Product Description

For some 20 years at the beginning of the century J M Barrie enjoyed enormous commercial success with a wide variety of plays, but he is best known for Peter Pan. It retains its popularity today, both in the original and in adaptations. As well as being the author of the greatest of all children's plays Barrie also wrote sophisticated social comedy and political satire, much of it now newly topical. The Admirable Crichton and What Every Woman Knows are shrewd and entertaining contributions to the politics of class and gender, while Mary Rose is one of the best ghost stories written for the stage. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner, of the University of York, the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are supplemented with a scholarly introduction and detailed annotation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292806 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
For some 20 years at the beginning of the century J M Barrie enjoyed enormous commercial success with a wide variety of plays, but he is best known for Peter Pan. It retains its popularity today, both in the original and in adaptations. As well as being the author of the greatest of all children's plays Barrie also wrote sophisticated social comedy and political satire, much of it now newly topical. The Admirable Crichton and What Every Woman Knows are shrewd and entertaining contributions to the politics of class and gender, while Mary Rose is one of the best ghost stories written for the stage. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner, of the University of York, the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are supplemented with a scholarly introduction and detailed annotation.

About the Author
Peter Hollindale is Senior Lecturer in English and Educational Studies at the University of York. He edited Peter Pan is Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy in World's Classics. This is the novel rather than the play of Peter Pan.

Customer Reviews

A note to "a customer"
You know, "a customer", (shocked that Peter Pan is a play, evidently does not care for plays) the words "and other plays" in the title might have given you a hint.

Peter Pan - Oxford Worlds Classics
The other reviews say that it is a great story book for children and adults etc. but in fact it is a play!
I was quite shocked when i bought it thinking that it would be a story book, but when i recieved it and looked throught it, it was in fact a play!

A beautiful story for children everywhere!
Peter Pan has often been described as a classic and no doubt everyone is familiar with the story but this is worth reading for all the nice touches which often get forgotten.

Similiar to a certain Mr Potter, this book can easily relate to children and adults alike. The characters are geniunely amusing and described so well you can identify with them all, from the hyper-active Peter who just wants to play all day to the weary Father, working far more than 9 to 5 dat after day.

The book is full of quirks which remind you of the imagination of Barrie. My particular favouriste is Nana, the dog employed as the Nanny due to the family's impoverised state (despite that fact they all live in Kensington - like I say, imagination is important!). What also works well is the double setting of the Nursery and Never-Never land where everything and everyone works differently. We see characters acting completely differently when taken out of their normal context, something we can all relate to!

At the centre of the book, however, is the moving theme of growing up and moving on. Long before those kids in Dawson's Creek were giving advice on life, Peter Pan and Wendy were dealing with the human condition in a much more realxed manner. Upon finishing the book I felt moved and entertained which can only be a good thing!

I would recommend reading Peter Pan either as a refresher course or as a completely new experience.