''Jack's Return Home'' is a 1970

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by British writer Ted Lewis. It was adapted into the 1971 film ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...

'', starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

as Jack Carter. The novel portrays a subsection of society living on the borderline between crime and respectability. The book was a major influence on the noir school of English crime fiction. The novel was republished in 1971 by Pan in paperback as a film tie-in under the title ''Carter'', featuring stills from the movie ''

'' on the cover. The novel went out of print for many years and slipped into obscurity, until – in the 1990s – there was a resurgence in the popularity of the film, which in turn generated fresh interest in the book. The book was republished in paperback under the title ''Get Carter'' by

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

in 1993. In 2012, the novel was adapted as a radio serial by Nick Perry and broadcast under its original title on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, starring

Hugo Speer Hugo Alexander Speer (born 17 March 1968) is an English actor and director. He is best known for playing Guy in ''The Full Monty'' (1997), Inspector Valentine in ''Father Brown (2013 TV series), Father Brown'' (2013–2014), Captain Treville in ...

as Jack Carter. In 2016, the playwright Torben Betts adapted the novel for a critically acclaimed production by Newcastle's Northern Stage.

Plot summary

''Jack's Return Home'' tells the story of Jack Carter, an amoral, pitiless

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

mob enforcer who returns to his hometown to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, with whom he had not spoken in many years. Jack's presence in the town causes unease among the local crime families, who fear that his snooping will interfere with their underworld operations. Everything from simple suggestion to brute force is employed to try to get him to leave, but he doggedly refuses, bullying his way through numerous attempts on his life to arrive at the truth, leading to a violent and ambiguous conclusion which takes place in a derelict brickworks on the shoreline of the Humber.

Film adaptations

The novel has so far been filmed three times, as ''

'' in 1971 and the 2000 remake, and as '' Hit Man'' in 1972.

Further Carter novels

Jack Carter was featured in two

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

novels, both written by Lewis. * ''

Jack Carter's Law '' Jack Carter's Law'' is a 1974 British crime novel written by Ted Lewis. It is a prequel to Lewis' best known work, '' Jack's Return Home'' (1970) which was adapted into the film '' Get Carter'' in 1971. On Christmas Eve, Jack Carter learns ...

'' (1974) * '' Jack Carter and the Mafia Pigeon'' (1976)

Trivia

The first printing of the paperback which tied in with the film version was published under the title ''Carter'' (Pan Books 1971, ). All references on the cover of the book also refer to the film under this title. The character of ''Jack Carter'', though not fully named for copyright reasons, plays a key role in the

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

and Kevin O'Neill graphic novel ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century: 1969''. The story takes place during 1969, shortly before Jack's visit "up north" and the events of ''Jack's Return Home''.

References

{{Jack's Return Home Jack Carter 1970 British novels British thriller novels British crime novels British novels adapted into films Novels by Ted Lewis (writer) Novels set in Lincolnshire Michael Joseph books