Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

by Ransom RiggsNovel study introduction

To do today Not so novel Ransom Riggs Breakdown – group activity Special note on setting

Not so novel A long prose narrative that usually

describes fictional characters and events in the form of a sequential story

Historical roots in the fields of medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella

Elements of the novel Construction of the narrative Plot Relation to reality Characterization Use of language

Winslow Homer, The New Novel (1877)

Ransom Riggs American writer and filmmaker Wrote The Sherlock Holmes

Handbook Publisher Quirk Books suggested that

he put together a narrative based on the photos he’d collected

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Made The New York Times Best Seller List

Another book, Talking Pictures, will follow

Talking Pictures

Riggs’ background Ransom Riggs grew up in suburban Florida Part of his upbringing is reflected in Jacob’s

life Grew up writing stories and making videos Mainly, Riggs

• Writes books• Makes movies• Word-blogs and video-blogs

Do you hear Jacob’s tone in Riggs’ narration of this video?

Interview with Riggs Riggs – “…Geographically, I loved the look

of an island off Scotland called St. Kilda, which is all craggy peaks and steep valleys. Really beautiful, though people haven’t lived there in decades.”

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172692.asp

A question of genre Non-fiction? Fiction? Science fiction? Fantasy? Autobiographical?

You guessed it…FANTASY

Breakdown – Group activity

1. Setting2. Character3. Plot4. Visual5. Genre

Cairnholm “It was dramatic and beautiful, unlike

any place I’d seen. I felt a little thrill of adventure as we chugged into the bay, as if I were sighting land where maps had noted only a sweep of undistinguished blue.” (67)

Island isolation Fictional island Inspired by Riggs’ interest in travel

The island setting is significant Islands possess a certain mystique

• Isolation lends itself to peculiarities that mainland society is less likely to have

Those famous islands Lord of the Flies Robinson Crusoe Life of Pi (stranded) The Swiss Family Robinson

Island existence is often the inspiration for films and TV series