''Half Broken Things'' is a 2003 psychological thriller novel by Scottish writer

Morag Joss Morag Joss (born in 1955 in England) is a British writer. She became a writer in 1996 after an early career in arts and museum management. Life and career Joss was born in England in 1955 and from the age of four, grew up in Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

. It won the

CWA CWA or Cwa may refer to: Organisations * CWA Constructions, a Swiss manufacturer of gondolas and people mover cabins, a division of Doppelmayr Garaventa Group * Catch Wrestling Association, a former German professional wrestling promotion * Contin ...

Silver Dagger in 2003.

Plot

The lives of three very lonely people—pregnant Steph, on the run from her violent boyfriend; Michael, a

petty thief Theft is the act of taking another person's property or Service (economics), services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal sho ...

who becomes her knight in shining armour; and Jean, a sixty-year-old spinster nearing the end of her career as a house sitter—collide dramatically within the grounds of the illustrious Walden

Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

, where together they seal themselves away from the outside world and build a new life together. The fantasy cannot last forever though, and events take a murderous turn when the first unexpected guest arrives.

Film adaptation

''Half Broken Things'' was adapted for television in 2007, starring Penelope Wilton, Daniel Mays,

Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. A ...

and

Sinead Matthews Sinead Matthews (born ) is an English actress whose credits include film, television and stage. Her notable TV roles include Marcia Williams in ''The Crown''. She was born in Coventry, England, and attended Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School i ...

. The two-hour drama, directed by

Tim Fywell Tim Fywell is an English television and film director. In 2003 he made his first feature debut with ''I Capture the Castle'', an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Dodie Smith. Fywell directed his first Hollywood feature, ''Ice Prince ...

and produced by

Festival Film & TV Festival Film & TV is an independent UK based production company founded in 1992 by award-winning producer Ray Marshall. The company is best known for producing ''The Cookson Dramas'' for ITV. Between 1992 and 2001, Festival produced 15 mini-seri ...

, aired on

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 ...

on 28 October 2007.

Filming locations

The entire 2007 television production was filmed in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, with Boughton Monchelsea Place being the main location, which doubled as Walden Manor.

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

featured briefly at the start of the film as the location where Jean (Wilton) is staying before being handed her final house sitting job. Teston Bridge Country Park also featured briefly in the film as the rural location where Michael (Mays) changes out of disguise and back into his clothes, and the village of

Teston Teston /ˈtiːstən/ The Place Names of Kent,Judith Glover,1976,Batsford. or /ˈtiːsən/ BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names — is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It is located on the A26 road out of Maidston ...

was the setting of the local village, where the post office doubled as Haleton Village Shop.

References

External links

* British crime novels 2003 British novels Hodder & Stoughton books British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into television shows {{2000s-crime-novel-stub