So names in Gaiman's writing are almost always significant, yes? Well, Neverwhere stumps me. Door's an obvious one, as is the Marquis de Carabas, but are Croup and Vandemar a reference to something? An anagram? Or are they just names?

Hunter is equally obvious, but I think that a good number of the names are based off of the London Underground places. (Like Islington.)
Anastasia, the ratspeaker who guides Richard at the begining of the novel could be a reference to the famous Russian Princess who was thought to have escaped the Revolution adn disappeared mysteriously. I don't know about The Old Firm, but it would be a good question to ask the FAQ on Neil's site.

She's not Anastasia; she's Anaesthesia. Yeah, I know about the place names. I'm specifically stumped on Croup and Vandemar. Are they a reference to something Londonish? I've no idea; I'm American. I looked over the Underground map and nothing popped out at me, and it wouldn't really make sense, as they're not specifically associated with one place, unlike the Black Friars or Islington.

Ah, just checked the FAQ, and he says "Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar are called Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar because that's what they call each other, and no-one would dare call them anything else."

Go figure; I didn't think to look the obvious place.

oops. Well, um, in that case, maybe she has something to do with unconciousness? There is a Tori Amos song that may be related to that character. Off the top of my head, I can't say how it is pronounced.

Hello,
I might be asking a off topic question, but I am writing a school work on Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and I was looking for books dealing with urban fantasy but surprisingly (at least for me) I haven't found anything...I would like to ask if anyone here could help me or at least direct me the right way,
thanks

do you mean "dealing with" as in criticism about? Or other similiar fiction titles?

You might try searching under "magic realism." Little bit different from "urban fantasy," but it might bring up some more hits for you.

Hi, also try "urban myth", which should bring up some sites, and searching Neil's blog, which also has mention of urban myths, if that is what you are looking for (there was one a while back on what some homeless children in Florida (I think, can't quite remember) believe.

Hi,
Thank you both.Yes my work is dealing with literary criticism , as the topic is Neil Gaiman's book Neverwhere and I would like to show the features of Urban Fantasy.The idea is to show the people what it is, I am american but I live in central europe, slovakia (guess you never heard of ) and the work is something necessary to finish university here.
I chose this topic because I really enjoy it the only thing is I cannot find any good theoretical works not even on the internet but Ill try the topics you suggested thank you once more

Croup is, I believe, a kind of disease characterized by a lot of painful coughing. Not sure about Vandemar.

I'm re-reading Neverwhere - last time I read it was in 2002, and it's all new to me again, more or less. I'd forgotten what comical villains Croup and Vandemar are. Truly sinister in the worst sense of the word, and yet I can't help laughing.

Wasn't Anaesthesia one of Sandman's ex loves? And Marquis de Carabalis (can't spell, sorry) isn't obvious to me? I'm dumb, tell me why that name is significant.

The Marquis de Carabas is a character from Puss In Boots. This character is based on a lie.

Puss In Boots - Wikipedia

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bigstripeydave,

I also thought Anaesthesia to be a word game based on a reference to the Russian princess. I think some of the relatives still live in the UK. Unfortuntely I believe she's been accounted for in the meantime and she died indeed with the whole Tzar's family during the October Revolution.