The Boy
Who Would Not Grow Up – But Did
When "The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up - But Did" was
first published in my native language Danish in 1999, it was hailed as an
indisputable literary renewal of Peter Pan-studies. It was regarded the most
thorough,
informative and entertaining book on the subject and went on to inspire
directors of both documentaries and stage plays working with the Peter Pan
story. 14 years later and still regarded one of the most essential studies in
Peter Pan, it became available for the first time in English as an ebook.
The book deals with both the Scots author Sir J. M. Barrie and his creation
Peter Pan. Barrie wrote his story about Peter Pan no less than five times and I
analyse and compare all five stories in order to show that both the literary
story about Peter Pan as well as Peter's "life story" undergo developments.
Furthermore I shows how other characters in the stories, such as Wendy and
Captain Hook, go through developments as well, and I illustrate how Peter Pan's
universe gets more and more obsessed with death and sexuality, the more Peter
develops.
The foreword in this English 2013 version differs from the one in the original
Danish book, as it brings the readers up to date on different Peter Pan related
books and films. Please, read
the “Drengen der ikke ville blive stor – og som blev det”
entry as well.