Secondary worlds: Thomas Burnett Swann's fantastic forests and J. M. Barrie's imaginary islands

Although J. M. Barrie's work is firmly rooted in the soil of his Scottish heritage and that of Thomas Burnett Swann flowers in the landscapes of pre-history and classical myth, the fantastic elements of their respective works can be legitimately compared. The writers differ in style and focus, but each creates secondary worlds which transcend normal perceptions and capture the reader in an implausible, yet credible experience. Both Swann's fantastic forests and Barrie's imaginary islands meet the criterion for a secondary world established by J. R. R. Tolkien: "One which your mind can enter. Inside it, what (the author) relates is 'true': It accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside."