The Servant by Robin Maugham and Dr Strangelove by Peter George
The Servant by Robin Maugham and Dr Strangelove by Peter George
Having always disliked 'film' books in the past, I was won over by Neville Smith's Gumshoe, which is brilliant. Turning scripts into books can be a great addition to a great film. The problem with Dr Strangelove, for example, is 'why bother?' It is so familiar - great fun and so on - but having seen the film several times you end up questioning the book's purpose. Robin Maugham's
The Servant, on the other hand, gives us an opportunity to discover afresh a compelling narrative which, at the very least, has you reassessing one of the key British films of the 1960s. It also draws our attention to Maugham's writing. Neil Bartlet's excellent introduction highlights its pivotal role in gay fiction, and the fact that Maugham thought the film a travesty makes the book worth reading. At times clumsy and heavy handed it makes for a compelling read. One of the enduring images of Dr Strangelove is the start of a nuclear war over General Ripper's vital fluids. Maugham's haunting novella meanwhile helps to debunk all those myths about safe and normal relationships. With the US still testing Star Wars and Clause 28 still alive and well in middle England, these two books serve as a timely reminder - if you need it - that nothing is safe and normal - if it ever was.
