Posted by Robert Dilley on January 14, 2006 at 03:34:14 from 216.26.200.56 user rdilley.
In Reply to: Re: That Unbelievable Peter Duck posted by Adam Quinan on January 13, 2006 at 23:40:38:
I suspect -- without supporting evidence -- that overseas readers may feel more comfortable with Peter Duck and Missee Lee than UK residents. Much of the enjoyment of AR comes from a feeling of personal involvement, whether or not one identifies with any of the characters. That involvement is more believable if taking place in a familiar landscape.
I know that I always related best to the Lake District novels, as my home was there from ages 12 to 25; next to WD and SW as I spent over six years at boarding school a mile of so from Pinmill. The Broads books meant less until I had a week there with my family in 1988.
For someone who has never been to the UK, all the landscapes and settings are unfamiliar, so there is no particular feeling of "alienness" about PD or ML.
Incidentally, Peter Duck was my first AR -- sneaked without permission at a very early age from my eldest brother's collection, as I assumed it was some kind of cross between Peter Rabbit and