 First edition | |
| Author | John Braine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | John Minton [1] |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1957 Eyre & Spottiswoode |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 256 pp |
| OCLC | 59499921 |
Room at the Top is a novel by John Braine, first published in the United Kingdom by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1957, about an ambitious young working-class man who juggles sexual relationships with two middle-class women in a northern town in post-war England.
Joe Lampton, demobilised at the end of the Second World War, is starting in a new job as an accountant with the Municipal Treasury in the Yorkshire market town of Warley. He is 25 years old and of working-class background from the industrial town of Dufton. He was in the RAF but spent most of the war as a POW, using this time to study accountancy. Joe has been living with his aunt and uncle because his parents were killed by a stray bomb during the war. He is determined to make something of himself, and dreams of a job paying £1,000 a year.
In Warley, he lodges with the Thompsons, who live in the most affluent part of town, known locally as "T'top". The Thompsons introduce him to the local amateur dramatic society and there he meets Susan Brown, the 19-year-old daughter of a successful local businessman. He also meets Alice Aisgill, who is nine years his senior, childless, and unhappily married to a businessman who is rumoured to be having an affair with his secretary.
Joe is attracted to Susan and invites her out to the ballet, even though she is ostensibly the girlfriend of Jack Wales, a rich former RAF officer with a distinguished war record. Susan accepts the invitation and they have an enjoyable evening. Afterwards, Joe drives past the large and expensive homes of Jack and Susan and laughs at himself for thinking that he could ever marry Susan. After rehearsing a play at the theatre, Alice and Joe drive to Sparrow Hill, overlooking Warley, where Alice seduces him. Alice asks Joe not to fall in love with her, but suggests they should become "loving friends".
Joe continues to date Susan while Jack is studying at Cambridge. Joe also pursues his sexual relationship with Alice, regularly meeting her at the flat of one of her friends. Returning to Dufton for Christmas, Joe tells his aunt that he is in love with Susan, but she warns him that Susan will break his heart and he should find a woman of his own social class.
While meeting at the flat, Alice mentions that she once modelled nude for an artist, and Joe berates her for demeaning herself. They have a heated argument during which she calls him a prude with a provincial mind. They agree to end their relationship. Soon afterward, Joe unexpectedly meets Susan and a party, and they agree to meet the following day. At the latter meeting they profess their love for each other, but Joe thinks of his triumph over Jack and the prospect of forcing Susan's father to give him a good job. He also thinks of his need for Alice.
Joe becomes frustrated by Susan's refusal to have sex with him, and he is discouraged by her parents' attempts to separate them. He reconciles with Alice, and they resume their sexual relationship. Susan finds out about the relationship and breaks with Joe, who is relieved that he can now concentrate his physical and emotional energies on Alice.
Joe and Alice take a holiday in Dorset where they profess their love for each other and plan to marry after Alice arranges a divorce. A few days later, Joe's friend Charles tells him that marrying Alice would ruin his life because she doesn't have money of her own and the scandal of a divorce would destroy his career. He also says Alice is too accustomed to a rich lifestyle and would leave him. Charles helps Joe write a letter to Susan, reaffirming his love for her and promising to break with Alice.
Susan is delighted by the letter and meets Joe at a secluded location near Warley. She demands that he immediately write to Alice breaking off their relationship. Joe refuses because Alice is recovering from major surgery and he wants to tell her in person after she leaves hospital. After an argument, Susan submits to Joe's violent sexual advances, telling him afterwards "You won't need her anymore, will you?"
Two months later, Joe still hasn't spoken with Alice. Susan's father invites Joe to lunch at his club and tells him that Susan is pregnant. He tells Joe that he can marry Susan with his consent on condition that he immediately break with Alice. He also offers Joe a job in his business with a salary of £1,000 per year.
Joe meets Alice at her friend's flat and tells her that he is engaged to Susan and that their relationship is over. After Joe leaves, Alice gets drunk and drives toward Sparrow Hill. She crashes into a wall at high speed, and she is killed. Joe hears of her death the following day and takes a bus to a nearby town where he gets drunk and has sex with a woman he meets in a pub. He collapses in the street, and he eventually is found by two friends from the dramatic society who have been looking for him. He tells them that he killed Alice, and they assure him that no one blames him for her death. He replies that that is the trouble.
A British film adaptation of the same name was made in 1958, directed by Jack Clayton and starring Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton, Simone Signoret as Alice, and Heather Sears as Susan. [2] In 2012, the BBC screened a two-part TV adaptation. [3]
Room at the Top is a 1959 British drama film based on the 1957 novel by John Braine. It was adapted by Neil Paterson, directed by Jack Clayton, and produced by John and James Woolf. The film stars Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit, Donald Houston, and Hermione Baddeley.
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera that aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964, to June 2, 1969.
Ross Geller, portrayed by David Schwimmer, is one of the six main characters of the NBC sitcom Friends. Ross is considered by many to be the most intelligent member of the group and is noted for his goofy but lovable demeanor. His relationship with Rachel Green was included in TV Guide's list of the best TV couples of all time, as well as Entertainment Weekly's "30 Best 'Will They/Won't They?' TV Couples". Kevin Bright, who was one of the executive producers of the show, had worked with Schwimmer before, so the writers were already developing Ross's character in Schwimmer's voice. Hence, Schwimmer was the first person to be cast on the show.
Kevin Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Michael Le Vell, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 19 October 1983. Le Vell was suspended from the soap in February 2013 due to allegations of sexual offences, with scenes he had already filmed cut from broadcast. Le Vell was found not guilty of all charges in September 2013, and briefly returned in early 2014, before taking another 3-month break from the show and returning once again.
Tyrone Dobbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Alan Halsall, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 30 November 1998 and is still a cast member over 20 years later. Tyrone's storylines have been focused on his relationships with Maria Sutherland and Fiz Brown as well as his doomed marriage to Molly Compton and suffering domestic violence at the hands of his fiancée Kirsty Soames. In 2018, following the death of his mother Jackie, Tyrone discovers that Jackie was not his biological mother and while searching for his birth parents, meets his maternal grandmother, Evelyn Plummer.
Miranda Hobbes is a fictional character on the American HBO television series Sex and the City, its subsequent film spinoffs, and HBO Max revival And Just Like That.... She is played by actress Cynthia Nixon. Nixon received an Emmy Award and has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance.
Michael Delfino is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is portrayed by James Denton from the show's inception, until the eighth and final season of the show.
The Clock is a 1945 American romantic drama film starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker and directed by Garland's future husband, Vincente Minnelli. This was Garland's first dramatic role, as well as her first starring vehicle in which she did not sing.
Lyn Scully is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Janet Andrewartha. The character made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 October 1999, along with her family and remained a prominent feature within the show until late 2006. Andrewartha reprised her role for a brief return in 2008 and then returned permanently in August 2009. Lyn departed again on 26 May 2011, so Andrewartha could pursue new acting opportunities. She reprised the role again in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Circle of Friends is a 1995 film directed by Irish filmmaker Pat O'Connor, and based on the 1990 novel of the same name written by Maeve Binchy.
Room at the Top is a 2012 BBC television adaptation by Amanda Coe of John Braine's 1957 novel of the same name, with a cast led by Matthew McNulty, Maxine Peake and Jenna Coleman, and directed by Aisling Walsh.