Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Encyclopedia
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE
(born 7 May 1927) is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning
screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration
with Merchant Ivory Productions
, made up of director James Ivory
and the late producer Ismail Merchant
. Their films won six Academy Awards
.
, Germany to Jewish parents Marcus and Eleanora Prawer. Marcus was a lawyer from Poland and Eleanora's father was cantor
of Cologne's biggest synagogue. The family fled the Nazi regime in 1939, emigrating to Britain. Her elder brother, Siegbert Salomon
(born 1925), is honourary fellow of The Queen's College
and professor emeritus of German at the University of Oxford, an expert on Heine and horror films.
During World War II
she lived in Hendon
in London, experienced the Blitz
and began to speak English rather than German. She became a British citizen in 1948. She received her MA in English literature from Queen Mary College
, University of London
in 1951. She also married Cyrus H. Jhabvala, an India
n Parsi architect, in 1951.
The couple moved to Delhi
, India, in 1951 and they had three daughters: Ava, Firoza and Renana. Her three daughters are living all around the world: in India, in Los Angeles and in England. In 1975 Jhabvala moved to New York and divided her time between India and the United States. In 1986, she became a naturalised citizen of the United States.
Her early comedies drew comparisons with Jane Austen
, in their anatomy of power within westernised, extended families, or the slow growth of love in arranged marriages. She found affinities with Jewish culture in an emphasis on family and humour.
She wrote to 20 publishers in London, who "all wrote back", and soon joined John Murray, her UK publisher for four decades. After she found a US agent in the 1950s, many of her short stories appeared first in the New Yorker.
Her view of India is different than that of Naipaul or E. M. Forster
. Jhabvala, unlike Naipaul, wasn't drawn to India by ancestry or, as in Forster's case, by a desire to move beyond a complacent Western liberalism. She was in Delhi, as she wrote, only because her husband was there, and she was interested not in India but in herself in India. In any case, what matters is that she managed to transmute her personal experience, however narrow, into art. Often her stories are seen from the point of view of an outsider. Some Indian critics have labelled her authorial detachment as a sign of old-fashioned Western attitudes toward India.
In 1975, she won the Booker Prize, the most prestigious literary award for the English language in the Commonwealth, for her novel Heat and Dust
.
and Ismail Merchant
to write a screenplay of her 1960 novel The Householder. The film, The Householder, was released by Merchant Ivory Productions
in 1963 – this began a partnership that would produce over 20 films. She had no previous film making experience.
The next Merchant-Ivory project Shakespeare Wallah
(1965), was a critical success, and it was followed by a number of other collaborations between the three, including an adaptation of Jhabvala's novel Heat and Dust
, (1983); the docudrama
The Courtesans of Bombay
(1983); A Room with a View
(1985), for which she won her first Oscar
; Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
(1990); Howards End
(1992), her second Oscar win; and The Remains of the Day
(1993), for which she was nominated for a third Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, though she did not win. Her screenplays are often less comedies of manners than profound struggles over the souls of young women.
Of this collaboration, Ismail Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory...I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1627804,00.html
Ismail Merchant died in 2005, of complications resulting from a stomach ulcer.
Jhabvala's last screenplay was The City of Your Final Destination
(2008), based on the novel of the same name by Peter Cameron.
Nominated:
Other:
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 May 1927) is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
with Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
, made up of director James Ivory
James Ivory (director)
James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
and the late producer Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant was an Indian-born film producer, best known for the results of his famously long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
. Their films won six Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
.
Personal background
She was born Ruth Prawer in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany to Jewish parents Marcus and Eleanora Prawer. Marcus was a lawyer from Poland and Eleanora's father was cantor
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
of Cologne's biggest synagogue. The family fled the Nazi regime in 1939, emigrating to Britain. Her elder brother, Siegbert Salomon
Siegbert Salomon Prawer
Siegbert Salomon Prawer is Taylor Emeritus Professor of German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford...
(born 1925), is honourary fellow of The Queen's College
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...
and professor emeritus of German at the University of Oxford, an expert on Heine and horror films.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she lived in Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
in London, experienced the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
and began to speak English rather than German. She became a British citizen in 1948. She received her MA in English literature from Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1951. She also married Cyrus H. Jhabvala, an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Parsi architect, in 1951.
