| We Are Not Alone | |
| Author: | James Hilton |
| Subject: | World War I |
| Published: | Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 12 March 1937[1] |
| Media Type: | Book |
| Pages: | 231 |
We Are Not Alone is a 1937 novel by James Hilton.[2] It is one of his more sombre works, portraying the tragic consequences of anti-foreign hysteria in England just before World War I.[3] It has been compared to Goodbye, Mr. Chips in its portrayal of small-town life through the eyes of an everyman protagonist.[4]
Dr. Newcome is a beloved doctor in a small English town. His frustrations with his relationships with his wife and son lead to his developing an affair with a German dancer,[5] Leni, whom the family takes on as a governess. When Newcome's wife Jessica is killed under suspicious circumstances, both Dr. Newcome and Leni fall under suspicion. The town's prejudice against Leni as a German leads them to convict her and Dr. Newcome despite only circumstantial evidence.[6] [7]
A one-hour radio adaptation by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham was broadcast on the BBC National Programme on 6 April 1938, with a cast that included Emlyn Williams as the doctor, Edgar Norfolk, Gordon McLeod and Nan Marriott-Watson.[8]
It was made into a film with the same title, with the screenplay by the author, in 1939.[9] [10] [11]