''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' is the

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by British author

Alan Sillitoe Alan Sillitoe FRSL (4 March 192825 April 2010) was an English writer and one of the so-called "angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied. He is best known for his debut novel ...

and won the Author's Club First Novel Award. It was adapted by Sillitoe into a 1960 film starring Albert Finney, directed by

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are '' Saturday Night and S ...

, and in 1964 was adapted by David Brett as a play for the Nottingham Playhouse, with Ian McKellen playing one of his first leading roles. Sillitoe later wrote three further parts to the Seatons' story, ''

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'' (1961), ''

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'' (1989) and ''Birthday'' (2001).

Plot

The novel ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' is split into two unequal parts: the bulk of the book, Saturday Night, and the much smaller second part, Sunday Morning. Saturday Night Saturday Night begins in a working man's club in Nottingham. Arthur Seaton is 22 years old, and enjoying a night out with Brenda, the wife of a colleague at work. Challenged to a drinking contest, Arthur defeats "Loudmouth" before falling down the stairs drunk. Brenda takes him home with her and they spend the night together. Arthur enjoys breakfast with Brenda before her husband Jack gets home from a weekend at the races. Arthur works at a lathe at a bicycle factory with his friend Jack. Arthur keeps his mind occupied during the mundane and repetitive work through a mental collage of imagined fantasies, and memories of the past. He earns a good wage of 14 pounds a week, and Robboe, his superior, fears he may get in trouble for letting Arthur earn so much. Soon Arthur hears the news that Jack has been switched to nights, which pleases Arthur as he can now spend more time with Jack's wife. At the same time, Arthur carries on with Brenda's sister Winnie. During another night out at the pub, Arthur meets Doreen, a young unmarried girl with whom he begins a relatively innocent courtship — all the while keeping Brenda and Winnie a secret. However, although Jack is oblivious to his wife's infidelity, Winnie's husband Bill catches on — and Arthur's actions catch up with him when Bill and an accomplice jump Arthur one night, leaving him beaten and bed-ridden for days. Sunday Morning Sunday Morning follows the course of events after Arthur's assault. When Doreen comes to check up on him, Arthur finally comes clean about his affairs with Brenda and Winnie. Doreen stays in a relationship with Arthur despite his dishonesty; Brenda and Winnie disappear from the story. By the end of the novel, Arthur and Doreen have made plans to marry.

Cultural references

* Miranda Grey in

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. Aft ...

's ''

The Collector ''The Collector'' is a 1963 thriller novel by English author John Fowles, in his literary debut. Its plot follows a lonely, psychotic young man who kidnaps a female art student in London and holds her captive in the cellar of his rural farmhous ...

'' (1963) found the book and its protagonist Arthur Seaton "disgusting". * English singer Morrissey was heavily influenced by the book and its 1960 film adaptation. The runout groove on the B-side of vinyl copies of

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

' 1986 album ''

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'' feature the line "Them was rotten days" said by Aunt Ada (Hylda Baker) in the film. Also the line said by Doreen before Arthur takes her to the fair "I want to go where there's life and there's people" inspired the song "

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'', it was not released as a single in t ...

" on the same album ("I want to see people and I want to see life"). * The title of

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' debut album ''

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006 by Domino Recording Company and on 21 February 2006 in the United States. The album includes their fir ...

'' is a direct quote from the book, and many of its songs were inspired by the protagonist Arthur. The art design of the album was influenced by the realist images of British working-class neighbourhoods and night life in ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning''. * During a 2011 BBC interview on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', the comedian Frank Skinner stated that ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' was the first book he read at the age of 21. * In 2013, BBC Radio 4 presented a two-part dramatic adaptation (by Robert Rigby) of the novel.

Critical reception

On 5 November 2019, ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' included ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' on its list of the 100 most influential novels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night And Sunday Morning 1958 British novels Adultery in novels British novels adapted into films Nottingham Novels by Alan Sillitoe Novels set in Nottinghamshire Social realism 1958 debut novels W. H. Allen & Co. books