the Du Mauriers, this will appeal most to those with a specific interest in these authors.—Rebecca Bollen Manalac, Sydney, Australia\

Kirkus Reviews

Adopting both the general notion and the melodramatic tone of D.H. Lawrence's famous comment-"J.M. Barrie has a fatal touch for those he loves. They die"-Dudgeon (Our East End: Memories of Life in Disappearing Britain, 2008, etc.) presents the author of Peter Pan as a crippled soul who deliberately manipulated the lives and psyches of numerous associates and children. Why? Not for sex-the author dismisses this notion out of hand-but in compensation for a childhood so "bereft of wonder" that he was left incapable of any genuine ability to love. How? Through hypnosis and autosuggestion, techniques inspired by Svengali, the villain in George Du Maurier's novel Trilby. Who? Dudgeon trots in a large company over whom Barrie "extend[ed] his malign power," including but not limited to the five "Lost Boys" of that same Du Maurier's daughter Sylvia, his son Gerald Du Maurier, Gerald's daughter Daphne and, for variety, the doomed explorer Robert Scott. All did indeed die young, commit suicide and/or suffer lifelong emotional problems. Furthermore, the author ups the body count by suggesting that Barrie played a hushed-up role in the accidental death of his older brother in childhood. The evidence for this, as for Dudgeon's entire thesis, is at best circumstantial. Aside from sure proof, presented in a pair of photos, that Barrie altered Sylvia's will to give him guardianship over the boys, it's all based on suppositions, uneasy comments or dark hints by contemporaries, bald guesses and supposedly telling parallels between fleshly characters and those in either Barrie's works or various of the Du Mauriers' "autobiographical psycho-novels."Nowhere near a cut-and-dried case, but plausible enoughto leave readers-particularly those who found Peter Pan disquieting (which it is)-wondering.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781605980638
Publisher: Pegasus
Publication date: 10/15/2009
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 958,693
Product dimensions: 6.30 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Piers Dudgeon worked closely with Daphne du Maurier on her book Enchanted Cornwall. He began his research on his book Neverland after learning that Daphne had placed a moratorium on her diaries until fifty years after her death. Piers has worked with authors as diverse as John Fowles, Peter Ackroyd, Shirley Conran and Ted Hughes. He lives in London.

List of Illustrations vii

Family Tree xi

Author's Note xiii

Part I 1945-1960 The Lost Boys and Daphne

Chapter 1 Peter's suicide: a case to answer 3

Chapter 2 What is the secret? 27

Part II 1789-1862 Kicky and Barrie: learning to fly

Chapter 1 Du Maurier dreamers 39

Chapter 2 Peak experience 44

Chapter 3 The boy who hated mothers 58

Chapter 4 Nervous breakdown 78

Part III 1885-1894 Kicky, Barrie and Svengali: the secret

Chapter 1 Impotent and ambitious 91

Chapter 2 Gateway to Neverland 98

Chapter 3 Purloining the key 116

Chapter 4 The corruption of Neverland 123

Part IV 1894-1910 Sylvia, the Lost Boys and Uncle Jim: the Peter Pan Inheritance

Chapter 1 Slipping into madness 139

Chapter 2 Predator and victim 146

Chapter 3 Philanderings in the park 152

Chapter 4 The boy in the box 156

Chapter 5 Flying Uncle Jim to Neverland 167

Chapter 6 Peter Pan, a demon boy 176

Chapter 7 Sylvia's Will 186

Part V 1910-1921 Michael, Daphne and Uncle Jim: 'An Awfully Big Adventure'

Chapter 1 Looking for Michael 201

Chapter 2 Daphne's initiation 213

Chapter 3 Michael's suicide 232

Part VI 1921-1989 Uncle Jim and Daphne: the Rebecca Inheritance

Chapter 1 Rebecca, a demon boy 249

Chapter 2 Breakdown and suicide 278

Chapter 3 No escape 288

Appendix: On Women in Love 293

Bibliography 298

Notes 301

Acknowledgements and Sources 312

Index 316

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