They Knew Mr. Knight (novel)

They Knew Mr. Knight is a 1934 dramatic novel by the British writer Dorothy Whipple.[1]

They Knew Mr. Knight
AuthorDorothy Whipple
LanguageEnglish
GenreMelodrama
PublisherFarrar & Rinehart
Publication date
1934
Media typePrint
ISBN9781903155080 (republished: Persephone Books, 2000)

Synopsis edit

Tom Blake, a factory worker, becomes involved with a shady financier known as Mr. Knight. Guided by Knight, Blake becomes involved in series of bad investments and fraud. He is arrested and sent to jail. On his release, Blake has to come to terms with the difficult prospect of reintegrating into society.

Critical reception edit

The Times Literary Supplement wrote, "the portraits in the book are fired by Mrs Whipple's article of faith – the supreme importance of people"; while The Sunday Telegraph called the novel a "real treat."[2]

Adaptation edit

The novel was adapted into a 1946 film of the same title directed by Norman Walker and starring Mervyn Johns, Joan Greenwood and Alfred Drayton.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Dorothy Whipple. "Editions of They Knew Mr. Knight by Dorothy Whipple". goodreads.com.
  2. ^ "They Knew Mr Knight". persephonebooks.co.uk.
  3. ^ Murphy p.63-65

External links edit

Bibliography edit

  • Murphy, Robert. Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48. Routledge, 1992.