Page to screen: Lume books with film adaptations & more
Oscar season is upon us: the months of the year in which Hollywood studios release their biggest films, hoping to win at the Academy Awards. And every year, among the most anticipated films of the season are those adapted from books. This year, filmmakers have taken inspiration from Camille DeAngelis’ YA novel Bones and All, as well as Women Talking by Miriam Toews.
But what of Lume’s titles? Sure enough, we have some brilliant books in our archives that have been brought to life in glorious technicolour. Keep scrolling to find out more.
“The most spectacularly powerful novel since Bridge Over the River Kwai…a crescendo of excitement” – The New York Times
A brutal story of British detention camps, the will to survive, and one man’s vicious lust for power, The Hill is the novel that inspired the 1965 blockbuster film of the same name starring Sean Connery and Michael Redgrave. Ray Rigby’s screenplay won at the Cannes Film Festival, and the film was nominated for six BAFTAs.
“The Horse’s Mouth has the kick of ten stallions. Mr Joyce Cary writes at top pace, at the top of his voice, and the top of his form” – The Observer
Cary’s acclaimed novel is a searing portrait of the artistic temperament. Alec Guinness wrote the Academy Award-nominated screenplay and played the lead role of Gulley Simpson, a charming, impoverished painter living in London.
“It deserves its success. It is very far from being a mere frivolous bestseller” – Anthony Burgess
John Braine’s celebrated first novel, Room at the Top, was adapted for the screen in an Oscar-winning film starring Laurence Harvey. In the sequel, Life at the Top, protagonist Joe Lampton realises that while he’s achieved all he dreamed of, it’s not enough. According to Arthur Calder-Marshall, Braine “brilliantly repeated the success of his first novel”, and the book was adapted for the screen in 1965.
“An immaculately researched history of expeditions and political intrigues” – Country Life
Looking for a nonfiction read? The Hunt for Zerzura is the fascinating true story behind the six-time Academy Award-winning film The English Patient, and the Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name.
In the 1930s, the Zerzura Club met annually at the Cafe Royal in London. Ostensibly, its members were adventurers searching for the lost oases and ancient cities. In reality they were mapping the desert for military reasons.
“Thanks to his reporting, and to this chronicle, we understand better one of the great horrors of the last century” – Tim Snyder, Author of The Bloodlands
In More than a Grain of Truth, Siriol Colley documents the fascinating life of her uncle, Gareth Jones, one of Wales’ finest investigative journalists and a former private secretary to David Lloyd George. Written using his letters, articles, and diaries, it is the official true story behind the biographical thriller Mr. Jones, starring James Norton.
An insight into the working methods of one of the great artists of the 20th century.
If you prefer to see behind the silver screen in a slightly different way, check out this memoir from Oscar-winning screenwriter and novelist Frederic Raphael, which charts the relationship he developed with the reclusive genius of film, Stanley Kubrick, as they worked together on Eyes Wide Shut.
What’s your favourite page to screen adaptation? Are there any that you hate? Find us on socials and let us know!
