Their Finest
  • Published: 1 September 2010
  • ISBN: 9781409080190
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416

Their Finest

Now a major film starring Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy

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A black comedy about the making of a propaganda film in World War II, destined to become a classic britflick

'This is a comic novel, but far warmer in tone and broader in scope than that label would suggest....Gloriously observed... Delicious.' - Times (London)

In a man's world, it's up to Catrin Cole to lift the spirits of a nation...

It's 1940. In a small advertising agency in Soho, Catrin writes snappy lines for Vida Elastic and So-Bee-Fee gravy browning. But the country is in peril, all skills are transferable and there's a place in the war effort for those who have a knack with words.

Catrin is conscripted into the world of propaganda films. After a short spell promoting the joy of swedes for the Ministry of Food, she finds herself writing dialogue alongside scriptwriter Tom Buckley, for a heart-warming but not-quite-true story of rescue and romance on the beaches of Dunkirk.

And as bombs start to fall on London, she discovers that there's just as much drama, comedy and love behind the scenes as there is in front of the camera . . .
  • Published: 1 September 2010
  • ISBN: 9781409080190
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416
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About the author

Lissa Evans

Lissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including Their Finest Hour and a Half, longlisted for the Orange Prize, Small Change for Stuart, shortlisted for many awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Book Awards and Crooked Heart, longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.

portrait photo of Lissa Evans

Also by Lissa Evans

Picnic on Craggy Island
Small Bomb At Dimperley
V for Victory
Old Baggage
Odd One Out
Spencer's List
Crooked Heart
See all

Praise for Their Finest

[Lissa Evans] displays a fine eye for detail and for the absurdities involved in filming. She also brilliantly evokes the disruption and dangers of wartime London. This funny, heart-warming and beautifully crafted novel is a must-read

Daily Mail

Beautifully written, minutely observed and researched, evocative and very funny tale

Michele Hanson, Guardian

Comic, poignant and altogether delightful, raised spirits are guaranteed

Easy Living

This is a comic novel, but far warmer in tone and broader in scope than that label would suggest...Gloriously observed...Hilliard is a wonderful creation - and Evans's recreated propaganda scripts are a total joy. Delicious

The Times

Pitch-perfect in tone and populated by some unforgettable characters, Lissa Evans's blackly comic new novel is a delight

The Gloss Magazine

Her Orange longlisted novel comes close to Michael Moorcock's Mother London, or even Sara Waters's The Night Watch, in illuminating not just the deprivations, but also the liberations of the war years

Guardian

Her tale of artistes attempting a morale-boosting low-budget British film in 1941 is a joy...Evans knows exactly when to play scenes for their wry comedy and when to play things straight...the austerity of domestic life is beautifully caught...This is the truest and most enjoyable novel about home-front life I've read; it's touching and hilarious

Christopher Fowler, Independent on Sunday

The characters and their dialogue and the author's quiet humour are what make this really sing. It deserves to do really well.

Daily Telegraph

A triumph...A compulsively readable tragi-comedy to savour. *****

Sunday Express

This novel has clever narrative, lively dialogue and lyrical imagery. I loved the author's highly polished prose, whether sparkling with wit or achingly poignant. She creates a magical blend of humour and pathos. I enjoyed every page.

New Books Magazine
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