Hi Dani,
Yes - and I still do eat every part of an apple and yes I did use my own experience of boarding school when writing about Jack at school. It was well documented that he had an unhappy time there but no real details. I  certainly have sympathy for Jack as I hated my boarding school (I was sent there at 8 years old). The book was great fun to write and I tried my very hardest to do the best job that I could for JMB and his five (especially Nico). I too was surprised when Nico seemed to be unaware of Michael's nightmares but it was not something that I wanted to pursue or upset him with. I think Marcus and JMB would have got on very well, I became rather fond of Marcus as I wrote about him or rather I think that he insisted on being written about! I tried very hard to capture the  different personalities of the five boys and I hope that I did them justice, I certainly tried my best. The trip to the Bloody Meadow is also taken from a personal experience but it wasn't Tewkesbury but another place when I was young and with my Nan. I guess most authors put a bit of themselves and their own experiences in their books.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the book and Happy Christmas to you.
PJ

JM Barrie's Querist Album/ My Confession Book
1. Your most esteemed virtue?  Kindness
2. Your highest characteristic in a man? Kindness
3. Your highest characteristic in a woman?  Kindness (again!!!)
4. Your happiest employment?  Horse riding
5. Your greatest misery?  Death of people I care about. (same as Dani)
6. Your pet flower and color?  Daisies and blue
7. Your favorite novelist?  JM Barrie, Susan Cooper, Mary Stewart
8. Your most admired poet?  Shakespeare
9.Your favorite opera and artist? Never been to an opera it all seems to be a bit 'screamy' Sir Frederick Lord Leighton
10. Your favorite historical hero?  Thomas Marshall
11. Your favorite historical heroine? Joan of Arc
12. Your favorite hero in fiction?  Peter Pan, Merlin
13. Your favorite heroine in fiction?
Don't really have one
14. Your luxurious ambrosia and nectar?  Guinness and lemon cake
15. Your most loveable name?
Kate- Girl
Ben- Boy
16. Your pet antipathy?
Don't know what antipathy means (sorry!)
17. What peculiarity can you most tolerate?  Big ears
18. Your favorite amusement?  Writing,
19. At what age should a man marry?  Whenever he likes. (agreed)
20. At what age should a woman marry?  Whenever she likes.(also agreed)
21. Do you believe in love at first sight?  Yes!
22. Do you believe in marrying for love and working for money?  Yes and no
23. Were you ever in love? And if so, how often? Far too often!!!
24. Your favorite proverb? Do not murder (more of a commandment but pretty important)

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.
Kind Regards
PJ

Hi Dani,
I do still have the letters that Nico was kind enough to write to me but they are quite personal, perhaps I might put them up one day but not just now.
I started researching 'I Believe in Peter Pan' way back in the 1980's and kept coming back to it as the years rolled by. I have an awful lot of notes etc from those times but many of them are 'people specific' and it feels wrong to publish them even though most, if not all of them, have passed.
I do have a copy of an unpublished 'Potted Pantomime' that JMB wrote for the children of Stanway. It is full of JMB's hand written production notes and I think this would be of interest to the members here. There might also be one or two photos that I can put up here so I will have a look through them.
With Kind Regards
PJ

Thank you so much for your very kind words, they are so much appreciated.
The full book, in Paperback and Kindle editions, is available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=I+Believe+in+Peter+Pan
Both editions are available on all Amazon sites throughout the world.
'I Believe in Peter Pan' was an incredibly rewarding book to write and I also felt that I was repaying Nico for his patience and kindness to me all those years ago.
Jack was the hardest one of the brothers to write about, in the end I had to rely on my own experiences at boarding school to try to come close to him. Even to this day I always eat every part of an apple (even the core) and you'll need to read the book to understand why!!!
I wish I could have met JMB.
With Kind Regards
PJ

Thank you, I think I read somewhere that JMB did visit Stanway before 1921 but there was no mention of Michael or any of the brothers being with him at that time.
Thanks for your help.

Thank you for such a great reply that's made it all so much more understandable. I had forgotten about all the house etc restrictions of Private Schools (even though I went to one myself - not Eton though!!!) and I guess it would have been even more rigid in those days.