Jack's Return Home
Encyclopedia
Jack's Return Home is a 1970 novel
by British writer Ted Lewis
. An uncompromising novel of a brutal half-world of pool halls, massage parlours and teenage pornography, it was memorably brought to life in the cult film Get Carter
, starring Michael Caine
as Jack Carter. The novel starkly portrays a subsection of society living on the dangerous borderline between crime and respectability. The book was a major influence on the noir school of English crime fiction.
The novel went out of print for many years and slipped into obscurity, but there was a resurgence of interest in it in the 1990s after the 1971 film adaptation, Get Carter
, gradually grew in reputation and was remade
in 2000. The book was republished in paperback under the title Get Carter by Allison & Busby
in 2000.
mob enforcer named Jack Carter who returns to his small hometown near Doncaster
(thought to be Scunthorpe
, although the steeltown to which Jack descends upon is not specifically named as such) to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, with whom he had not spoken in many years. Jack's presence in the town causes unease among the local crime families, who fear that his snooping will interfere with their underworld operations. Everything from simple suggestion to brute force is employed to try to get Jack to leave, but he doggedly refuses, bullying his way through numerous attempts on his life to arrive at the truth, leading to a violent and ambiguous conclusion.
in 1971 and 2000
, and as Hit Man
in 1972.
novels, both written by Lewis.
Scunthorpe
is not named in the novel but the location is fairly easy to identify from Lewis' description and Carter's train journey from Doncaster
at the start of the book.
The character of Jack Carter, though not fully named for copyright reasons, plays a key role in the Alan Moore
& Kevin O'Neill
graphic novel League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969
. The LoEG story takes place during 1969, a year before Jack's visit 'up north' and the events of Jack's Return Home.
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....
by British writer Ted Lewis
Ted Lewis (writer)
Ted Lewis was a British writer.He was born in Manchester, an only child. After World War II the family moved to Barton-on-Humber...
. An uncompromising novel of a brutal half-world of pool halls, massage parlours and teenage pornography, it was memorably brought to life in the cult film Get Carter
Get Carter
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the city of...
, starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Jack Carter. The novel starkly portrays a subsection of society living on the dangerous borderline between crime and respectability. The book was a major influence on the noir school of English crime fiction.
The novel went out of print for many years and slipped into obscurity, but there was a resurgence of interest in it in the 1990s after the 1971 film adaptation, Get Carter
Get Carter
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the city of...
, gradually grew in reputation and was remade
Get Carter (2000 film)
Get Carter is the 2000 remake of the 1971 crime film of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role. The film also features Miranda Richardson, Rachel Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, and Rhona Mitra. Michael Caine, who starred in the original, plays a supporting role...
in 2000. The book was republished in paperback under the title Get Carter by Allison & Busby
Allison & Busby
Allison & Busby is a British publishing house, set up by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher....
in 2000.
Plot summary
Jack's Return Home tells the story of an amoral, pitiless LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
mob enforcer named Jack Carter who returns to his small hometown near Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
(thought to be Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, although the steeltown to which Jack descends upon is not specifically named as such) to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, with whom he had not spoken in many years. Jack's presence in the town causes unease among the local crime families, who fear that his snooping will interfere with their underworld operations. Everything from simple suggestion to brute force is employed to try to get Jack to leave, but he doggedly refuses, bullying his way through numerous attempts on his life to arrive at the truth, leading to a violent and ambiguous conclusion.
Film adaptations
The novel has so far been filmed three times, twice as Get CarterGet Carter
Get Carter is a 1971 British crime film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a gangster who sets out to avenge the death of his brother in a series of unrelenting and brutal killings played out against the grim background of derelict urban housing in the city of...
in 1971 and 2000
Get Carter (2000 film)
Get Carter is the 2000 remake of the 1971 crime film of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role. The film also features Miranda Richardson, Rachel Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, and Rhona Mitra. Michael Caine, who starred in the original, plays a supporting role...
, and as Hit Man
Hit Man (film)
Hit Man is a 1972 American Crime film directed by George Armitage and starring Bernie Casey, Pam Grier and Lisa Moore. It is based on the Ted Lewis's novel Jack's Return Home, more famously adapted as Get Carter, with the action relocated from Britain to the United States.-Plot :Tyrone Tackett, ...
in 1972.
Further Carter novels
Jack Carter was featured in two prequelPrequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
novels, both written by Lewis.
- Jack Carter and the Law (a.k.a. Jack Carter's LawJack Carter's LawJack Carter's Law is a 1974 British crime novel written by Ted Lewis. It is a prequel to Lewis' best known work, Jack's Return Home which was adapted into the film Get Carter in 1971. On Christmas Eve, Jack Carter learns that a supergrass is about to inform to the police and put him and his...
) - Jack Carter and the Mafia Pigeon
Trivia
The first reprinting of the paperback which tied in with the film version was published under the title "Carter" (Pan Books 1971, ISBN 0 330 02620 8). All references on the cover of the book also refer to the film under this title.Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
is not named in the novel but the location is fairly easy to identify from Lewis' description and Carter's train journey from Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
at the start of the book.
The character of Jack Carter, though not fully named for copyright reasons, plays a key role in the Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
& Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
graphic novel League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century is the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. Co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics in the US and UK respectively, Century will be published in...
. The LoEG story takes place during 1969, a year before Jack's visit 'up north' and the events of Jack's Return Home.