''We Are Not Alone'' is a 1937 novel by James Hilton. It is one of his more sombre works, portraying the tragic consequences of anti-foreign hysteria in England just before World War I. It has been compared to ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

'' in its portrayal of small-town life through the eyes of an everyman protagonist.

Synopsis

Dr. Newcome is a beloved doctor in a small English town. His frustrations with his relationships with his wife and son lead to his developing an affair with a German dancer, Leni, whom the family takes on as a governess. When Newcome's wife Jessica is killed under suspicious circumstances, both Dr. Newcome and Leni fall under suspicion. The town's prejudice against Leni as a German leads them to convict her and Dr. Newcome despite only circumstantial evidence.

Adaptations

A one-hour radio adaptation by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham was broadcast on the BBC National Programme on 6 April 1938, with a cast that included Emlyn Williams as the doctor,

Edgar Norfolk Edgar Norfolk (5 November 1893 – 1980) was a British actor. Norfolk was born Edgar Greenwood. He was the first husband of the actress Helen Saintsbury (a daughter of the actor H.A. Saintsbury); her second husband, Captain Buckley Rutherford, a ...

, Gordon McLeod and

Nan Marriott-Watson Nan Marriott-Watson was a British character actress and Broadway theatre performer born 31 August 1899 in West Derby, Lancashire. A character actress in the 1950s, 60s and '70s, she played the famous character of Doris Archer in The Archers from 1 ...

. It was made into a film with the same title, with the screenplay by the author, in 1939.

References

1937 British novels Novels set during World War I British novels adapted into films Novels by James Hilton Novels set in England Novels about racism Macmillan Publishers books {{1930s-WWI-novel-stub