From Journey's End to The Dam Busters: The Life of R.C. Sherriff, Playwright of the Trenches

by Roland Wales

Overview

Kingston playwright R.C. Sherriff came to fame with his First World War drama Journey’s End, which was based on his own experiences as a young officer on the Western Front. Its success made him a household name and opened the door to a highly lucrative career as a novelist, playwright and screenwriter in Hollywood and in Britain.

Many of his movies – The Invisible Man, Goodbye Mr Chips, The Four Feathers Odd Man Out, Quartet, and, of course, The Dam Busters – are still well known, but the man behind them much less so. This book rediscovers Sherriff using his own words – his letters, diaries, published and unpublished manuscripts – to shed light on a man who ironically gained his greatest success from the trench warfare he found so difficult to bear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473860698
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	03/03/2017
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Roland Wales worked as an economist at the Bank of England for many years, and then as Policy Director at the Labour Party. His previous book, _From Journey’s End to The Dam Busters: The Life of R.C. Sherriff, Playwright of the Trenches_, was published by Pen & Sword in 2016.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Into Uniform, Beginning - 1916 1

Chapter 2 In the Trenches, 1916-19 22

Chapter 3 A Writer in the Making, 1919-26 58

Chapter 4 The Writing of Journey's End, 1927-28 79

Chapter 5 The Aftermath, 1929 103

Chapter 6 What Next? 1930-31 126

Chapter 7 The Universal Years, 1932-35 154

Chapter 8 Pastures New, 1935-37 181

Chapter 9 Korda and MGM, 1937-40 200

Chapter 10 Semi-Official Business, 1940-44 222

Chapter 11 Back to Blighty, 1944-50 248

Chapter 12 Pinnacle, 1950-56 274

Chapter 13 Curtain, 1956-75 305

Conclusion 333

Notes 336

Bibliography 382

Index 387