Jack's Return Home

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Josephine, who is 28, says, “It never ceases to amaze me that such a gentle man can create characters who are so savage and vile. I can’t stop myself watching his every move to assure myself he isn’t adopting any of this characters’ faults.

Torben Betts is the man who took and reinvented the original work of Lewis. He discusses the process of re-imagining such an iconic piece of literature and film. The film released in September of that year portrayed the tumultuous 1976 Formula 1 World Championship rivalry between the two drivers which almost cost Lauda his life. He was born in Manchester, an only child. After World War II the family moved to Barton-upon-Humber in 1947. He had a strict upbringing and his parents did not want their son to go to art school, but Ted’s English teacher Henry Treece, recognising his creative talents in writing and art, persuaded them not to stand in his way. Josephine Lewis is rather worried about her husband author Ted Lewis. Not that he isn’t an ideal husband and quiet-living family man devoted to his two young daughters. But the books he writes in their country cottage at Framlingham, Suffolk, are among the most vicious and blood-thirsty on the market. The plot is fairly similar to the film, with a few variations. It is very much a book of its time and some of the dialogue is a little obscure ("she was a bit Harrison Marks"; I had to look that one up).

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In the 30th anniversary of Lewis's untimely death, and as Radio Four broadcasts a new adaptation of the novel, the poet and critic Sean O'Brien traces the life-story and legacy of the multi-talented Ted Lewis. Jon Rush, circuit manager for Cadwell Park, said at the time: “That Ron Howard and his team were able to use Cadwell Park to create a thrilling sequence in the movie is very exciting for everyone here. Todo suena a conocido, es verdad, pero funciona, joder como funciona, un crescendo imparable, sin inútiles interrupciones pero con muchas mentiras, medias verdades y alguna verdad que, desgraciadamente, siempre perjudica a su sincera víctima, que nos va encaminando, no del todo rectamente, hacia un desenlace en parte anticipado y en parte no. Little idea what this would be going into it, other than it was the basis for one of Michael Caine's earlier - and apparently iconic - film roles. Good, but much darker than I anticipated - at least in this book, Lewis is almost like a British Jim Thompson, with nary a sympathetic character in sight, (even including the oft-abused women). And the book is very British, and very old (1970), so there are a lot of references like "a crooner in a John Collier suit was trying to sound like Vince Hall" that really told me nothing. During filming at Cadwell, Howard praised Lincolnshire for its “amazing countryside” and expressed his delight at the variety of opportunities that Cadwell’s circuit offered.

He’s there because his brother is the boring type, the one who will only drink a half pint of bitter after work. The type that when he does go to get pissed never brings his car. He’s responsible and boring. He’s a square. In Ellroy speak, a geek. Anyone who enjoys this book, and is looking for something with similar qualities, should seek out Derek Raymond's Factory novels. It is only 1968, and blue movies are still taboo, but there is a voracious demand for them on the underground circuit, particularly among those interested in the sex adventures of very, very young females. For me the novel was too cute and it was the blurring of if this novel was striving to be a mystery in the classical British sense or an American crime novel that created a kind of weirdness that I found a little unsettling. Anybody could if it was their own flesh and blood as was involved and they knew they weren’t going to get caught.’More than a dozen classic cars from 1960 through to 1973 were used for filming at the race circuit. July 1970: Michael Caine & Ted Lewis on Frank Street in Benwell (now demolished) with the Dunston B Power Station in the distance (demolished in 1986). Credit: Photography by Topher McGrillis, courtesy of the Northern Stage. Set design by 59 Productions.

Incredibly this novel was the basis for three movie adaptations but I think it's fair to say that none of them captured the true essence of the book. Michael Caine may have come closest in 1971 but having seen it a couple of times I know for a fact it was toned down and several aspects changed despite my having forgotten the entire plot by the time it came to reading the book. Of the two American versions I would recommend the blaxploitation version Hit Man over the Stallone abomination every time.I did have some reservations about content, but minor. One is the treatment of women that feels extremely dated and misogynistic. Either toys for sex or unreliable double-crossers. In 2016, the playwright Torben Betts adapted the novel for a critically acclaimed production by Newcastle's Northern Stage. Those times were the best times I ever had as a lad. Just alone with Frank down on the river. But that was before he’d begun to hate my guts. To be sure it is a well-paced, entertaining read, though, quite honestly, there's nothing here I haven't read before in dozens of other crime novels.