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Andrew Taylor talks about the incredible thriller why-dunnit Fallen
Angel
Andrew
Taylor
Novelist
Award winning crime writer Andrew Taylor says the original impetus for his Roth Trilogy of novels came from the infamous Fred West murder investigation.
It was the first time a major murder inquiry happened almost on my doorstep and the ripples travelled throughout the county like an earthquake. People vaguely knew him or one of his victims. So I talked to police officers, psychologists and clergymen about the case and they all said these things don’t just happen, they all have a pre-history.
With the Roth Trilogy I tried to create the history of a murderer over a lengthy timescale like an archaeological excavation, peeling away the layers until we’re right back at the causes.
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Andrew says he had no reservations about his novels being adapted for TV.
He explains: My books are still there, you are still God in your own universe if you have written a novel, even though it is no longer entirely mine once it moves into another medium. It’s like sending a child out into the world.
However Eileen and her team were very inclusive from the start and I already knew Peter Ransley’s work so I knew Roth was in a safe pair of hands. At a very early stage I realised the scripts were in sympathy with the essence of what I had tried to do with the books and you can’t ask for more than that.
When I saw the films I thought wow! It is really well done, bone chilling drama. And the casting is very shrewd. Charles Dance has the right presence for the Reverend Byfield and the ability to act different ages. And I couldn’t have asked for a finer Angel than Emilia Fox, who is very much the Angel I had in my mind’s eye.
And when I saw the role Peter created for Clare Holman as Wendy, adding her into the first two films as a unifying voice, I only wished I’d thought of it. Her viewpoint is one the average viewer or reader can readily identify with. She is involved with the story but at an angle.
Andrew, who is busy penning his next novel, says: As far as I’m concerned this has been a very good experience and I’ve no regrets. I’ve had great treatment from Eileen and her team.
I wouldn’t have wanted Fallen Angel to be a slavish adaptation. For a project to move into a new medium it is healthier creatively for it to change and adapt.
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