A Dark-Adapted Eye
Encyclopedia
A Dark-Adapted Eye is a psychological thriller
novel
by Ruth Rendell
, written under the nom-de-plume Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award
. It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC
.
When Eden is unable to have children with her husband, she begins to demand custody of Jamie, who she claims is being poorly raised by Vera. To the bewilderment and shock of the rest of the family, the custody battle escalates to violent levels, leading to tragedy and a series of disturbing revelations.
in 1994. The production starred Helena Bonham Carter
as Faith, Celia Imrie
as Vera, Sophie Ward
as Eden, Robin Ellis
as John and Steven Mackintosh
as Francis. Ciarán Hinds
plays an Italian lawyer invented for the purposes of this production.
This psychological mystery/thriller, adapted from Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, depicts a family on the edge. Two sisters, the elder, obsessive Vera, and the younger, manipulative Eden, cut a path of secrecy and jealousy that leads to disaster.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
novel
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 Ruth Rendell
Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, , who also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, is an English crime writer, author of psychological thrillers and murder mysteries....
, written under the nom-de-plume Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
. It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Plot summary
Largely set during World War II, the story is told by Faith Severn, who at the prompting of a true-crime writer recounts her memories of her aunt, the prim, fastidious, and snobbish Vera Hillyard. Vera's life is initially centred on her beautiful younger sister, Eden, even to the exclusion of her own son, Francis, with whom she has a poor relationship. Later, Vera has a second son, Jamie, to whom she is intensely devoted, while Eden marries the scion of a wealthy family.When Eden is unable to have children with her husband, she begins to demand custody of Jamie, who she claims is being poorly raised by Vera. To the bewilderment and shock of the rest of the family, the custody battle escalates to violent levels, leading to tragedy and a series of disturbing revelations.
TV adaptation
A Dark-Adapted Eye was dramatised (with the storyline significantly altered) by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1994. The production starred Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as Faith, Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
as Vera, Sophie Ward
Sophie Ward
Sophie Ward , is an English actress and the daughter of actor, Simon Ward.-Career:One of Ward's early film roles was in the film Young Sherlock Holmes. Other early films included Return to Oz, Little Dorrit and A Summer Story, and she also portrayed the unattainable love object in the video of Roxy...
as Eden, Robin Ellis
Robin Ellis
Robin Ellis is an English actor best known for his role as Captain Ross Poldark in 29 episodes of the BBC classic series Poldark, adapted from a series of books by the late British author, Winston Graham...
as John and Steven Mackintosh
Steven Mackintosh
-Personal life:Mackintosh was born in Cambridge, the son of Dorothy and Malcolm Mackintosh. He has a sister, Lynda Ellingham .He is married to the actress Lisa Jacobs and the couple have two children, Martha and Blythe.-Film:...
as Francis. Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
plays an Italian lawyer invented for the purposes of this production.
This psychological mystery/thriller, adapted from Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, depicts a family on the edge. Two sisters, the elder, obsessive Vera, and the younger, manipulative Eden, cut a path of secrecy and jealousy that leads to disaster.