Piers Dudgeon

I spent most of my teens insatiably devouring anything by Catherine Cookson that I managed to lay my hands on. There was a certain something I felt, some inexplicable force at work that irresistibly drew me towards these stories and rendered them apart from everything else I'd ever read. This book had the effect of a jigsaw puzzle finally falling into place, answering all my questions and unveiling the mystery, larger than life, of Mrs. Cookson's poetics.
Drawing parallels between her own existence as a person and an artist, and that of big literary names such as Dickens and D.H. Lawrence, and, as she herself put it, "transposing her character into the characters in her books" beautifully in order to illuminate points of particular interest, this book simply joins the dots in a wonderful way, and paints a marvellous picture of the metamorphosis of the Girl from Leam Lane into a name lovingly issued from the lips of thousands of thankful fans.
Complete with stunning photographs of "wor Kate" throughout the years, this biography brings the magnetic, radiant person that she was to life as convincingly as she does her own characters.… (más)

"The Real Peter Pan is the story, both joyous and tragic, of a beautiful boy who was chosen by Barrie to be his gateway to the magical world of childhood, which he longed to recapture, and to the strange spiritual world of his later work."

Like so many others that have come before me and after me, I met Peter Pan as a child. Not the actual Peter Pan, mind you, but the Peter Pan Walt Disney so gladly bestowed upon the world. Neverland has become a place of mystic legend. A place where one goes when they don't want to grow up. A place where we as children and sometimes adults long to escape to.

J.M. Barrie managed to enthrall generation after generation of children, even to this day. How did Barrie manage to tap into the magic which he bestowed upon millions of children? He had a real-life inspiration in a boy named Michael Davies.

Piers Dudgeon has many talents, among them is bestselling author of biographies on novelists such as Catherine Cookson, Daphne du Maurier, and Edward de Bono, and, of course, J.M. Barrie. In this book Dudgeon explores the friendship between the Davies family and the famous author, even alluding to the possibility of unsavory acts that Barrie may or may not have been guilty of.

The Real Peter Pan gives you an excellent insight to the famous author and playwright. He befriended the family before Michael, the boy who would be Peter Pan, was born. Barrie was a true introvert that only a handful of people really got to know. His character was sometimes peculiar and at times downright odd. But to the Davies, he was like a member of the family and after the death of Michael's parents, he was even the children's guardian. This book follows Barrie's relationship with Michael until Michael's untimely death.

Before reading this book, I didn't know the story behind Peter Pan. A real person to influence the unforgettable characters. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. It will forever change the way I see this classic novel.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2016/11/review-real-peter-pan-tragic-life-of.ht...… (más)