The heat of the day

by Harold Pinter

First edition, first printing hardcover with unclipped dust jacket in very good condition. Jacket is scuffed, with foxing on the inside and the page block. Edges are a little creased. Page block and page edges are tanned. Binding is sound and pages are clear. LW

103 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 1989

About the author

Harold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993) and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.

Reviews

[Richard Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit to not having read the original novel.

This is a screenplay from 1989 - between Pinter's ferocious political pieces Mountain Language and Party Time. The writing is as taut as you'd expect and the characters are exposed mercilessly. I'm more than curious to track down a DVD copy as these lines must have given the lead actors, Hodge, York and Gambon the chance to really shine. York's character in particular, outwardly charming, inwardly a monster, is one to give you sleepless nights.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s hard to imagine equally liking the teleplay and the novel. I’ve finally found my way into Bowen’s works, and it’s the littlest moments so uniquely wrought that are the draw. Strip those back and you get here a kinda meh double cross spy story grafted onto a weird romance. Read the novel instead.