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Constance Cox
Constance Cox
Constance Cox
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Constance Cox (25 October 1912 – 8 July 1998) was a British script writer and playwright, born in Sutton, Surrey.[1]

Key Information

Life and career

[edit]

Cox was born Constance Shaw in Sutton, Surrey, in 1912. She married Norman Cox, a fighter pilot, who was killed in 1942. She had been a postmistress in Shoreham-by-sea, and moved to Brighton where she took up writing full-time after the end of the war.[1]

Cox specialised in adaptations of books by Charles Dickens and other classic literature. Her 1962 adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist led to viewer complaints over the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes and questions asked in Parliament about the suitability of such content for family audiences.[2]

In 1957 she adapted the J.B. Priestley novel Angel Pavement into a BBC series of the same title. She also was a prolific playwright. She was a member of the Brighton Little Theatre from the early 1950s and directed her own and others' work there for many years.[1]

Selected works and adaptations

[edit]
  • The Romance of David Garrick (1942)
  • Vanity Fair (1946)
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Play in Two Acts Adapted from Oscar Wilde's Novel 1948 (The Fortune Press)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo 1950 (The Fortune Press)
  • Northanger Abbey : a comedy in three acts, based upon Jane Austen's novel 1950 (The Fortune Press)
  • Spring at Marino: A comedy in three acts; suggested by Turgenev's Fathers and son 1951 (Samuel French Ltd)
  • Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1952)
  • Three Knaves of Normandy: Play 1958 (Evans Bros.)
  • Jane Eyre: Play 1959 based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë (J Garnet Miller Ltd) ISBN 0-85343-110-8
  • Bleak House: BBC television adaptation (1959)
  • Caliph's Minstrel: Play 1961 (Evans Bros.) ISBN 0-237-49282-2
  • Oliver Twist: BBC television adaptation (1962)
  • Lord Arthur Savile's Crime: A comedy in three acts (Acting Edition S.) 1963 (from Oscar Wilde's short story) (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-01245-8
  • Miniature Beggar's Opera: Play (1964) (Evans Bros) ISBN 0-237-49283-0
  • Everyman: A new version of the morality play (Acting Edition S.) 1967 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-06248-X
  • Christmas Carol 1968 (Evans Bros.) ISBN 0-237-49495-7
  • Miss Letitia (Acting Edition S.) 1970 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-01275-X
  • Maria Marten (Acting Edition S.) 1970 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-02325-5
  • Pride and Prejudice: Play 1972 (J Garnet Miller Ltd) ISBN 0-85343-528-6
  • Murder Game (Acting Edition S.) 1976 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-01222-9
  • Lady Audley's Secret (Acting Edition S.) 1976 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-02345-X
  • Vampire, or the Bride of Death 1978 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-12293-8
  • Micah Clarke 1985
  • A Time for Loving (Acting Edition S.) 1986 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-11417-X
  • Because of the Lockwoods: Play (Acting Edition S.) Constance Cox and Dorothy Whipple 1991 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-01722-0
  • Return of the Church to an East Anglian Parish 1996 (Honeyhill Studio) ISBN 0-9529942-0-8
  • Wuthering Heights 1997 (New Theatre Publications) ISBN 1-84094-002-6
  • Mansfield Park Jane Austen and Constance Cox 1997 (Hub Publications) ISBN 0-905049-15-2
  • The Woman in White: Play (French's Acting Editions S.) 2005 (Samuel French Ltd) ISBN 0-573-11578-8

References

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Constance Cox

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Constance Cox was a British playwright and television dramatist known for her pioneering adaptations of classic literary works into television serials during the mid-20th century. She played a key role in establishing television as a legitimate medium for dramatising major novels, creating serials based on books by authors such as Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, and John Galsworthy. Her most notable contributions include adaptations of Jane Eyre (1956), Oliver Twist (1962), Martin Chuzzlewit (1964), A Tale of Two Cities (1965), and episodes of the landmark BBC series The Forsyte Saga (1967). Born on 25 October 1912 in Sutton, Surrey, Cox began writing plays as a teenager, producing pieces for local amateur groups before achieving her first West End production with The Romance of David Garrick at the St James’s Theatre in 1942. Following the success of her stage adaptation of Vanity Fair at the Comedy Theatre in 1946, she established herself as a professional writer while also creating numerous other stage adaptations drawn from classic literature, including The Picture of Dorian Gray (1948), Northanger Abbey (1949), and Wuthering Heights (1974). In the 1950s and 1960s, Cox transitioned to television, where she became one of the foremost figures in adapting literary classics for the small screen at a time when such efforts faced criticism for being unworthy of the medium. Her work helped change perceptions of television drama, with productions like Oliver Twist noted for their bold realism and The Forsyte Saga contributing to one of the most influential and widely watched series in British broadcasting history. She received several accolades for her television writing, including the News Chronicle Award for her 1956 Jane Eyre and the Television and Screenwriters Award for her 1964 Martin Chuzzlewit. Cox died on 8 July 1998.

