ABSTRACT
Peter Pan is frequently associated with the field of children’s literature; it is often defined as a work for children and as influential upon subsequent writing aimed at young readers. In 1906, the Peter Pan chapters from The Little White Bird were published as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, with illustrations by Arthur Rackham. One reason for the popularity of the cross-gender performances by the middle of the nineteenth century was the influence of burlesque – then a very popular form of theatre – upon Christmas pantomime tradition. Nineteenth-century burlesque satirised contemporary events, individuals, and pre-existing cultural products, and titles of mid-century pantomimes suggest how fairy tale and contemporary reference were being conjoined in pantomimes influenced by the burlesque tradition. The idea of a Never Land was also frequently present in the press by the final decades of the nineteenth century, as uninhabited regions in Australia were commonly referred to as ‘The Never-Never’.
