Gentleman and Ladies

1968 novel by Susan Hill

Gentleman and Ladies

First edition

Author| Susan Hill
Language| English
Publisher| Hamish Hamilton (UK)
Walker & Co. (US)

Publication date

| 1968
Publication place| United Kingdom

Gentleman and Ladies is a novel by English author Susan Hill, published in 1968, runner-up for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.[1] It is notable in exploring themes of death, mental health, and elderly well-being, despite Hill's relative youth at the time of writing.[2][3]

## Plot reception

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The story begins at a funeral in the village of Haverstock and ends at a wedding. A stranger appears at the funeral of Faith Lavender, holding stolen snowdrops. Faith's two sisters and neighbours are perplexed by the man, and soon 'undercurrents of fierce emotion, that until now have been suppressed, reach the surface while the tensions rise'.[4]

## Reception

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In The New York Times, Hill's style is "Briskly impressionistic is better than its substance. Bits and pieces of life among these English senior citizens are sharply illuminated, but the book as a whole has the texture of a soap opera".[5]

## Adaptation

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BBC Radio 4 produced an adaptation of a radio play in January 1993 featuring Patricia Hayes, Stephanie Cole, Sian Phillips, Gwen Watford and Anna Cropper.[6][7]

## References

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1. ^ Foreword to A Change for the Better, Penguin 1980 edition.
2. ^ "Gentleman and Ladies". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
3. ^ James Hogg; Karl Hubmayer; Dorothea Steiner (1990). English Language and Literature: Positions & Dispositions. Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik der Universität Salzburg. ISBN 978-0-7734-0559-2.
4. ^ Penguin 1980 edition, back cover
5. ^ The New York Times, March 30, 1969, page 43.
6. ^ BBC Radio 4 Extra: Susan Hill - Gentleman and Ladies Retrieved 25/9/21.
7. ^ First broadcast: Thu 7th Jan 1993, 10:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM Retrieved 25/9/21.

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Works by Susan Hill

Novels|

* The Enclosure (1961)
* Do Me a Favour (1963)
* Gentleman and Ladies (1968)
* A Change for the Better (1969)
* I'm the King of the Castle (1970)
* Strange Meeting (1971)
* The Bird of Night (1972)
* In the Springtime of the Year (1973)
* The Woman in Black (1983)
* Air and Angels (1991)
* The Mist in the Mirror (1992)
* Mrs de Winter (1993)
* The Service of Clouds (1998)
* The Man in the Picture (2007)
* The Beacon (2008)
* The Small Hand (2010)
* A Kind Man (2011)
* Dolly: A Ghost Story (2012)
* Black Sheep (2013)
* From the Heart (2017)

| Simon Serrailler crime novels|

* The Various Haunts of Men (2004)
* The Pure in Heart (2005)
* The Risk of Darkness (2006)
* The Vows of Silence (2008)
* Shadows in the Streets (2010)
* The Betrayal of Trust (2011)
* A Question of Identity (2012)
* The Soul of Discretion (2014)
* The Comforts of Home (2018)
* The Benefit of Hindsight (2019)

|

Short story collections|

* The Albatross and Other Stories (1970)
* A Bit of Singing and Dancing (1973)
* Listening to the Orchestra (1997)
* The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read (2003)
* Farthing House (2006)
* The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories (2016)

Adaptations|

* The Woman in Black (1989 film)
* Je suis le seigneur du château (1989)
* The Woman in Black (2012 film)
* The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014)
* Susan Hill's Ghost Story (2019)

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