Fortunes of War
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Fortunes of War is the collective name given to six novels by Olivia Manning, consisting of The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy.
The novels describe the experiences of a young married couple, Harriet and Guy Pringle, early in World War II. Guy is attached to an educational establishment in Bucharest when war breaks out, and the couple are forced to leave the country, passing through Athens and ending up in Cairo, Egypt. Harriet is persuaded to return home by ship, but changes her mind at the last minute and goes to Damascus with friends. Guy, hearing that the ship has been torpedoed, believes her to be dead, but they are reunited in the end.
Major characters in the novel include: Harriet and Guy Pringle, Prince Yakimov, Sasha Drucker, His Excellency Sir. Montague, Alan Frewen, Major Cookson, Mrs.Brett, Mrs.Jay, Mr.'Dobby' Dobson, Mr.'Foxy' Leverett, Charles Warden, Professor Lord Pinkrose, Professor Inchcape, Clarence Lawson, Lord Bedlington, Archie Callard, Toby Lush and Mr.Dubedat.
The novels were adapted for television by the BBC, starring Kenneth Branagh as Guy and Emma Thompson as Harriet. Other stars included Ronald Pickup, Robert Stephens, Alan Bennett and Rupert Graves.
The Balkan Trilogy comprises the books "The Great Fortune", "The Spoilt City" and "Friends And Heroes". The Levant Trilogy comprises the books "The Danger Tree", "The Battle Lost And Won" and "The Sum Of Things".
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