Fair Stood the Wind for France
![]() First US edition | |
Author | H. E. Bates |
---|---|
Cover artist | Nicholas Panesis |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Publisher | Michael Joseph (UK) Little Brown (US) |
Publication date | 1944 |
Media type | |
OCLC | 220638129 |
Preceded by | 'How Sleep the Brave (1943) |
Followed by | 'The Cruise of the Breadwinner (1946) |
Fair Stood the Wind for France is a novel written by English author H. E. Bates. The novel was first published in 1944 and was Bates's first financial success. The title comes from the first line of "", a poem by Michael Drayton (1563–1631).[1]
Plot introduction[]
The story concerns John Franklin, the pilot of a Wellington bomber, who badly injures his arm when he crash-lands the aircraft in German-occupied France during the Second World War. He and his crew make their way to an isolated farmhouse and are taken in by the family of a French farmer. Plans are made to smuggle them all back to Britain via Vichy-controlled Marseille but Franklin's conditions worsens and he remains at the farm during the hot summer weeks that follow and falls in love with the farmer's daughter Françoise. Eventually they make the hazardous journey together by rowing boat, bicycle and train.
Adaptations[]
The book was adapted into a 4-part television mini-series in 1980 for the BBC, starring as Franklin and Cécile Paoli as Françoise.[2] This production is available on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK. A stage adaptation was produced at the Royal Theatre (Northampton) in April and May 1986. It was written by Gregory Evans, directed by Michael Napier Brown and starred Katharine Schlesinger and Kim Wall. In January 1991 BBC Radio 4 a transmitted a three-part Classic Serial also adapted by Gregory Evans and directed by David Benedictus. In November 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a new two-part dramatisation by Maddy Fredericks in the Classic Serial strand.[3]
Publication history[]
- 1944, UK, Michael Joseph, Hardback
- 1944, US, Little, Brown and Co., Hardback
- 1958, UK, Penguin, Paperback
- 1970, UK, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-001279-6, Paperback
- 1971, UK, Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-582-23330-5, Paperback
- 1977, USSR, Prosveshcheniye Moscow, Paperback, a reader for the 10th form of secondary schools, adapted and commented by L Gruyeva.
- 1983, UK, Chivers, ISBN 0-8511-9242-4, Large print
- 1987, UK, Chivers, ISBN 0-7451-5779-3, Audio cassette, read by Nigel Havers
- 1987, US, G K Hall, ISBN 0-8161-9667-2, Audio cassette
- 1999, US, Blackstone, ISBN 0-7861-1494-0, Audio cassette
- 1999, US, Blackstone, ISBN 0-7861-9935-0, Compact disc
- 2005, UK, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-118816-2, Pub date 07 Apr 2005, Paperback
- 2005, US, Thorndike, ISBN 0-7862-7218-X, Pub date 3 May 2005, Large print (p/b)
- 2005, US, Kessinger, various, on demand
References[]
- ^ Fair Stood the Wind for France Book Review essays
- ^ "Fair Stood the Wind for France (1980)". IMDb. 2 September 1980. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ "Classic Serial: Fair Stood The Wind For France". BBC Radio 4 Programmes. BBC. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
External links[]
- Fair Stood the Wind for France at BBC Online
- Fair Stood the Wind for France at IMDb
- Fair Stood the Wind for France at HEBates.com
- 1944 British novels
- English novels
- Novels set during World War II
- Novels by H. E. Bates
- Michael Joseph books
- Novels set in France
- Aviation novels
- European novel stubs
- 1940s novel stubs
- World War II novel stubs