Camden News
Publications by New Journal Enterprises
spacer
  Home Archive Competition Jobs Tickets Accommodation Dating Contact us
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
Camden News - by DAN CARRIER
Published: 14 August 2008
 

Rosie Ashworth, of Persephone Books, with a copy of Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
Happy ending as book is revived for big screen

IT’S a long-forgotten novel that tells the story of a prim governess called Miss Pettigrew and her adventures following her employer, a whimsical night club singer, through the champagne salons of 1930s London.

But thanks to a Holborn book shop a film version of a book written 70 years ago hits the big screens tomorrow (Friday).
And while Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is a modern version of Cinderella, how it was resurrected from the shelves of second-hand book stores and snapped up by by film-makers is itself a fairytale.
Persephone Books in Lambs Conduit Street was established in 2001 by Hampstead writer Nicola Beauman, with the idea of finding
out-of-print books by women which may have been neglected.
Retired university lecturer Henrietta Twycross-Martin brought a copy of the novel into the shop and suggested Mrs Beauman might like to reprint it. It was then picked up by a film studio.
Mrs Beauman said: “She said it was her mother’s favourite book and, after I read it, I could see why. But it had been out of print for decades.”
Ms Twycross-Martin tracked down the author, Winifred Watson, 93, who had a brief career as a novelist from 1935 to 1939. She wrote six books while working as a secretary.
The film stars Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand and has been a hit in the States.
Mrs Beauman added: “It is a classic of the period. We were delighted it has been made into a film.”
Producer Stephen Garrett said the story fits audiences 70 years after it was first published.
“Winifred was a bit ahead of her time,” he said. “Her books were about women changing their lives, flouting convention and addressing class tensions and
extra-marital sex.”
The author’s son Keith Pickering added: “She told me she had written Miss Pettigrew in six weeks, start to finish.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment:


 

 
 
 
spacer














spacer


Theatre Music
Arts & Events Attractions
spacer
 
 


  up