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A Share of the World
Andrea Newman's first novel is a devastating account of student life in the early sixties.
- GenresFiction
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Andrea Newman
62 books14 followersAndrea Newman (born 7 February 1938 in Dover, Kent) is an English author.
An only child, she taught at a grammar school after graduating with a degree in English from the Westfield College, University of London. A film version of her 1967 novel Three Into Two Won't Go, with a screenplay by Edna O'Brien, was released in 1969. It stars Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom, and was directed by Peter Hall.
Newman adapted her sixth novel A Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1969) for London Weekend Television (LWT) in 1976, as a seven-part serial. Newman recalled her work in 2010 at the time when it was being remade: "I never set out to shock, just to tell a story about an imaginary family, but I imagine most people would still disapprove of hitting your pregnant wife and having sex with her mother." The dramatisation was a popular success; its sequel, Another Bouquet, followed in 1977.
Another similar novel, Mackenzie, was dramatized by the BBC in 1980, starring Jack Galloway, Lynda Bellingham and Tracey Ullman. This adaptation was followed by Alexa (1968 – adapted for the BBC, 1982), A Sense of Guilt (1988 – adapted for the BBC, 1990), and An Evil Streak (1977 – adapted for LWT, 1999). In 2001, Newman was the writer for the television drama Pretending to Be Judith.
Her other novels include A Share of the World (1964), Mirage (1965), The Cage (1966) and A Gift of Poison (1991). A book of 15 short stories, Triangles, was published in 1990. It has been remarked that a frequent theme in Andrea Newman's novels is that with the advent of a baby, the family disintegrates.
An only child, she taught at a grammar school after graduating with a degree in English from the Westfield College, University of London. A film version of her 1967 novel Three Into Two Won't Go, with a screenplay by Edna O'Brien, was released in 1969. It stars Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom, and was directed by Peter Hall.
Newman adapted her sixth novel A Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1969) for London Weekend Television (LWT) in 1976, as a seven-part serial. Newman recalled her work in 2010 at the time when it was being remade: "I never set out to shock, just to tell a story about an imaginary family, but I imagine most people would still disapprove of hitting your pregnant wife and having sex with her mother." The dramatisation was a popular success; its sequel, Another Bouquet, followed in 1977.
Another similar novel, Mackenzie, was dramatized by the BBC in 1980, starring Jack Galloway, Lynda Bellingham and Tracey Ullman. This adaptation was followed by Alexa (1968 – adapted for the BBC, 1982), A Sense of Guilt (1988 – adapted for the BBC, 1990), and An Evil Streak (1977 – adapted for LWT, 1999). In 2001, Newman was the writer for the television drama Pretending to Be Judith.
Her other novels include A Share of the World (1964), Mirage (1965), The Cage (1966) and A Gift of Poison (1991). A book of 15 short stories, Triangles, was published in 1990. It has been remarked that a frequent theme in Andrea Newman's novels is that with the advent of a baby, the family disintegrates.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 22, 2019
Andrea Newman was a very close friend of my Mums, and she recently passed away so I thought it fitting to read the first book that she had published in 1964.
While writing in the 60s brings about its fair share of problematic views (homophobia, racism, classism to name a few) it was no doubt a pioneering text in the way it described female relationships and sexual desires in so candid and open a manner.
When I emailed my granny to let her know my thoughts on the novel and also how i could compare it to my own life as a young woman finding herself at university, She simply wrote back, “Hi Es, brief one. Glad you enjoyed Share of the World. They didn't half knock back the coffee and fags!!!” which I think sums up life in the 60s as well as anyone could.
While writing in the 60s brings about its fair share of problematic views (homophobia, racism, classism to name a few) it was no doubt a pioneering text in the way it described female relationships and sexual desires in so candid and open a manner.
When I emailed my granny to let her know my thoughts on the novel and also how i could compare it to my own life as a young woman finding herself at university, She simply wrote back, “Hi Es, brief one. Glad you enjoyed Share of the World. They didn't half knock back the coffee and fags!!!” which I think sums up life in the 60s as well as anyone could.
October 21, 2022
Loved it. Perfect dialogue. Somewhat plotless, which usually kills a book for me, but this was superb.
April 10, 2021
I found this book very interesting and I love the way it portraits the society so well and what it feels like to be a girl.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews