Posted by Robert Hill on 02/23/00 from 129.11.153.35 via proxy proxy2.leeds.ac.uk:
In Reply to: Re: Newbie Query posted by John O'Flynn on February 23, 2000 at 03:13:50:
Re your question 1:
(a) Shooting: Guns are fired in anger in Great Northern?, as in Peter
Duck and Missee Lee, and Christina Hardyment argues in her book that
this makes GN more likely to be a fantasy or made-up story like those
two, rather than "real" like the remaining nine books. How often has
anyone shot at you in real life?
However, as I said in my previous message, my recollection is that no
shots are aimed at humans. I hope someone will come up with chapter
and verse on that.
(b) Holidays: The nine undoubtedly "real" books are set at identifiable
times of year, and are during school holidays (except Winter Holiday
where the characters' continued absence from school is explained by the
need for quarantine). The time of year of Great Northern? is not made
clear, neither are there any of the references to events in previous
holidays that occur frequently in most of the books.
The time of year is constrained by the breeding season of GN Divers, which
does not fit well with school holidays, being too late for Easter and
too early for the main summer holidays. I've wondered about a mid-term
Whitsun break but am not sure the idea would bear serious examination.
I would say that there are quite a few chronological inconsistencies in
the books (most notably in Bridget's and Peggy's ages) but we don't on
that ground classify the books as not real.
Re your question 2:
I for one had not heard of the idea until I read Captain Flint's Trunk.