''The Affair'' is the eighth book in

C. P. Snow Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclope ...

's ''

Strangers and Brothers ''Strangers and Brothers'' is a series of novels by C. P. Snow, published between 1940 and 1970. They deal with – among other things – questions of political and personal integrity, and the mechanics of exercising power. Plot All eleven ...

'' series. The events return to the Cambridge college of ''

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

''. It is once again narrated by Lewis Eliot.

Plot synopsis

An unpopular academic, Dr Donald Howard, is dismissed from the college for fraud. Doubt soon arises as to the evidence and the fellows are divided into two camps, those who are reluctant to reopen the case and others who override the board. Eliot handles the defence in the proceedings.

Reception

In a 1960 book review in ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called the book " heone in which Mr. Snow's special talents have their best application... It is a scrupulous, equable, stimulating, passionless examination of human conduct—and C.P. Snow's considered almost flat prose is often deceptive so subtle are many of the intentions and revelations which ensue. His audience by now is most secure." Michael Millgate, writing for ''

Commentary Magazine ''Commentary'' is a monthly American magazine on religion, Judaism, and politics, as well as social and cultural issues. Founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945 under Elliot E. Cohen, editor from 1945 to 1959, ''Commentary'' magazine dev ...

'', wrote the book "does not have quite the claustrophobic intensity of 'The Masters'' but to look for these things in The Affair to the extent that they are present in The Masters is to misunderstand what Snow is about... the action is sufficiently compelling, both in its psychological complexity and its narrative excitement, to enable the book to stand firmly alone in its own right. But to be fully understood and appreciated The Affair needs to be read in the context of the whole ''Strangers and Brothers'' sequence.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted as a 1962 play by

Ronald Millar Sir Ronald Graeme Millar (12 November 1919 – 16 April 1998) was an English actor, scriptwriter, and dramatist. Life and career After attending Charterhouse School, Millar studied at King's College, Cambridge for a year before joining th ...

and also adapted as a

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

for Australian TV in 1965. It was adapted for the ''BBC Sunday-Night Play'' with John Clements as Eliot and Alan Dobie as Howard.

Cyril Luckham Cyril Alexander Garland Luckham (25 July 1907 – 8 February 1989) was an English film, television and theatre actor. He was the husband of stage and screen actress Violet Lamb. Career The son of a paymaster captain in the Royal Navy, Cyril Lu ...

, who had played Eustace Pilbrow in the television series ''Strangers and Brothers'' plays Francis Getliffe.

References

External links

* 1960 British novels English novels Novels by C. P. Snow British political novels Macmillan Publishers books Campus novels British novels adapted into plays British novels adapted into television shows Novels about academic scandals {{1960s-poli-novel-stub