A Pin to See the Peepshow
First edition (US)
AuthorF. Tennyson Jesse
Audio read byClare Francis[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Set inLondon, 1913–1927
PublisherHeinemann (UK)
Doubleday Doran (US)
Publication date
September 1934[2]
Media typePrint: hardback
823.912
LC ClassPZ3 .J492 .E57
Preceded byThe Lacquer Lady 
Followed byAct of God 
Author F. Tennyson Jesse, photographed before 1922

A Pin to See the Peepshow is a 1934 novel by F. Tennyson Jesse, based on the 1922 Thompson–Bywaters murder case.[3][4][5][6]

Plot

Julia Almond grows up in suburban poverty in Edwardian London. She longs for a better life, but makes an ill-advised marriage during the First World War.

Reception

Sarah Waters has praised A Pin to See the Peepshow, writing "rarely, it seemed to me, had I been plunged by a piece of fiction into an emotional world so vivid, so complete, so convincingly untidy."[7]

Adaptations

A Pin to See the Peepshow was adapted into a play by Jesse and H. M. Harwood in 1951. It was refused a licence by the Lord Chamberlain and so premiered at a drama club.[8] In 1953 it showed at the Playhouse Theatre, Broadway.[9][10]

In 1973 it was adapted into a four-part TV series by the BBC, written by Elaine Morgan and starring Francesca Annis.[11][12][13]

In 2007 it was made into a short radio drama on BBC Radio 4 by Scott Cherry.[14]

References

  1. ^ "A Pin To See The Peepshow By F Tennyson Jesse - Calibre Audio". Calibre Streaming.
  2. ^ Stewart, Victoria (August 24, 2017). Crime Writing in Interwar Britain: Fact and Fiction in the Golden Age. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316510001 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Houlbrook, M. (2010). "'A Pin to See the Peepshow': Culture, Fiction and Selfhood in Edith Thompson's Letters, 1921-1922". Past & Present. pp. 215–249. doi:10.1093/pastj/gtp049.
  4. ^ Houlbrook, Matt (2010). "'A Pin to See the Peepshow': Culture, Fiction and Selfhood in Edith Thompson's Letters, 1921-1922". Past & Present. 207 (207): 215–249. doi:10.1093/pastj/gtp049. JSTOR 40783262 – via JSTOR.
  5. ^ Jesse, Fryniwyd Tennyson (August 21, 1974). "A Pin to See the Peepshow". St. Martin's Press – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Bland, Lucy (April 30, 2016). Modern women on trial: Sexual transgression in the age of the flapper. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781847798954 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "A Pin to See the Peepshow – an achingly human portrait". the Guardian. August 23, 2014.
  8. ^ Kabatchnik, Amnon (April 14, 2011). Blood on the Stage, 1950-1975: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810877849 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "A Pin to See the Peepshow Broadway @ Playhouse Theatre - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill.
  10. ^ "A Pin to See the Peepshow - 1953 Broadway Tickets, News, Info, Photos, Videos". www.broadwayworld.com.
  11. ^ "A Pin to See the Peepshow Part 1 (1973)". BFI. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Roberts, Jerry (June 5, 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810863781 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Broadcast - BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama, A Pin to See the Peep Show". BBC.
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