Figures in a Landscape
Encyclopedia
Figures in a Landscape was Barry England
's first novel
. Published by Jonathan Cape
in the summer of 1968, it was hailed by critics as an exemplary addition to the literature of escape. Two professional soldiers, Ansell and MacConnachie, have escaped from a column of POWs in an unnamed country in the tropics. Safety across the border lies 400 miles away; in the meantime, they must make their way through alien territory, battling the climate and the terrain as well as the enemy's soldiers and helicopters. The Times
called the book "a fiercely masochistic accomplishment" and concluded another review as follows:
Figures in a Landscape was nominated for the inaugural Booker Prize (losing out to PH Newby's Something to Answer For
) but won the Author's Club First Novel Award
. The novel was made into a film
by famed director Joseph Losey
in 1970, and featured Robert Shaw
and Malcolm McDowell
in the two main roles.
Barry England
Barry England was an English novelist and playwright. He is chiefly known for his 1969 thriller Figures in a Landscape, which was nominated for the inaugural Booker Prize.-Life and work:...
's first novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
. Published by Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
in the summer of 1968, it was hailed by critics as an exemplary addition to the literature of escape. Two professional soldiers, Ansell and MacConnachie, have escaped from a column of POWs in an unnamed country in the tropics. Safety across the border lies 400 miles away; in the meantime, they must make their way through alien territory, battling the climate and the terrain as well as the enemy's soldiers and helicopters. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called the book "a fiercely masochistic accomplishment" and concluded another review as follows:
-
- "Barry England's prose has the tough, spare elegance of steel scaffoldingScaffoldingScaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes or tubes, although it can be from other materials...
. His vocabulary is wide, and used with arresting precision. The speed of the narrative is impeccably controlled - long slogs over country, moments of blind panic, passages of demoralizing inactivity, hair-raising evasions, all building up to a central set-piece in a burning field. On all levels, Figures in a Landscape is a brilliant achievement." -- Roger BakerRoger BakerRoger Lewis Baker is an American former handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics.He was born in Hood River, Oregon....
in the Times, June 08, 1968
- "Barry England's prose has the tough, spare elegance of steel scaffolding
Figures in a Landscape was nominated for the inaugural Booker Prize (losing out to PH Newby's Something to Answer For
Something to Answer For
Something to Answer For is a novel by the English author P. H. Newby. Its chief claim to fame is that it was the winner of the inaugural Booker Prize, which would go on to become one of the major literary awards in the English-speaking world....
) but won the Author's Club First Novel Award
Author's Club First Novel Award
Authors' Club Best First Novel Award is awarded by the Authors' Club to the most promising first novel of the year, written by a British author and published in the UK during the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is presented....
. The novel was made into a film
Figures in a Landscape (film)
Figures in a Landscape is a 1970 British film directed by Joseph Losey and written by star Robert Shaw. It is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Barry England.-Synopsis:...
by famed director Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
in 1970, and featured Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
and Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
in the two main roles.