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Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland
 
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Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland (Hardcover)

by Piers Dudgeon (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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Customers buy this book with J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys by A Birkin

Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland + J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys
Price For Both: £26.16

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  • This item: Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland by Piers Dudgeon

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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  • J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys by A Birkin

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Chatto & Windus; First Edition edition (10 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0701182164
  • ISBN-13: 978-0701182168
  • Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 16 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 184,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Sunday Herald, Brian Morton

'...Intelligently and feelingly done'


The Scotsman, The Scotsman: July 16, 2008

'THE PATHOLOGY OF THE ARTIST - the motivations, temperament, clashes between public and private behaviour -is the real subject of Dudgeon's meticulous and highly provocative study of three writers: the creators of Peter Pan, Trilby and Rebecca. He almost sounds as if he's trying to court trouble and outrage with his contentions here that JM Barrie was not only responsible for the death of his brother, David, as a child, but had a hand in the apparent suicide of his adolescent ward, Michael Llewellyn Davies, drove Michael's elder brother Peter (who many mistakenly believed was the original inspiration for Peter Pan) to suicide later in life, corrupted the young Daphne du Maurier and encouraged his close friend, the explorer Captain Scott, to head off for the Antarctic on what was, almost certainly, a suicide mission. It's quite a charge to lay at someone's door, but Dudgeon knows what he's doing and builds his case with precision and coolness... It was when both Daphne herself, and her cousin Peter Llewellyn Davies, finally understood what good old Uncle Jim had been doing to them all these years, that she had her nervous breakdown and he killed himself... It's a gripping read that exposes the dark side to two seemingly innocent activities, writing and loving children... Dudgeon has exposed, in quite a magnificent way, the power and potential for abuse in both.'

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Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland
85% buy the item featured on this page:
Captivated: J.M. Barrie, the Du Mauriers and the Dark Side of Neverland 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£16.14
J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys
8% buy
J.M.Barrie and the Lost Boys 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
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Hide-And-Seek With Angels: The Life of J.M. Barrie
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Hide-And-Seek With Angels: The Life of J.M. Barrie 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read, 9 Aug 2009
By C. M. Gibbons (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Part psychological, part revelatory and part historical, Captivated offers a deep insight into the lives of J.M.Barrie and the Du Maurier family. Barrie was initially drawn to the author and illustrator George Du Maurier (1834-1896) who created the hypnotic Svengali character in his novel Trilby and explored the territory of the unconscious long before the arrival of psychoanalysis.

An obvious fan, Barrie subsequently weaved his way into the lives of Du Maurier's children namely Sylvia and Gerald (Daphne's father) themselves interesting characters in their own right. By penetrating the imagination of the more susceptible family members, especially the children, there is no doubt of Barrie's unhealthy influence. Dudgeon does a brilliant job of drawing us into the incredible sequence of events that consequently ensues.

In addition to this fascinating investigation Captivated also provides us with a cultural and social commentary of the day. The reader is given an opportunity to peek into the rich human and often disturbing experiences of the Du Maurier family, whilst in the background there is always the central character whose dark and questionable motives play a major part throughout.

This is a very well researched and totally absorbing book.
Highly recommended.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Research and Superbly Written but also a little Creepy ..., 28 May 2009
By Chris "Reactiv8" (Horrorfordshire) - See all my reviews
This rigorously researched and superbly written study is a revelation into how Barrie's fiction is more (auto)biographical, occult and psychological than I ever could have imagined - Daphne du Maurier's too, as well as other innocently 'imaginative' books perhaps - Scary!!! ... So, kind reader: Beware of 'friendly' people - They might not be quite what they seem with their own ruthless 'agendas' ... Peter Pan and Rebecca will never be quite the same again ...

I await Piers Dudgeon's next masterpiece with eager anticipation (and a little trepidation even) ...
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm..., 10 Jul 2009
'Captivated' provides a deeply disturbing insight into the background of the story of Peter Pan. Dudgeon's book is a revelation in many ways and extremely thought-provoking.

However, I do have several criticisms: first, there is an awful lot of guesswork in this book. Dudgeon will admit to using supposition to reach a conclusion, but then will base facts on these suppositions. For example, he makes a tenuous claim that Jack Llewellyn Davies had depression due to his lung disease - this despite blaming JM Barrie for all possible mental health issues which impacted the rest of Jack's family.

Barrie is blamed for any and all disasters to befall the Davies and Du Maurier family - though he was clearly a strong and charismatic character, my feeling is that Dudgeon stretches the tales of Barrie's power too far at times.

This book obviously stems from very in-depth research: unfortunately this leads me to my greatest frustration with this book - the referencing. Dudgeon uses an incredibly irritating system whereby he lists each chapter's references separately so that, in order to check a reference, you first must check which section of the book you are in and which chapter you are reading - by then, you have forgotten the reference number so have to go back to the page you are reading - all of which severely interrupts the flow of your reading! Why not just number each reference continually?

Further, whilst some referencing is obsessive, there are many times when quotes appear with no reference whatsoever and with no hint to where they come from. This is not only unhelpful but it is also unprofessional and something the publisher should have picked up on. Further evidence of poor proof-reading is clear on page 206, where the wrong reference is given!

Dudgeon quotes Margaret Forster's criticism of Daphne du Maurier for mixing fact 'in the most awkward fashion with entirely imaginary suppositions, greatly to [the book's] detriment'. An interesting quote and one which could well serve as a warning to Mr. Dudgeon.
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