Dead Gorgeous, written by Peter Lovesey.
I have watched the film Dead Gorgeous at least twice and discovered that it was based on one of Peter Lovesey’s books, On the Edge; it was retitled Dead Gorgeous after the film was released.
Antonia and Rose meet up again by chance in London during 1946; they had served together as WAAFs. The two of them had worked as plotters at the same aerodrome during the recently ended Second World War. Both are in unhappy and unsatisfactory marriages: Antonia to Hector, a wealthy businessman, Rose to an ex-RAF fighter pilot, Wing Commander Barry Bell, who is now a civil servant. Antonia and Rose conclude their only solution to future happiness is an end to their marriages.
Antonia has a plan to rid themselves of their husbands. She also has her sights set on a move to America with a man who is not her husband. Rose is not comfortable with Antonia’s plan but becomes embroiled in it with no chance of escape. Dead Gorgeous is a story with any number of surprises well told and an authenticity that draws on the author’s lived experience of that immediate post-war period.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I felt the film was a better version of the story.
Posted by Cathy Cade on October 23, 2026 at 4:39 pm
That’s unusual – it’s usually the othere way around and the book has more depth. I’ve read a couple of his books, but not this one…
Posted by fenlandphil on October 23, 2026 at 4:49 pm
It is unusual, Cathy I agree. I thought Peter Lovesey had also written the screen play but it isn’t the case, Andrew Payne is responsible for the screenplay.