Available Formats
Getting Carter: Ted Lewis and the Birth of Brit Noir
By (Author) Nick Triplow
Bedford Square Publishers
No Exit Press
25th October 2017
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
823.914
Hardback
320
Width 153mm, Height 234mm
The cinema classic was based on a book called Jack's Return Home, and many commentators agree contemporary British crime writing began with that novel. The influence of both book and film is strong to this day, reflected in the work of David Peace, Jake Arnott, Russell Lewis and the likes. But what of the man who wrote this seminal foundation work Getting Carter is a meticulously researched and riveting account of the career of a doomed genius.
LATE crime writer Lewis wrote Jack's Return Home, famously filmed as Get Carter with Michael Caine. These reissues of his less well-known work show what a talent he was. They capture the sleaze and violence of 60s London and the dark underbelly of the provinces. Jack Carter's Law is a prequel, with Jack hunting a gang informer and dangerously sleeping with his boss's wife. Billy Rags is Billy Cracken, a violent prisoner determined to see his kid. No heroes here, just compelling tales of bleak lives * SJC, The Sun *
Yes, I can recommend reading this book, although it is a trifle depressing thinking what might have been for Ted Lewis -- Mark Timlin
Getting Carter includes plenty of wonderful detail about the making of the film... there is much more to Lewis than this cult movie, as Triplow makes clear -- David Collard * Times Literary Supplement *
[Triplow] is the kind of rigorous biographer Lewis deserves, and Getting Carter is an essential read -- Ray Banks * Noir City *
Triplow does a fine job of demonstrating why Lewis's work should be rediscovered -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
Nick Triplow is the author of the south London crime novel Frank's Wild Years and the social history books The Women They Left Behind, Distant Water and Pattie Slappers. His acclaimed short story, Face Value, was a winner in the 2015 Northern Crime competition. Originally from London, now living in Barton upon Humber, Nick studied English and Creative Writing at Middlesex University and, in 2007, earned a distinction at Sheffield Hallam University's MA in Creative Writing. Since completing his biography of British noir pioneer, Ted Lewis, Nick has been working on new fiction.