Three Into Two Won't Go

by Andrea Newman

Steven and Frances are struggling to save their she wants a child and he wants sexual variety. Can Ella satisfy them both, or is she playing a dangerous game of her own? Divide three into two and there's always one over.

Paperback

First published June 1, 1967

About the author

Andrea 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.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1967, though not by Penguin, and very much of its time. A triangle with a difference and with tension since who is telling the truth? At a time when even a twenty year age difference exposes a culture gap.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The tension mounts, the characters are on edge, and all in all it moves quickly to an ending that I never saw coming!
I'd love to read more by this author.

[Tarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:

Steve, a travelling salesman, has an affair with a young hitchhiker called Ella to emotionally get away from his loveless marriage to his wife Frances. However, Steve starts to become weary of Ella when she tracks him down & tries to insert herself into both his & Frances’ lives….

My Thoughts:

I really liked this book. The three main characters are interesting. There’s plenty of tension & it moves at lightning speed to a shocking conclusion.

My Rating: * * * *

[David Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great writer because she has a very clear transparent style, and tackles human relationships in a direct, insightful, unpretentious way. This is an interesting sixties period piece, a nice length, a good story, clearly drawn characters. Easy to read, but not shallow.

[Helen Geng]

From bookishly UK