Sweet William is a 1980 British drama film directed by Claude Whatham and starring Sam Waterston, Jenny Agutter, Geraldine James, Anna Massey, Arthur Lowe, Tim Pigott-Smith and Melvyn Bragg.[1][2][3] It is based on the 1975 novel of the same title by Beryl Bainbridge.
Notes [link]
- ^ Monthly Film Bulletin review; 1980, page 96.
- ^ Variety film review; April 2, 1980.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (18 June 1982), "Sweet William (1979)", New York Times, https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D05E6DA103BF93BA25755C0A964948260
External links [link]
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Dianthus barbatus
Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William) is a species of Dianthus native to southern Europe and parts of Asia which has become a popular ornamental garden plant. It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 30–75 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems. Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals displaying serrated edges. Wild plants produce red flowers with a white base, but colours in cultivars range from white, pink, red, and purple to variegated patterns. The exact origin of its English common name is unknown but first appears in 1596 in botanist John Gerard's garden catalogue. The flowers are edible and may have medicinal properties. Sweet William attracts bees, birds, and butterflies.
Description
Sweet William is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant native to the mountains of southern Europe from the Pyrenees east to the Carpathians and the Balkans, with a variety disjunct in northeastern China, Korea, and southeasternmost Russia. It grows to 30–75 cm tall, with green to glaucous blue-green tapered leaves 4–10 cm long and 1–2 cm broad. The flowers are produced in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems and have a spicy, clove-like scent; each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals with serrated edges; in wild plants the petals are red with a white base.
Sweet William (novel)
Sweet William is a 1975 novel written by Beryl Bainbridge, it was made into a 1980 film of the same name (starring Jenny Agutter and Sam Waterston) for which Bainbridge wrote the screenplay.
Plot Introduction
Ann lives in Hampstead and works for the BBC in Bush House in London. She is recently engaged but her academic fiance Gerald is leaving for America, intending her to follow. Shortly afterwards she meets William, a Scottish playwright who sweeps her off her feet and moves in. Within days she has "encouraged adultery, committed a breach of promise, given up her job, abetted an abortion". But William's a compulsive philanderer, twisting the truth to cover his tracks...
Inspiration
She based the title character on writer Alan Sharp with whom she had a daughter, "I didn’t exaggerate his character" recalled Beryl Bainbridge of her muse. "If anything I toned him down.".
Reception
Katha Pollitt in The New York Times described the novel as being both witty and subtly and ominously grotesque, she finishes her review with "This is a strange, sly novel with a great deal to say about the mixture of resentment and dependency often mistaken for love."
Sweet William (story collection)
Sweet William is the eighteenth short story collection in the Just William series by Richmal Crompton. The book contains 10 short stories and was first published in 1936. It is illustrated by Thomas Henry.
The Stories are:
