A classic film inspires a novel: Past Encounters by Davina Blake
In England the film Brief Encounter is rated as the best romantic film of all time. I
am pretty sure that in any other country in the world this wouldn’t be so, and
because of that the film gives audiences a rare insight into our Englishness.
It is a film that I watched with my mother
on a TV repeat, and I was astonished to see it bring her to tears, and she was
a woman who rarely cried.
In my novel Past Encounters, Rhoda falls for Matthew, a location assistant for
the film Brief Encounter, even though
she is already engaged to army officer Peter. Peter is a long-term intern in a
prisoner of war camp. This is a parallel to the film where middle class housewife
Laura, and respectable doctor Alec, contemplate an affair. In the film, for the
sake of their existing spouses, Laura and Alec sacrifice their love for each
other in favour of returning to lives of conformity.
How many people must have been faced with
exactly this dilemma? The pain and intensity of illicit love have an enduring
fascination. In the US, the best-selling book (and film) ‘The Bridges of
Madison County’ expresses exactly this idea.
This repression of passions and stiff upper-lip
approach is what made English people so stoic during WWII, and why the film
touched a nerve with the audiences of the time. The showing of emotion in this
period was viewed as a weakness, and too much affection as sentimentality. Partly
it was to do with wartime morale; that no matter what came, you would just grit
your teeth and carry on. The theme of Brief
Encounter was made more poignant at the time by the fact that the film came
out when many men were away fighting and feared their wives would not wait for
them to come home from war. In modern times the film has come to highlight the
difference in attitudes to adultery between the pre and post-sexual revolution
in the 1960’s.
One of the things I loved about the film
was how understated the performances were, and this was an effect I wanted to
build in the novel, to make the emotion deep but not showy, to build the relationships
slowly and to make my couple real. When interviewing people for the novel I was
struck by how matter-of-fact people were when talking about quite horrific wartime
events. This did not make the stories less moving, but rather more powerful. It
also put me in touch with the sensibility of the times, something I wanted to
recreate in Past Encounters. For
example class distinction was still an obvious part of English life (and still
is, if we’re honest, though we Brits try our best to pretend it’s not there). I
was also taken by the visual starkness of the film, and by Laura’s (Celia Johnson’s)
first person narration, which was a highly unusual device back then, that you
could actually hear the thoughts of the character in voice-over.
As for the outcome of Past Encounters you will have to read Past Encounters to read what
happens in the love triangle of Rhoda, Peter and Matthew! And of course there
is also Helen …
Thank you so much, Davina, for this wonderfully insightful guest post! What a fascinating concept to use a movie like Brief Encounter as a backdrop for a story that deals with much of the same emotions and suppression of desires. Now I want to see the movie!
Readers, come back on 12/6 for my review of Past Encounters and be sure to continue below for more information on the book, the author and the blog tour!
Publication Date: November 22, 2014
CreateSpace
Paperback; 442p
CreateSpace
Paperback; 442p
Genre: Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction
England 1955.
The day Rhoda Middleton opens a letter from another woman, she becomes convinced her husband, Peter, is having an affair. But when Rhoda tracks the mysterious woman down, she discovers she is not Peter’s lover after all, but the wife of his best friend, Archie Foster. There is only one problem – Rhoda has never even heard of Archie Foster.
Devastated by this betrayal of trust, Rhoda tries to find out why Peter has kept this friendship a secret for so long. Her search leads her back to 1945, but as she gradually uncovers Peter’s wartime experiences she must wrestle with painful memories of her own. For Rhoda too cannot escape the ghosts of the past.
Taking us on a journey from the atmospheric filming of Brief Encounter, to the extraordinary Great March of prisoners of war through snow-bound Germany, PAST ENCOUNTERS explores themes of friendship, hope, and how in the end, it is the small things that enable love to survive.
Includes bonus material for reading groups.
Praise for Past Encounters
“Her characters are so real that they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf. Highly Recommended!” – The Historical Novels Review
About the Author
Davina Blake used to be a set and costume designer for theatre and TV, during which time she developed a love of research which fueled her passion for the past. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and also writes successful seventeenth century historicals under the pen name Deborah Swift. ‘Her characters are so real that they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf. Highly recommended.’ The Historical Novels Review From Davina: ‘I was inspired to write ‘Past Encounters’ because I live close to the railway station where the iconic ‘Brief Encounter’ was filmed in 1945. I have often used the refreshment room that featured in the film when waiting for a train. I love a good cup of tea, preferably accompanied by a chocolate brownie!’For more information visit Davina Blake’s website and blog. You can also find her on Twitter.
Praise For Deborah Swift
“compelling'” -Westmorland Gazette
“The past comes alive through impeccable research…and the sheer power of descriptive prose” -Lancashire Evening Post
Buy the Book
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Past Encounters Blog Tour Schedule
Saturday, November 15
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Sunday, November 16
Review at Library Educated
Monday, November 17
Review at Dianne Ascroft Blog
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Tuesday, November 18
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!
Wednesday, November 19
Review at Just One More Chapter
Thursday, November 20
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Friday, November 21
Review & Interview at Bookish
Saturday, November 22
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Monday, November 24
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, November 25
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, November 26
Review at Book Nerd
Thursday, November 27
Interview at The Maiden’s Court
Saturday, November 29
Spotlight at What Is That Book About
Monday, December 1
Review at Layered Pages
Review & Interview at Casual Readers
Tuesday, December 2
Review at My Reader’s Block
Review at A Bibliotaph’s Reviews
Wednesday, December 3
Review at The Worm Hole
Review at Diary of an Eccentric
Thursday, December 4
Review at Beth’s Book Reviews
Guest Post at Historical Tapestry
Friday, December 5
Review at Bibliophilia, Please
Saturday, December 6
Review at Unshelfish
Review at Historical Tapestry
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