Early life

Early years and entry into writing

Constance Cox was born Constance Shaw on 25 October 1912 in Sutton, Surrey, England. She demonstrated an early interest in playwriting through involvement in amateur dramatics. At the age of 16, Cox wrote her first play, a costume drama performed by a local Women's Institute. Two years later, at 18, she composed a three-act farce for the Brighton Amateur Operatic Society. These amateur productions represented her initial steps into writing for the theatre, engaging with local dramatic societies in the years before the Second World War.

Personal life

Marriage and wartime experiences

Constance Cox married Norman Cox, a fighter pilot. He was killed over the Channel in 1942. During the Second World War, she worked as a postmistress in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. Just a week after her husband's death, her first West End production was accepted for staging. Following these events, she moved to Brighton, where she helped her mother and sister in their tobacconist's shop while continuing to pursue her writing.

Career

Stage writing and productions

Constance Cox established her professional stage career during the Second World War with her first West End production, The Romance of David Garrick, a historical play about the 18th-century actor-manager that premiered at the St James's Theatre in 1942 staged by Donald Wolfit. This marked her transition from amateur writing to the professional theatre. Her major breakthrough arrived in 1946 with the adaptation Vanity Fair, drawn from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, which opened at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End and became a notable hit that allowed her to write full-time. Cox specialized in faithful dramatizations of 18th- and 19th-century classic novels, producing a series of adaptations that reached West End stages and repertory theatres. Key early successes included The Picture of Dorian Gray (1948), Mansfield Park (1950), The Woman in White (1952), and Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1952, revised 1963). In later years, she continued this approach with adaptations such as Pride and Prejudice (1972) and Wuthering Heights (1974). She also provided the book for the musical Two Cities, based on Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, which premiered at the Palace Theatre in 1969. Cox's stage works were widely published by companies including Samuel French, Evans Brothers, and J. Garnet Miller Ltd., ensuring their frequent performance by amateur and repertory companies over many decades.

Television adaptations

Constance Cox emerged as a pioneering adaptor of classic literature for British television, becoming one of the first writers to treat the medium as suitable for dramatizing major 18th- and 19th-century novels, often emphasizing greater realism and darker tones that contrasted with earlier cosier BBC serials. Although television initially faced criticism as trivial or unworthy of literary masterpieces, her BBC work helped establish the classic serial format, particularly through adaptations of Charles Dickens and other authors. Her early television adaptations included Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre in 1956, which earned the News Chronicle Award for Best Television Play, and was remade by her in 1963. She also adapted Dickens' Bleak House in 1959. Cox's 1962 adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist proved especially controversial as a 13-part BBC serial broadcast on Sunday teatimes, with the brutal depiction of Bill Sikes murdering Nancy provoking widespread public complaints and questions in Parliament. The production highlighted the novel's darker elements, featuring Max Adrian as Fagin, and marked a shift toward unflinching portrayals that unsettled viewers accustomed to milder classic serials. Subsequent major BBC serials included R. D. Blackmore's Lorna Doone in 1963 and Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit in 1964, the latter winning the Television and Screenwriters Award. She later adapted Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities in 1965 and contributed episodes to the landmark 26-part BBC2 serial The Forsyte Saga in 1967. Through these works, Cox played a key role in demonstrating television's capacity for faithful and impactful renderings of classic literature.

Radio contributions

Constance Cox adapted several literary classics into radio serials for BBC Radio, providing a parallel medium to her more prominent work in stage and television. Notable among these are dramatizations of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, Anthony Trollope's The Barchester Chronicles, and Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. Her involvement in the 1970 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of War and Peace included dramatising specific episodes of the 20-part classic serial, which drew from the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation. Similarly, The Barchester Chronicles was adapted in collaboration with Peter Russell as a 20-part Sunday night serial on BBC Radio 4 during the early 1970s, achieving an average weekly audience of approximately one million listeners when combined with another contemporary serial. In 1977, Cox co-dramatised The Pickwick Papers with Barry Campbell for an eight-part BBC Radio 4 broadcast, which featured Freddie Jones in the leading role of Mr Pickwick. These radio serials underscore her skill in condensing complex narratives for audio storytelling, though they remain secondary to her extensive output in visual and theatrical media.

Awards and recognition

Death and legacy

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