The couple moved to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, India, in 1951 and they had three daughters: Ava, Firoza and Renana. Her three daughters are living all around the world: in India, in Los Angeles and in England. In 1975 Jhabvala moved to New York and divided her time between India and the United States. In 1986, she became a naturalised citizen of the United States.
Literary career
While living in India during the 1950s, Jhabvala began to write novels about her new life there: To Whom She Will (1955), Nature of Passion (1956), Esmond in India (1957), The Householder (1960) and Get Ready for the Battle (1962). Her literary output would be steady and of a consistently high quality (see below).Her early comedies drew comparisons with Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, in their anatomy of power within westernised, extended families, or the slow growth of love in arranged marriages. She found affinities with Jewish culture in an emphasis on family and humour.
She wrote to 20 publishers in London, who "all wrote back", and soon joined John Murray, her UK publisher for four decades. After she found a US agent in the 1950s, many of her short stories appeared first in the New Yorker.
Her view of India is different than that of Naipaul or E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
. Jhabvala, unlike Naipaul, wasn't drawn to India by ancestry or, as in Forster's case, by a desire to move beyond a complacent Western liberalism. She was in Delhi, as she wrote, only because her husband was there, and she was interested not in India but in herself in India. In any case, what matters is that she managed to transmute her personal experience, however narrow, into art. Often her stories are seen from the point of view of an outsider. Some Indian critics have labelled her authorial detachment as a sign of old-fashioned Western attitudes toward India.
In 1975, she won the Booker Prize, the most prestigious literary award for the English language in the Commonwealth, for her novel Heat and Dust
Heat and Dust
Heat and Dust is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala which won the Booker Prize in 1975. It is said to be based on an idea by another writer, but this writer is un-named.-Plot summary:...
.
Merchant Ivory Productions
In 1963, Jhabvala was approached by filmmakers James IvoryJames Ivory (director)
James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
and Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant was an Indian-born film producer, best known for the results of his famously long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
to write a screenplay of her 1960 novel The Householder. The film, The Householder, was released by Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
in 1963 – this began a partnership that would produce over 20 films. She had no previous film making experience.
The next Merchant-Ivory project Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah is a 1965 Merchant Ivory Productions film. The story and screenplay are by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Madhur Jaffrey won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance...
(1965), was a critical success, and it was followed by a number of other collaborations between the three, including an adaptation of Jhabvala's novel Heat and Dust
Heat and Dust (film)
Heat and Dust is a 1983 romantic drama film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based upon her novel, Heat and Dust. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant...
, (1983); the docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
The Courtesans of Bombay
The Courtesans of Bombay
The Courtesans of Bombay is a 1983 British docudrama directed by Ismail Merchant. A collaboration by Merchant, James Ivory, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the film focuses on a Bombay compound known as Pavan Pool, where women aspiring to work in the entertainment industry dance for donations from a male...
(1983); A Room with a View
A Room with a View (film)
A Room with a View is a 1985 British drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. The film is a close adaptation of E. M...
(1985), for which she won her first Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
; Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is a 1990 Merchant Ivory film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and produced by Ismail Merchant.-Plot:...
(1990); Howards End
Howards End (film)
Howards End is a 1992 film based upon the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster , a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England...
(1992), her second Oscar win; and The Remains of the Day
The Remains of the Day (film)
The Remains of the Day is a 1993 Merchant Ivory film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox,...
(1993), for which she was nominated for a third Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, though she did not win. Her screenplays are often less comedies of manners than profound struggles over the souls of young women.
Of this collaboration, Ismail Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory...I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1627804,00.html
Ismail Merchant died in 2005, of complications resulting from a stomach ulcer.
Jhabvala's last screenplay was The City of Your Final Destination
The City of Your Final Destination
The City of Your Final Destination is a novel by American writer Peter Cameron. Most of the story takes place in a small town in Uruguay. However, the Uruguay of the novel bears little relation to the geography or culture of the real country...
(2008), based on the novel of the same name by Peter Cameron.
Awards
Winner:- 2003: O. Henry Prize Winner for "Refuge in London"
- 1994: Writers Guild of America'sWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Screen Laurel Award - 1992: Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
– Howards EndHowards End (film)Howards End is a 1992 film based upon the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster , a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England... - 1987: Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
– Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for: A Room with a ViewA Room with a View (film)A Room with a View is a 1985 British drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. The film is a close adaptation of E. M... - 1986: Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
– A Room with a ViewA Room with a View (film)A Room with a View is a 1985 British drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. The film is a close adaptation of E. M...
