Abstract
This introduction to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere explores how the opening chapter to the novel Neverwhere foreshadows much that is to come; offers some background into the transformations of Neverwhere from BBC television series to novel to comics; introduces the author, Neil Gaiman; highlights important aspects of the novel including the idea of a parallel world and Gaiman’s wordplay; and draws some connections between Neverwhere and other works by Neil Gaiman.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Page references here and throughout this study will refer to the “author’s preferred text” version of Neverwhere, published by the Headline Publishing Group in 2013.
- 2.
Here and throughout, unless otherwise indicated, italics appear in the original.
References
Amaya, Erik. “Everything We Know About Netflix’s The Sandman Series,” Rotten Tomatoes, 25 September 2021, https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/everything-we-know-about-netflixs-the-sandman-series/.
“Biography,” NeilGaiman.com, n.d., https://neilgaiman.com/About_Neil/Biography.
Flanagan, Mark. “Neverwhere: Author’s Preferred Text by Neil Gaiman,” Run Spot Run, 28 July 2015, http://www.runspotrun.com/book-reviews/neverwhere-authors-preferred-text-by-neil-gaiman/.
Gaiman, Neil. American Gods, William Morrow, 2001.
———. Anansi Boys. HarperCollins, 2005.
———. Coraline. HarperCollins, 2002.
———. Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion, Pocket Books, 1988.
———. The Graveyard Book. HarperCollins, 2008.
———. Neverwhere. First Edition. BBC Books, 1996.
———. Neverwhere. American Edition. Avon Books, 1997.
———. Neverwhere. Audiobook narrated by Neil Gaiman, HarperAudio, 2007.
———. Neverwhere. Author’s Preferred Text Edition, [2006], Headline Publishing Group, 2013.
———. Neverwhere. Illustrated edition with drawings by Chris Riddell, William Morrow, 2016.
———. Neverwhere. Radio play. BBC Radio 4, 2013.
———. Neverwhere. Television Miniseries. BBC Two, 1996. DVD Boxset from A&E Home Video,
———. Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
———. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, William Morrow, 2013.
* A Note on The Sandman comics: The original run consisted of 75 issues published from January 1989 until March of 1996. They were published by DC comics; starting with issue 47, they were published under DC Comics’s Vertigo imprint. The 75 issues were subsequently collected together and published in twelve volumes.
———. The Sleeper and the Spindle, HarperCollins, 2015.
———. Stardust. William Morrow, 1999.
Gaiman, Neil and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens: The nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Workman Publishing, 1990.
“Good Omens: How Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a book,” BBC News, 22 December 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30512620.
“International Covers,” Neil Gaiman.com, n.d., https://www.neilgaiman.com/Neil%27s_Work/International_Covers.
Johnston, Rich. “Bleeding Cool and Comic Relief Need Your Help,” Bleeding Cool, 29 November 2010, https://bleedingcool.com/comics/recent-updates/bleeding-cool-and-comic-relief-need-your-help/.
Jordison, Sam. “Is Good Omens one of the best collaborative novels ever written?” The Guardian, 29 January 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2019/jan/29/good-omens-successful-joint-authorship-neil-gaiman-terry-pratchett.
Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth [1961], Bullseye Books, 1988.
Leader, Michael. “Looking back at BBC Two’s Neverwhere,” Den of Geek, 19 March 2013, https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/looking-back-at-bbc-twos-neverwhere/.
“Lenny Henry dedicates his knighthood to all involved in Comic Relief,” The Guardian, 4 December 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/04/lenny-henry-dedicates-his-knighthood-to-all-involved-in-comic-relief.
Martinelli, Marissa. “What Does It Mean When a Book Is Stamped With the Words ‘Author’s Preferred Text?’” Slate.com, 20 August 2015, https://slate.com/culture/2015/08/author-s-preferred-text-of-neil-gaiman-s-neverwhere-what-do-those-words-mean.html
Mendlesohn, Farah. Rhetorics of Fantasy, Wesleyan University Press, 2008.
“Neil Gaiman and Comics,” NeilGaiman.com, n.d., https://www.neilgaiman.com/Cool_Stuff/Essays/Essays_About_Neil/Neil_Gaiman_and_Comics.
Nelson, Victoria. The Secret Life of Puppets, Harvard University Press, 2001.
Roper, Caitlin. “Q&A: Neil Gaiman on the Star-Studded BBC Audioplay of Neverwhere,” Wired, 26 March 2013, https://www.wired.com/2013/03/neil-gaiman-neverwhere-bbc/
sfx. “Neil Gaiman on Neverwhere,” GamesRadar+, 23 April 2007, https://www.gamesradar.com/neil_gaiman_on_neverwhere/.
Tucker, Ken. “Cool Cult Favorites: Sandman,” Entertainment Weekly, 24 June 1994, https://ew.com/article/1994/06/24/cool-cult-favorites-sandman/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Weinstock, J.A. (2022). It Starts with Doors. In: A Critical Companion to Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere". Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96458-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96458-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-96457-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-96458-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)