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Apple Tree Yard: From the writer of BBC smash hit drama 'Crossfire'

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I mean, I’m sure there are hundreds of wiry blokes with glasses and wavy brown hair that are irresistible babe magnets, and lots of highly educated, high-achieving, happily married women who are desperate to ---- (ahem!) in a broom cupboard in the House of Lords (or it could have been the Commons, I don’t remember and it doesn’t matter), but I would say the chances of such a pair meeting and mating was not a million to one, as Yvonne thought, but about a zillion to one against. And even if such an unlikely pairing occurred, how could it be sustained without passion, intelligent conversation, common ground, or any reason on earth to sustain it. And even if it were sustained, is it likely that a bloke who had a couple of ahems and a few coffees and carrot cakes in various cafes would go and top someone who had injured his insignificant other? So was Yvonne guilty after all? Both she and six million viewers were left with that chilling thought, and cleverly left us wanting more… Is heartbreak even possible now, I wonder? I'm fifty-two. Anyone my age knows that all things pass. If the transitory nature of our feelings means that true heartbreak is impossible, then where does that leave happiness?"

The two begin an affair, despite the fact that she doesn't know her lover's name at first, and he has kept most of his life a mystery from her. He is constantly paranoid, worried that Yvonne might say something to someone, or that their relationship might be discovered. Because of his need to control the situation, Yvonne believes her lover must be a spy for the British government, a fact that excites her almost as much as their relationship has. She knows that they can only see each other at certain times, yet she longs for more, longs for the passion he has ignited in her. I really enjoyed this book and thought Doughty was an excellent storyteller. It takes a talented writer to make you want to continue reading a story you've seen before, but there are still a good number of twists and turns to keep you thinking. There aren't many books I've read lately with this type of protagonist, and it really worked for me. And it certainly makes you consider your own life, your own relationships, and how a seemingly rational person could be so overtaken by desire and fear. So, Apple Tree Yard has been sat patiently waiting on my kindle while many people have told me to get on with it, its terrific, one of the best books of the year…and so I decided it was about time I gave it a go. Do I agree with all the hype? Well. Yes. In the aftermath of what has happened, a devastated Yvonne shuts down. She feels unable to talk to the police or her husband, but as a campaign of terror is mounted against her, she is pushed to her limits and turns to her former lover, Costley, for advice. They meet for one last time and share a passionate afternoon together, before Costley takes control of the situation and Yvonne is plunged from one nightmare into another. This book deserves a really high score .... for implausibility. I just couldn’t take it seriously at all because the whole plot revolved round a premise that is about as likely as meeting aliens from Alpha Centauri buying hot cross buns in your local supermarket.

Rate And Review

This is a dense, detailed story full of wry and insightful observations. It’s about love and the pure joy it can bring, but also the complications and the potential impediments we all face if we are to achieve longevity in any serious relationship. And it provides an insight into how we can be persuaded to fall for an ideal view of how things could be - or maybe should be - if only we’d let them. The few characters we meet are beautifully drawn and all totally believable. Most of all, the author gets right inside the head of the lead character: on the face of it she is a sensible but also fallible professional woman, but really no more flawed that most of us. I was batting for her from very early on. There is a strong message here that – contrary to what you might be led to believe from Every Other Drama On Television – female sexuality doesn’t suddenly end at 35, but can become more powerful and more profound. Certainly for Yvonne it does, even if it somehow leads her to court. Who are you?” she types in her VAT letter. “I couldn’t say. Although I have noticed secrets are the air you breathe.” They bump into each other again at another café and the affair takes off. He says he is a civil servant, but still we don’t know his name or what he really does. Adding to her thrills, and given his expert knowledge of CCTV among other things, Dr Carmichael soon surmises he is a ‘spook’. She’s feeling not only mysterious, but naughty, and a bit young again, and she loves it. Who wouldn’t?

By the time she rushed into her shower, I was screaming at the screen: “NO, NO, don’t shower, don’t destroy the evidence, call the police, call them NOW!” I was so vexed, and could only watch in despair as she then bagged up and went to bin the clothes, too. There was one moment of hope when the scientist in her suddenly seemed to realise what she was doing, and she took them to a police station. But after sitting outside she bottled it, or so I thought… A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Cast & Crew

His fury yielded another fantastic, if scary, speech about the horrors or rape and what victims go through – one of the best things about this drama is the way it hammers that message home.

But, for all that, there was something missing. She wanted someone to look at her – not as wife, not as a mother, not as a professional – but as an interesting, attractive woman.We learn in the prologue that there is a court case, that something is happening to the two of them that is very serious and earth-shattering. Yvonne realizes in court as the novel opens, "That is the moment when it all comes crashing down . . . We both know we are about to lose everything - our marriages are over our careers are finished, I have lost my son's and daughter's good regard, and more than that, our freedom is at stake. Everything we have tried to protect - it is all about to tumble." Their affair leads them to an act that finds them in court, fighting for their freedom with every ounce of their strength. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Like all tragic figures, Yvonne has a lot to lose. She is happily married to a fellow research scientist with two grown-up children and an esteemed academic record: “I am fifty-two. I have status and gravitas – when I don’t have my tights round my ankles in a secluded chapel beneath the Houses of Parliament, that is.” Yet the analytical part of her mind cannot help but try to determine the significance of the anomaly: “In science we accept aberrations. It is only when aberrations keep happening that we stop and try and look for a pattern.” So who thumped on Yvonne’s car window with such force last week it made both her and us jump out of our skins? I have been agonising over it all week, with all manner of awful scenarios rushing through my fevered brain. Could it be ghastly rapist George instead of lover boy, who had gone to put the frighteners on the beast?

The the main protagonist was a successful scientist, an intelligent woman. She threw her intelligence aside, feeling she deserved her little fling because of how competent she'd been when her family were growing. If you want to have a tawdry fling, fine. Have it. Don't delude yourself that he is 'your love' because he isn't. Don't hold on to the delusion even after you have heard all the evidence to the contrary. It makes you unbelievable as a scientist and a person. Perhaps the point of the novel was to show how we delude ourselves, but frankly, the woman irritated me. Wide-eyed Emily Watson is perfect as Dr Yvonne Carmichael, the successful, fiftysomething scientist, wife and mother who falls a mighty long way from grace after an unexpected close encounter with a handsome stranger unleashes her animal instincts. Her face was able to light up with a cheeky, mysterious smile that let the world know she was suddenly having a very good time, without giving away her secret. Yvonne Carmichael, a renowned geneticist, public authority, and happily married mother of two, sits in the witness box. The charge is murder.

Seasons

To say more would be to get into spoiler territory. But I can at least say this: Apple Tree Yard is a book of amazing psychological acuity. It explores essential questions such as, “When you are a rational being, with free will and agency, is there any such thing as a point of no return?” It examines how far we go to extract revenge, to develop and mine our own fictions, to become a survivor at all costs. And ultimately, it displays how far we can go when we fall out of love with ourselves. Then, reeling from an act of violence, Yvonne discovers that her desire for justice and revenge has already been compromised. Everything hinges on one night in a dark little alley called Apple Tree Yard. However, the rape scene was heavily criticised by several victim support organisations, with Rape Crisis England and Wales spokeswoman Katie Russell branding the scene "harrowing". [ citation needed] Apple Tree Yard was produced by Kudos Film & Television (production company). DNA made me and DNA undid me." So confesses the protagonist of Louise Doughty's 2013 novel Apple Tree Yard, a middle-aged scientist and mother, Yvonne Carmichael, now standing trial for a grisly murder. it was interesting to see that her lover told her to keep their relationship a secret in the court case to protect her only to then use it to betray her.

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