Neil Gaiman
Born: November 10, 1960; Portchester, England
Image source: http://www.neilgaiman.com/gallery/set.phpid=72157600302260864&title=Neil+...+Past+to+Present
According to the Literary Reference Center Plus’s website, after working on some writing projects such as Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, and the BBC mini-series and the novelization of Neverwhere , Gaiman wrote more novels that met success including American Gods and Coraline. What Gaiman continues to write is graphic novels. As stated in the author’s official website, neilgaiman.com, Gaiman currently resides near Minneapolis Minnesota.
“How Neverwhere was born”
During his writing career, Neil Gaiman co-founded the BBC mini-series Neverwhere, along with Lenny Henry.
In an interview with Gaiman, which can be seen in the UK VHS release of Neverwhere, the idea of Neverwhere stemmed from a conversation between Gaiman and Henry.
Henry mentioned the idea of about a story involving groups of homeless people in London in a story. Because Gaiman saw the possibility of young readers imitating characters with socially approving traits, like the homeless in London in the story, Gaiman was hesitant to go along with the idea. Nonetheless, the issue was resolved when Gaiman decided to make the story less realistic and more fantastical, which can be observed in both the BBC mini-series and in the novel, Neverwhere.
Henry mentioned the idea of about a story involving groups of homeless people in London in a story. Because Gaiman saw the possibility of young readers imitating characters with socially approving traits, like the homeless in London in the story, Gaiman was hesitant to go along with the idea. Nonetheless, the issue was resolved when Gaiman decided to make the story less realistic and more fantastical, which can be observed in both the BBC mini-series and in the novel, Neverwhere.
http://www.neilgaiman.com/gallery/set.phpid=72157600302260864&title=Neil+...+Past+to+Present
“How his life experience affects the novel as a whole”
Before working on Neverwhere, Gaiman was no stranger to the world of fantasy. He already had some experience with incorporating fantasy into his writing. According to the Literary Reference Center Plus website, his early published works included a few graphic novels along with the successful comic books series, The Sandman, which he created with his friend, Dave McKean. Like the content in Neverwhere, the content in The Sandman possesses the magical and unrealistic elements For example, in the author’s official website, neilgaiman.com, in the fifth volume of The Sandman comic book series, A Game of You, there is “old witchcraft and fantasy.”
So even before Gaiman could even decide to make London Below an imaginary world with imaginary characters, Gaiman had to have had some prior knowledge from his past life experience to have known about magical, mythological, and imaginary worlds in order to integrate unreal elements into Neverwhere. Although we, the readers, can neither explain the existence of such extraordinary people living under London, such as Angel Islington and Lady Door and the Marquis de Carabas, nor can we scientifically explain all the strange events that take place in Neverwhere, such as how Richard Mayhew returned back to London Above and was once again acknowledged by the citizens of London Above, we understand that in the end, this novel should be seen primarily as a fantasy.
---JC
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