Six novels by Olivia Manning
Fortunes of War is the name given to a series of six novels by Olivia Manning that describe the experiences of a young married couple early in World War II. The series is made up of two trilogies: the books "The Great Fortune" (1960), "The Spoilt City" (1962), and "Friends and Heroes" (1965) comprise The Balkan Trilogy, while "The Danger Tree" (1977), "The Battle Lost and Won" (1978), and "The Sum of Things" (1980) comprise The Levant Trilogy. The novels were based on Manning's personal experiences during the second world war.
Plot summary.
The novels describe the experiences of a young married couple, Harriet and Guy Pringle, early in World War II. A lecturer and passionate Communist, Guy is attached to a British Council educational establishment in Bucharest (Romania) when war breaks out, and the couple are forced to leave the country, passing through Athens and ending up in Cairo, Egypt. Harriet is persuaded to return home by ship, but changes her mind at the last minute and goes to Damascus with friends. Guy, hearing that the ship has been torpedoed, for a time believes her to be dead, but they are eventually reunited.
The cycle also chronicles the pre-war and wartime experiences of the surrounding group of English expatriates who also find themselves on the move and the changes in Romanian society as the corrupt regime of King Carol II fails to keep Romania out of the war. It goes on to chronicle the British retreat from Greece to Egypt as the Axis forces advance in terms of its impact on the everyday lives of the expatriate community. The defence of Egypt and conditions in wartime Palestine are then described in later novels.
List of characters.
The leading characters, Harriet and Guy Pringle, are based on Manning herself and her husband R. D. Smith. Harriet loves Guy but has to share him with numerous hangers-on, as Guy loves everybody he meets. His character is outgoing and generous, while hers is wistful and introspective.
Other major characters in the novels include:
Reception.
Anthony Burgess described "Fortunes of War" as "the finest fictional record of the war produced by a British writer". He considered the first three volumes to be "probably the most important long work of fiction written by a woman since the war" and the character of Guy Pringle to be "one of the most fully created male leads in contemporary fiction... He is a sort of civilization in himself".
Adaptations.
Television.
The novels were adapted for television by the BBC and available in the US on Masterpiece Theatre in 1987, starring Kenneth Branagh as Guy and Emma Thompson as Harriet. Other stars included Ronald Pickup, Robert Stephens, Alan Bennett and Rupert Graves.
Radio.
In 1974, The Balkan Trilogy was adapted in three parts by Eric Ewens and produced by John Tydeman for the BBC. The episodes were transmitted weekly from 9–23 September 1974 on BBC Radio 4. Harriet was played by Anna Massey, Guy by Jack Shepherd. Also: Aubrey Woods (Yakimov), John Rye (Clarence), Denis McCarthy (McCann), Manning Wilson (Inchcape), Godfrey Kenton (Woolley). The Levant Trilogy was adapted by Eric Ewens and produced by John Tydeman for the BBC, and transmitted weekly 23 November to 7 December 1981 with Anna Massey and Jack Shepherd again in the starring roles.
From 27 January 2008, the novel was adapted by Lin Coghlan in six one-hour episodes as the Classic Serial on BBC Radio 4. This version featured Khalid Abdalla as Guy and Honeysuckle Weeks as the young Harriet, with Joanna Lumley as the older Harriet, who narrates. Other cast included James Fleet (Yakimov), John Rowe (Inchcape), Alex Wyndham (Clarence), Sam Dale (Dobson), John Dougall (Galpin), Carolyn Pickles (Bella), Peter Marinker (Drucker), Joseph Arkley (Sasha), Simon Treves (Toby Lush), Ben Crowe (Dubedat), and Laura Molyneux (Despina). The adaptation was directed by Colin Guthrie and Marc Beeby.
References.
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