Headlong: A novel

by Emlyn Williams

First edition hardcover, dated, signed and dedicated by the author, with unclipped dust jacket, in very good condition. Jacket is sunned, particularly the spine, and edges are a little creased. Board corners are bumped, and page block is lightly blemished. Boards are clean, binding is sound and pages are clear. LW

Genres: Fiction, Alternate History

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Born George Emlyn Williams in Pen-y-Ffordd, Mostyn, Flintshire in northeast Wales on November 1905, he lived in a rural village in which Welsh was spoken until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to an English-speaking town, Connah's Quay. It changed the course of his life as it was there that the teacher Sarah Grace Cooke, recognizing his literary talent, encouraged him and helped him win a scholarship to Oxford, where he attended the college of Christ Church. She is immortalized in the character of Miss Moffat in his play, "The Corn is Green."

Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic," "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor himself in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for 'A Boy Growing Up' (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman 'Dylan Thomas'. The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest," and Emyln Williams' son 'Brook Williams' became one of his life-long friends.) Williams was the godfather to his first daughter, 'Kate Burton', who is also an actress.

In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Jamaica Inn (1939).

Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "'Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief." His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie "King Ralph" (1991). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.

When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.

Reviews

[Peter Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned of this book as having been the inspiration for the movie King Ralph. After learning that Emlyn Williams had written it, I knew I had to read it. I had been familiar with him as an actor, but had previously had no idea that he was also a writer and director.
It's clear that the writers of King Ralph only used a few basic ideas from the book as their inspiration, but the entertainer-as-fish-out-of-water story followed the book, although the book shows it in a quieter, more English, way. I enjoyed Mr. Williams' way of writing, and saw each scene and emotion clearly because of it.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because the King Ralph movie is based on it. It was enough like the movie that, while details varied, I was never surprised. I found myself finishing it because it was the only new book left in my house when I was too ill to go back to the library. If I had never seen the movie, I think I would have been more interested in the ending.

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about 50 pages of this book and was disappointed. The movie King Ralph was based on this book. I loved the movie, but was not able to finish the book.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Headlong is an interesting book, to say the least. It is about a young man working in the theater in the 1930s who very suddenly becomes the king and all which that entails. Much of the novel deals with the politics and ceremony surrounding Jack's new role, but the most interesting part is what leads up to that: Jack's back-story and the descriptions of his time working as an ASM and chorus boy. Which is certainly not to say that the rest of the book is dull, because it is not.

The characters are well-drawn out, though the reveal of the closest the novel comes to having a villain is somewhat anti-climactic. My favorite characters were Jack's parents, and their appearances and letters were my favorite parts of the book.

Overall, it was a good book and worth reading, if you can get your hands on a copy.

[Jenine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm. I started with misunderstandings. The protagonist is not a woman. The author is not a woman. The humor is extremely restrained. This is mostly a very well imagined adventure of a commoner being thrust into the royal responsibilities in Buckinham Palace. The setting timewise is perplexing. On the one hand it jives with my reading of Orwell's Down and out in Paris and London, lots of men out of work and 'tramping' in the 1930s. But there is hardly any acknowledgment of the coming European threat. I'm perplexed as King George III would say.

[Jenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

London stage chorus boy becomes the King of England! Excellent premise, weird book, not a waste of time.