Peter Manson's apparently successful life is turned upside down when his beloved teenage daughter Prue reveals she's pregnant by her teacher, Gavin Sorenson. The very heart of the family is threatened as Peter has an intuitive sense that Gavin is on a personal quest for revenge. As Peter becomes consumed by anxiety for his daughter, hatred of his son in law and lust for his secretary, his relationship with his wife, Cassie, becomes increasingly distant. With Peter's marriage at breaking point and facing financial ruin, it's only a matter of time before secrets from the past return to haunt their lives. Famously controversial, the 1970s TV adaptation of A Bouquet of Barbed Wire was watched by 26 million people. ITV's new version is written by Guy Andrews (Lost in Austen, Prime Suspect) and will star Trevor Eve, Hermione Norris and Imogen Poots.
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`Gripping... its fast pace and snappy dialogue ultimately allow the novel to transcend the time it so vividly captures' -- Irish Times
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A new TV tie-in edition of the taboo-busting psychological drama
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Roman Clodia
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Peter Manson is confronting middle age, and his relationships with all the women around him seem to be an indicator of this: his stay-at-home, comfortable wife Cassie, his new secretary Sarah and, most of all, his recently married and pregnant daughter Prue. In the short time period covered by the novel, everyone's life is overturned and things will never be the same again.
I'm not old enough to remember the infamous TV series but I do remember someone at school sneaking the book in from their mum and us all passing it around as young teens. Re-reading it now, it's far more drawn out and both less sensationalist and less menacing than I remember.
Much is written from inside Peter's head with some of the other scenes focusing on the other characters which makes it feel a little jumpy at times, not quite a smooth and flowing narrative. Published in 1969, this almost feel like an alien world: businessmen still have secretaries to whom they dictate letters; and a woman working is both an option and almost an indulgence.
If you come to this from the 2010 TV series, then prepare for quite a few changes both in setting (Peter is a publisher, not an architect; Gavin is an American student; Cassie hasn't ever worked) as well as in interpretation. Most strikingly, Prue is 19 and at college where she meets Gavin who is more or less the same age, which places their relationship in a very different power dynamic to that in the series where she's still at school and he's her teacher. Prue in the book is far less of a victim and much more complicit in all her relationships (Peter at one point sees her as the puppet-master behind events) which I think makes the story both different and more interesting.
So overall this is a gripping read that still manages to be almost shocking in 2010.
I'm not old enough to remember the infamous TV series but I do remember someone at school sneaking the book in from their mum and us all passing it around as young teens. Re-reading it now, it's far more drawn out and both less sensationalist and less menacing than I remember.
Much is written from inside Peter's head with some of the other scenes focusing on the other characters which makes it feel a little jumpy at times, not quite a smooth and flowing narrative. Published in 1969, this almost feel like an alien world: businessmen still have secretaries to whom they dictate letters; and a woman working is both an option and almost an indulgence.
If you come to this from the 2010 TV series, then prepare for quite a few changes both in setting (Peter is a publisher, not an architect; Gavin is an American student; Cassie hasn't ever worked) as well as in interpretation. Most strikingly, Prue is 19 and at college where she meets Gavin who is more or less the same age, which places their relationship in a very different power dynamic to that in the series where she's still at school and he's her teacher. Prue in the book is far less of a victim and much more complicit in all her relationships (Peter at one point sees her as the puppet-master behind events) which I think makes the story both different and more interesting.
So overall this is a gripping read that still manages to be almost shocking in 2010.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's a good story which we enjoyed reading and watching in the seventies. Just be aware that this book is the 1969 original and is NOT the book of the current TV production. While the cover states "the classic bestseller by Andrea Newman", it also misleads by saying "brand new ITV drama", with a picture of the current production on the cover and, incredibly, a synopsis of the new version (with Gavin as teacher, not fellow student) on the back.
By butterley
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have the original book from the 1970's TV production with Frank Finlay and pages are falling out etc, so to have it on my kindle is great. Quite a disturbing book in its way, and you can see how an obsessive father's love could degenerate in to abuse.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
bouquet of barbed wire
This book is suprisingly quiet different to the tv version, I was half way through it before it got going, however I am enjoying it now, and rushing to finish it.
Published on 27 Oct 2010 by joanna
5.0 out of 5 stars
rivetting!!
After watching the series & remembering the former one, I wanted to read the "old" version.
I found the book absolutely rivetting!! Read more
I found the book absolutely rivetting!! Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2010 by Mary
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