''Falling'' is a 1999 novel by British writer

Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Jane Howard, Lady Amis (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist, author of 12 novels including the best-selling series ''The'' ''Cazalet Chronicles''. Early life Howard's parents were timber-merchant Major David L ...

. It was later filmed as a drama for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Plot summary

The book tells the story of a relationship that develops between Henry Kent, a

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

and fantasist who preys on lonely rich women, and Daisy Langrish, an ageing

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

with two broken marriages behind her. After meeting Daisy—who has recently bought a cottage in order to start a new life in the country—Henry quickly falls in love with her, and sets about tricking his way into her confidence. He initially offers to become her gardener—something she reluctantly accepts—then later begins to correspond with her after she suffers an accident during a prolonged trip abroad. These letters start as run of the mill pieces, but as he perceives that she is taking an interest in him, Henry begins to weave her a series of elaborate stories about his life, designed to gain her attention and win her affection. When Daisy eventually returns home and Henry makes himself indispensable to her after she suffers a fall, they begin an affair. But when Daisy's family and friends learn about the nature of the relationship, they become concerned and start to investigate Henry. However, they soon begin to fear that the facts they unearth about his past might have come to light too late to save Daisy from harm. Howard wrote this novel based on her real life affair with a con-man, as described in her memoir, ''Slipstream''.

Television adaptation

In 2005, the book was made into a drama for

, starring Michael Kitchen and

Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946), styled Penelope, Lady Holm between 1998 and 2001, is an English actress. She is known for starring opposite Richard Briers in the BBC sitcom ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–1989); playing H ...

. It was directed by

Tristram Powell Tristram Roger Dymoke Powell'Powell of The Chantry' pedigree, Burke's Peerage website (born 25 April 1940) is an English television and film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include ''American Friends'', episodes of series Foyle's ...

and the screenplay was written by Andrew Davies. Filming took place in Autumn 2004, in locations across

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

and

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, along with the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

References

External links

* * Elizabeth Jane Howard: ''Falling'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Falling (Novel) 1999 British novels 2005 television films 2005 films Films set in England Television shows set in England Films shot in Leeds Films shot in Wakefield Films shot in Bradford Television shows shot in Leeds Television shows shot in Wakefield Television shows shot in Bradford Novels about writers British novels adapted into films British television films Macmillan Publishers books