There is a wonderful irony in the publication of the fanciful novel Endgame, about the impending termination of the British monarchy, when its author Omid Scobie appears on TV with the undeniable teenage looks of a never-ageing Peter Pan, even though he is nearly 40 years old (“Race row could blow the royal family away”, DT, 2/12). While Scottish novelist J.M. Barrie sought to evoke the imaginative impossibilities of a flying boy, stuck in a world of fairies, pirates, mermaids and occasional real people on the island of Neverland, Scobie denies taking any literary licences in his unfriendly pronouncements. When Peter Pan’s statue was commissioned in April 1912 in the grounds of Kensington Gardens, little doubt no one expected a look-alike to emerge 100 years later to shamelessly declare the monarchy near extinct. I am not convinced by Scobie’s literary meanderings and would expect the monarchy to be a great uniting force in difficult times ahead. His book will be harmful to the reconciliation of King Charles with Harry and Meghan before its unlikely other prophecies are proven to be literary hogwash. Alan Sexton, North Parramatta. 6Dec2023.