The Adventures of Mary Darling
In the year 1900, on a snowy evening in London, Mary Darling returns from a dinner party and discovers her children have been kidnapped from their beds. Mary’s husband George rushes to her Uncle Watson for help.
Uncle Watson’s friend, Sherlock Holmes who has been bored of late. Uninvited, he takes on the task of finding the children.
But Mary Darling knows that Holmes can’t save her children. His skills are not helpful in a world of fairies and flying children. She knows that it is up to her to save Wendy, John, and Michael from Peter Pan — even if she has to travel halfway around the world to do it.
Praise
“Everyone thinks they know the stories of supposed heroes Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes, but Mary Darling knows them better than most, because once upon a time she and her brother were the children Peter enticed with promises of adventure that turned out to be feckless and reckless for everyone but him. Intelligent, practical, even piratical, Mary made a plan to escape and did. Now, Peter has enchanted her children with the same promises, and Mary plans a journey back to Neverland to stage yet another daring escape. But Mary’s well-planned trip is followed by well-meaning, meddling men who are certain she needs their help: her husband George, her uncle John Watson, and Watson’s famous friend Sherlock Holmes. VERDICT Mary’s story is a dangerous and delightful adventure that turns the bigotry and misogyny of Victorian England on its head as she takes charge of her own life and rescues everyone with the help of her friends. Murphy’s (Women Up to No Good) latest is highly recommended for readers caught up in the recent trend of feminist retellings of well-known tales.”
—The Library Journal