. - 1984: British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
(BAFTA) – Best Screenplay – Adapted for: Heat and DustHeat and Dust (film)Heat and Dust is a 1983 romantic drama film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based upon her novel, Heat and Dust. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant... - 1984: London Critics Circle Film AwardsLondon Film Critics CircleThe London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally.The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards lacked meaning — for people in LA for example — and the Film Section wished its annual Awards...
– Screenwriter of the Year for: Heat and DustHeat and Dust (film)Heat and Dust is a 1983 romantic drama film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based upon her novel, Heat and Dust. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant... - 1984: MacArthur FellowshipMacArthur Fellows ProgramThe MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
- 1975: Booker Prize – Heat and DustHeat and DustHeat and Dust is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala which won the Booker Prize in 1975. It is said to be based on an idea by another writer, but this writer is un-named.-Plot summary:...
(novel)
Nominated:
- 1993: Academy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
– The Remains of the DayThe Remains of the Day (film)The Remains of the Day is a 1993 Merchant Ivory film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox,...
Novels and Short Stories
- To Whom She Will (1955; published in the United States as AmritaAmritaAmrit is a Sanskrit word that literally means "immortality", and is often referred to in texts as nectar. The word's earliest occurrence is in the Rigveda where it is one of several synonyms of soma, the drink which confers immortality upon the gods. It is related etymologically to the Greek...
) - The Nature of Passion (1956).
- Esmond in India (1958)
- The Householder (1960),
- Get Ready for Battle (1962)
- Like Birds, Like Fishes (1963)
- A Backward Place (1965)
- A Stronger Climate (1968)
- A New Dominion (1972; published in the United States as Travelers)
- Heat and DustHeat and DustHeat and Dust is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala which won the Booker Prize in 1975. It is said to be based on an idea by another writer, but this writer is un-named.-Plot summary:...
(1975) - An Experience of India (1971)
- How I Became a Holy Mother and other stories (1976),
- In Search of Love and Beauty (1983)
- Out of India (1986)
- Three Continents (1987)
- Poet and Dancer (1993)
- Shards of Memory (1995)
- East Into Upper East: Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi (1998)
- My Nine Lives (2004)
Select screenplays
| Year | Title | Other notes |
| 2008 | The City of Your Final Destination The City of Your Final Destination The City of Your Final Destination is a novel by American writer Peter Cameron. Most of the story takes place in a small town in Uruguay. However, the Uruguay of the novel bears little relation to the geography or culture of the real country... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Peter Cameron |
| 2003 | Le Divorce Le Divorce Le Divorce is a 2003 Merchant Ivory Productions' film directed by James Ivory and the screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Ivory, based on Diane Johnson's bestselling novel.-Summary:... |
co-written by James Ivory James Ivory (director) James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala... , adapted from the novel by Diane Johnson Diane Johnson Diane Johnson is an American-born novelist and essayist whose satirical novels often feature American heroines living abroad in contemporary France.... |
| 2000 | The Golden Bowl The Golden Bowl (film) The Golden Bowl is a 2000 American/British/French drama film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1904 novel of the same title by Henry James, who considered the work his masterpiece.-Plot:... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Henry James Henry James Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.... |
| 1998 | A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (film) A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries is a French/U.S. film directed by James Ivory and written by James Ivory & Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It stars Leelee Sobieski, Jesse Bradford, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey and Virginie Ledoyen... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Kaylie Jones Kaylie Jones Kaylie Jones is an American novelist. She was raised in Paris.- Background :Kaylie Jones is an American writer, memoirist and novelist... |
| 1996 | Surviving Picasso Surviving Picasso Surviving Picasso is a 1996 Merchant Ivory Film starring Anthony Hopkins as the painter Pablo Picasso. It was shot in Paris and southern France.It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper... |
screenplay |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris Jefferson in Paris Jefferson in Paris is a 1995 Franco-American historical drama film directed by James Ivory . The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a semi-fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of the United States to France prior to his Presidency, and his alleged relationships with... |
written by |
| 1993 | The Remains of the Day The Remains of the Day (film) The Remains of the Day is a 1993 Merchant Ivory film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox,... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro Kazuo Ishiguro Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing... |
