Back (novel)

Last updated

Back
BackNovel.jpg
First edition
Author Henry Green
Cover artist Vanessa Bell [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Hogarth Press
Publication date
1946
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages246 pp
OCLC 7249851
823/.912 19
LC Class PR6013.R416 B3 1981
Preceded by Loving  
Followed by Concluding  

Back is a novel written by British writer Henry Green and published in 1946.

Plot summary

The novel tells the story of Charley Summers, a young Englishman who comes back from Germany, where he was detained as a POW for three years after having been wounded in combat in France (possibly in 1939–1940). Summers is repatriated because, due to his wound, his leg had to be amputated. While he was prisoner, Rose, the woman he loved, died, and this adds to the shock Charley suffered because of the mutilation. Moreover, Rose was married to another man, so Charley cannot even express his bereavement for fear of scandal.

After having visited the grave of Rose and met her husband James there, Charley calls on Rose's father, Mr Grant, who encourages him to make acquaintance with a young widow. Charley ignores the suggestion at first, but after some days he goes to the widow's flat and he is astonished at the uncanny resemblance between the woman, whose name is Nancy Whitmore, and Rose. He soon finds out that there is a very simple explanation for this: Nancy is the illegitimate daughter of Mr Grant, who sent Charley to her thinking he might console her of the death of her husband (an RAF pilot killed in action in Egypt).

The rest of the novel describes the complex and troubled relation between Charley and Nancy, as it unfolds against the background of a war-torn Britain.

Related Research Articles

<i>Jane Eyre</i> 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman which follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall.

<i>Oliver!</i> English musical by Lionel Bart

Oliver! is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

<i>Oliver Twist</i> Novel by Charles Dickens (1837–1839)

Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, after being raised in a workhouse, escapes to London, where he meets a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal Fagin, discovers the secrets of his parentage, and reconnects with his remaining family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Green</span> English novelist (1905–1973)

Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke, an English writer best remembered for the novels Party Going, Living and Loving. He published a total of nine novels between 1926 and 1952.

<i>Our Mutual Friend</i> 1864 English-language novel by Dickens

Our Mutual Friend, written in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, quoting the book's character Bella Wilfer, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life".

Sanditon (1817) is an unfinished novel by the English writer Jane Austen. In January 1817, Austen began work on a new novel she called The Brothers, later titled Sanditon, and completed eleven chapters before stopping work in mid-March 1817, probably because of illness. R.W. Chapman first published a full transcription of the novel in 1925 under the name Fragment of a Novel.

<i>Wheres Charley?</i> Musical by Frank Loesser

Where's Charley? is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway and in the West End. Ray Bolger starred, and sang the popular song "Once In Love With Amy".

<i>Oliver Twist</i> (1999 TV series) 1999 television series produced by ITV

Oliver Twist is a 1999 drama serial produced by ITV based on the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

<i>Oliver Twist</i> (1997 film) 1997 television movie produced by Walt Disney Television

Oliver Twist is a 1997 American made-for-television film based on Charles Dickens’s 1838 novel of the same title. The film was directed by Tony Bill, written by Monte Merrick and Stephen Sommers, and produced by Walt Disney Television. It stars Richard Dreyfuss, Elijah Wood, David O'Hara, and Alex Trench as the titular character.

<i>Oliver Twist</i> (2005 film) 2005 drama film directed by Roman Polanski

Oliver Twist is a 2005 drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood adapts Charles Dickens's 1838 novel of the same name. It is an international co-production of the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, France and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charley Bates</span> Character from Charles Dickens Oliver Twist

Charley Bates is a supporting character in the Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. He is a young boy and member of Fagin's gang of pickpockets, and sidekick to the Artful Dodger, whose skills he admires unreservedly. Bill Sikes's murder of Nancy shocks him so much that at the end of the novel he leaves London to become an agricultural labourer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fagin</span> Fictional character in Oliver Twist

Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for shelter. A distinguishing trait is his constant and insincere use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children. Nancy, who is the lover of Bill Sikes, is confirmed to be Fagin's former pupil.

<i>The Painted Veil</i> (1934 film) 1934 film

The Painted Veil is a 1934 American drama directed by Richard Boleslawski and starring Greta Garbo. The film was produced by Hunt Stromberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Based on the 1925 novel The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham, with a screenplay by John Meehan, Salka Viertel, and Edith Fitzgerald, the film is about a woman who accompanies her new husband to China while he conducts medical research. Feeling neglected by her husband, the woman soon falls in love with a handsome diplomatic attaché. The film score was by Herbert Stothart, the cinematography by William H. Daniels, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons, and the costume design by Adrian. The film earned $1,658,000 at the box office.

<i>Oliver Twist</i> (2007 TV series) 2007 British television series

Oliver Twist is a 2007 British television adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Coky Giedroyc. It consists of five episodes, broadcast on BBC One from 18 to 22 December 2007. It aired on PBS' Masterpiece Classic in the United States on 15 and 22 February 2009, in two ninety-minute installments. In Australia, ABC1 also opted to air this series as a two-part special each Sunday at 8:30 pm from 20 December 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Twist (character)</span> Title character and the protagonist of the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is the title character and protagonist of the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. He was the first child protagonist in an English novel.

Monks (<i>Oliver Twist</i>) Character in Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist

Edward "Monks" Leeford is a character in the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. He is actually the criminally-inclined half-brother of Oliver Twist, but he hides his identity. Monks' parents separated when he was a child, and his father had a relationship with a young woman, Agnes Fleming. This resulted in Agnes' pregnancy. She died in childbirth after giving birth to the baby that would be named Oliver Twist.

<i>Not That Sort of Girl</i>

Not That Sort of Girl (1987) is a novel by British author Mary Wesley. The novel is set in Southern England and takes its beginning in the late 1930s and follows the life of Rose Peel throughout 48 years of marriage.

<i>Drum Beat</i> 1954 film by Delmer Daves

Drum Beat is a 1954 American CinemaScope Western film in WarnerColor written and directed by Delmer Daves and co-produced by Daves and Alan Ladd in his first film for his Jaguar Productions company. Ladd stars along with Audrey Dalton, Charles Bronson as Captain Jack, and Hayden Rorke as President Ulysses S. Grant.

<i>The Life of Nancy</i>

The Life of Nancy (1895) is a collection of eleven short stories by Sarah Orne Jewett. Following in the tradition of "local color" fiction, Jewett's stories are defined by their detailed descriptions of all aspects of everyday life in the country locales and fishing-towns in which the stories are set. Despite the lack of relation between the characters in each story, a common theme runs through the collection: nostalgia for the past and/or a need for revival of tradition.

<i>The Monogram Murders</i> 2014 Poirot novel by Sophie Hannah/Rhind-Tutt

The Monogram Murders is a 2014 mystery novel by British writer Sophie Hannah featuring characters created by Agatha Christie. It is the first in Hannah's series of Hercule Poirot books, continuation novels sanctioned by the estate of Agatha Christie. The novel was followed by Closed Casket (2016), The Mystery of Three Quarters (2018), and The Killings at Kingfisher Hill (2020).

References