Why I Love the Stories of Terence Rattigan

Many years ago, I read an article about playwright and screenwriter Terence Rattigan that sparked my interest in his work. I'd never heard of him! But Rattigan soon became my favorite playwright and screenwriter. I later learned that he was the most successful writer ever in the West End and at one time the highest-paid screenwriter in the world.

If you look at the photo below, you'll see my collection of books by and about Rattigan—including the red two-volume collection of all his plays and at least three biographies about him. It's a wealth of insights about writing that I've learned from.

Why I Love Rattigan Stories

What is it about Rattigan's work that I love and believe might captivate you as well?

Rattigan possesses many great virtues as a fiction writer: layered, sympathetic characters; ingeniously constructed plots; beautifully implicit dialogue; and heartwarming endings, to name a few.

But what I enjoy most about Rattigan's scripts is that they tell intimate stories about deeply personal human issues. Rattigan writes psychological dramas of the heart.

Read a Rattigan play or watch one of his many films, and you'll experience issues most of us encounter during our lives. Rattigan never dramatizes these universal and personal themes in a tawdry, depressing, or malevolent way.

Rattigan's stories have captivated me with these personal, real-life themes:

• Sexual differences between two lovers (Separate Tables)

• Coping with betrayed love and romantic disappointment (The Yellow Rolls Royce)

• A father and son learning tolerance for each other’s values (The Final Test)

• The importance of principle and obstinacy when fighting for a cause (The Winslow Boy)

• Tolerance for those who have sexual needs different from your own (Separate Tables)

• The psychological corruption of power (Adventure Story)

• Dealing with a failed career and life (The Browning Version)

In the Rattigan story universe, the characters grapple with fundamental human needs and relatable psychological problems. His stories offer understanding and hope, tolerance, and redemption. They are adventures of the heart that we can both enjoy and learn from to become better lovers, people, and citizens.

I know I have.

They are also masterworks for all creatives to study and learn from, especially writers.

Which Rattigan Works to Watch and Read

I highly recommend Rattigan's films The Winslow Boy, Separate Tables, The Final Test, The Sound Barrier, The Yellow Rolls Royce, The V.I.P.s.

And his plays Adventure Story, Ross, The Browning Version, The Winslow Boy, and French Without Tears (a comedy).

If you want to learn more about how Rattigan crafted his incredibly successful psychological dramas and how you can apply these insights to developing and deepening your own stories, reply TR.

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