The Novelist

2009, 75 minutes

The story of a flawed hero who moves from darkness into light.

Jerry Downing is an unpublished writer who is pursuing a career as a novelist. His flatmate, Julia Wells, challenges him to get a full-time job to find his other half who will help him to get published. But because he has been sacked from previous jobs as a result of typing up his novel during working hours, he declines her challenge. When he bumps into his father, Nicholas Downing, who is on his way to the jobcentre to sign on the dole, Jerry changes his mind and decides to follow Julias advice and find a job in order to end the cycle of unemployment in his family. After a series of obstacles trying to register with an employment agency, Jerry manages to secure a temporary booking at a publishing company where he meets his line manager, Karen Glinda. He shares with her his ambition of becoming a novelist, and she sets out to expose him to the world of authors. His second flatmate, Kerry Cerberus, gradually turns from an ally into an enemy after unsuccessful attempts to offer friendship and invite him into her world. Julia also follows the same fate when she cooks him a meal to celebrate his new job. This leads to Kerry challenging Jerry in his room after a series of misunderstandings. He is then served notice by the landlord, forcing him to move out of the house. Almost simultaneously, Kerry is sacked from her job and ends up unemployed just as Jerry had warned her. He informs Karen of his ordeal, and she invites him to move in with her. He uses her office space at home to type up a new novel, sends it off to a publisher and it is accepted for publication. He returns back to his old flat with his new personality to remove the last remains of his belongings. He sees Kerry, and apologises to her for his behaviour by offering her a bunch of flowers as a peace offering. Free to live life as a newly published novelist, Jerry returns back to Karen to face the future together as one flesh.


Companies involved in this production

The Novelist

Connected mandy members:

Vanessa Harding
Rachel Agnes