Apple Tree Yard: From the writer of BBC smash hit drama 'Crossfire'

Product Information

There is a strong message here that – contrary to what you might be led to believe from Every Other Drama On Television – female sexuality doesn’t suddenly end at 35, but can become more powerful and more profound. Certainly for Yvonne it does, even if it somehow leads her to court. In the aftermath of what has happened, a devastated Yvonne shuts down. She feels unable to talk to the police or her husband, but as a campaign of terror is mounted against her, she is pushed to her limits and turns to her former lover, Costley, for advice. They meet for one last time and share a passionate afternoon together, before Costley takes control of the situation and Yvonne is plunged from one nightmare into another. Become a Faber Member for free and receive curated book recommendations, special competitions and exclusive discounts. Like all tragic figures, Yvonne has a lot to lose. She is happily married to a fellow research scientist with two grown-up children and an esteemed academic record: “I am fifty-two. I have status and gravitas – when I don’t have my tights round my ankles in a secluded chapel beneath the Houses of Parliament, that is.” Yet the analytical part of her mind cannot help but try to determine the significance of the anomaly: “In science we accept aberrations. It is only when aberrations keep happening that we stop and try and look for a pattern.”

Vincent, Alice (23 January 2017). "Emily Watson felt 'traumatised' by Apple Tree Yard rape scene". The Telegraph. Award-winning writer Hilary Mantel comments hauntingly about this story: ‘There cannot be a woman alive who hasn’t once realised, in a moment of panic, that she is in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong man.’

Find a Book

Anyway, for Yvonne, he is not just good in the cul-de-sac, but awakens something deep in her, something she didn’t know was there. “Sex with you is like being eaten by a wolf,” she writes. And that’s good? Well, it puts a new spin on the Little Red Riding Hood story. Actually, make Yvonne the grandmother, because that’s marginally less seedy, and she is just about to become a granny – her daughter announces she’s pregnant. Faber & Faber was founded nearly a century ago, in 1929. Read about our long publishing history in a decade-by-decade account. Later, at home, Yvonne can scarcely believe what she has done: it is totally out of character. But in the days to come, she becomes obsessed with finding her random lover again, and succeeds in doing so.

MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window) Emily Watson’s character, Yvonne Carmichael, looks out of the window as the vehicle in which she is travelling crosses a bridge over the Thames in London. She reflects on human nature, on the choices we make, how fear turns us into animals. The Thames can make you reflect, although Yvonne has more reason to do so than most. She is not on a bus, but in a prisoner transport van, possibly operated by G4S. She is cuffed and on the way to court, to be tried for murder. So begins this four-part adaptation of novelist (and Christmas University Challenge finalist) Louise Doughty’s psychological thriller Apple Tree Yard (BBC1, Sunday).verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Faber Members have access to live and online events, special editions and book promotions, and articles and quizzes through our weekly e-newsletter. Her trial in the Old Bailey is less concerned with DNA evidence, finally hinging on a much more observable detail: the London laneway that she and her secret lover slipped into, at the start of a horrifically fateful night. The side street, sheltered from prying eye and CCTV, gives Doughty’s her title, and a compelling four-part adaptation of the book gives BBC drama a much-needed boost in credibility (BBC One, Monday, 9pm). For its excellent supporting role, London is rewarded with an unlikely new tourist spot: a photo op for fans of forbidden fruit. International Emmy Award Nominations Unveiled". Variety. 27 September 2018 . Retrieved 27 November 2018.