| 1992 | Howards End Howards End (film) Howards End is a 1992 film based upon the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster , a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by E. M. Forster E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society... |
| 1990 | Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Mr. & Mrs. Bridge is a 1990 Merchant Ivory film based on the novels by Evan S. Connell of the same name. It is directed by James Ivory, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and produced by Ismail Merchant.-Plot:... |
screenplay, adapted from the novels by Evan S. Connell Evan S. Connell Evan Shelby Connell, Jr. is an American novelist, poet, and short story-writer. He has also published under the name Evan S. Connell, Jr. His writing has covered a variety of genres, although he has published most frequently in fiction.In 2009, Connell was nominated for the Man Booker... ("Mr. Bridge" & "Mrs. Bridge") |
| 1988 | Madame Sousatzka Madame Sousatzka Madame Sousatzka is a 1988 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens.-Plot synopsis:... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Bernice Rubens Bernice Rubens Bernice Rubens was a Booker Prize-winning Welsh novelist.-Background:She was of Russian Jewish descent and born in Cardiff, Wales where she attended Cardiff High School. She came from a very musical family, both her brothers becoming well-known classical musicians. She was married to Rudi... . Directed by John Schlesinger John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician... |
| 1985 | A Room with a View A Room with a View (film) A Room with a View is a 1985 British drama film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. The film is a close adaptation of E. M... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by E. M. Forster E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society... |
| 1984 | The Bostonians The Bostonians The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centers on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississippi; Olive Chancellor, Ransom's cousin... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Henry James Henry James Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.... |
| 1983 | Heat and Dust Heat and Dust (film) Heat and Dust is a 1983 romantic drama film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based upon her novel, Heat and Dust. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Jhabvala |
| 1981 | Quartet Quartet (1981 film) Quartet is a 1981 Merchant Ivory Film, starring Isabelle Adjani, Maggie Smith, Anthony Higgins and Alan Bates, set in 1924 Paris. It premiered at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival and was an entry for the Selection Officielle... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Jean Rhys Jean Rhys Jean Rhys , born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea , written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.-Early life:Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica... |
| 1980 | Jane Austen in Manhattan Jane Austen in Manhattan Jane Austen in Manhattan is a Merchant Ivory Film made for LWT in 1980, but released for theatrical in UK and USA. It was the last theatrical film of Anne Baxter and the debut film of Sean Young.-Starring:*Anne Baxter - Lilliana Zorska... |
written by, inserted libretto "Sir Charles Grandison" by Jane Austen Jane Austen Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived... |
| 1979 | The Europeans The Europeans The Europeans: A sketch is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the 'new' world of New England. The novel first appeared as a serial in The Atlantic... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Henry James Henry James Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.... |
| 1978 | Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions set in India, starring UK great stage actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft.... |
written by |
| 1977 | Roseland Roseland (film) Roseland is a 1977 Merchant Ivory Productions' portmanteau film with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant.... |
story and screenplay |
| 1975 | Autobiography of a Princess Autobiography of a Princess Autobiography of a Princess is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions , starring James Mason and Madhur Jaffrey.-Plot:... |
written by |
| 1972 | Bombay Talkie Bombay Talkie Bombay Talkie is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and James Ivory. Bombay Talkies was a film studio that made films in the early part of the Hindi film industry.-Plot:... |
screenplay |
| 1969 | The Guru The Guru (1969 film) The Guru is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and James Ivory.-Plot synopsis:A rock star, Tom Pickle , travels to India to learn to play the sitar with the great musician Ustad Zafar Khan... |
screenplay |
| 1965 | Shakespeare Wallah Shakespeare Wallah Shakespeare Wallah is a 1965 Merchant Ivory Productions film. The story and screenplay are by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Madhur Jaffrey won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival for her performance... |
screenplay |
| 1963 | The Householder The Householder (film) The Householder is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and James Ivory, and direction of James Ivory. It is based upon the 1960 novel of the same name by Jhabvala.... |
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Jhabvala |
External links
Biographies:- SAWNET biography
- Biography from Merchant Ivory Productions
- Biography
- Biography from the Literary Encyclopedia
Other: