Headlong

Synopsis

Headlong is a novel by Michael Frayn, published in 1999. The plot centres on the discovery of a long-lost painting from Pieter Bruegel's series The Months. The story is essentially a farce, but contains references to a large amount of scholarship, most prominently the work of Erwin Panofsky, about the Bruegel's work. Following Panofsky, Frayn distinguishes between the iconology and iconography of the paintings and suggests that rather than simply being a series of pastoral images they symbolise a Flemish populace undergoing great suffering as a result of Spanish rule. The novel was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize. An abridged version by Paul Kent and read by Martin Jarvis was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999. A dramatized radio play directed by Clive Brill and produced by Ann Scott was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Book

Release date

January 1, 1999

Created by

Michael Frayn