A practical understanding of literature on screen: Two conversations with Andrew Davies

Andrew Davies is, undoubtedly, one of the most successful and prolific writers and adaptors for television and cinema; included in his oeuvre are A Very Peculiar Practice (1986, 1988), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Tipping the Velvet (2002), The Way We Live Now (2001), Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996), and Bleak House (2005). Although best known for his work in television and cinema, Andrew Davies is also a writer for both adults and children and has written for the stage and radio. He spoke to Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan twice; over lunch in Birmingham and in a public conversation at De Montfort University, Leicester. Speaking about authorship, fidelity, audiences, casting, and his past and current projects, Davies offers insight into his distinctive “televisual” aesthetic.