We Are Not Alone (novel)

We Are Not Alone is a 1937 novel by James Hilton.[2] It is one of his more sombre works, portraying the tragic consequences of anti-foreign hysteria in England just before World War I.[3] It has been compared to Goodbye, Mr. Chips in its portrayal of small-town life through the eyes of an everyman protagonist.[4]

We Are Not Alone
First UK edition of "We Are not Alone" by James Hilton
First UK edition (publ. Macmillan
AuthorJames Hilton
SubjectWorld War I
PublishedBoston: Little, Brown, and Company, 12 March 1937[1]
Media typeBook
Pages231

Synopsis

Dr. Newcome is a beloved doctor in a small English town. His frustrations with his relationships with his wife and son lead to his developing an affair with a German dancer,[5] Leni, whom the family takes on as a governess. When Newcome's wife Jessica is killed under suspicious circumstances, both Dr. Newcome and Leni fall under suspicion. The town's prejudice against Leni as a German leads them to convict her and Dr. Newcome despite only circumstantial evidence.[6][7]

Adaptations

A one-hour radio adaptation by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham was broadcast on the BBC National Programme on 6 April 1938, with a cast that included Emlyn Williams as the doctor, Edgar Norfolk, Gordon McLeod and Nan Marriott-Watson.[8]

It was made into a film with the same title, with the screenplay by the author, in 1939.[9][10][11]

References
  1. "Peabody Bimonthly Booklist". Peabody Journal of Education. 14 (6): 326. 6 May 1937. JSTOR 1487118.
  2. Hilton, James("Glen Trevor") 1900-1954 in Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature Vol. 1 (Web ed.). New York: HarperCollins. 991. p. 453.
  3. Peskowitz, Milton A. (6 June 1942). "Making Sophomores Reading Adults in a Democracy". The English Journal. 31 (6): 450–454. doi:10.2307/806101. JSTOR 806101.
  4. "In Brief Review". The English Journal. 26 (4): 341. 4 April 1927. JSTOR 804234.
  5. "Recent Fiction in Brief". The New Masses. 11 May 1937.
  6. Douglas, Lloyd C. (13 March 1937). "Innocent Doctor". The Saturday Review.
  7. "We Are Not Alone". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  8. "Broadcasting". Arts and Entertainment. The Times. No. 47962. London. 6 April 1938. p. 12.
  9. Nugent, Frank S. (1 December 1939). "From Hollywood". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  10. Agel, Henri; Giraud, Raymond (1956). "Celluloid and the Soul". Yale French Studies (17): 71. doi:10.2307/2929119. JSTOR 2929119.
  11. Ginsberg, Walter (January 1940). "Films for High-School English". The English Journal. 29 (1): 45. doi:10.2307/805636. JSTOR 805636.


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