Jojo Moyes is a publishing phenomenon. A novelist for over 20 years, hers is one of the most familiar names on booksellers’ shelves, either on the high street or online. Until recently, just one of her romances had been adapted for the big screen. ‘Me Before You‘ was a box office hit in 2016 and now her 2012 novel, ‘The Last Letter From Your Lover’, arrives in cinemas at a time when some romantic escapism could be just what we need.
It’s a story set across two time zones. At the centre is a forbidden love affair in the sixties, and we’re introduced to it through a burgeoning new romance in the present day. Journalist Ellie (Felicity Jones) discovers a cache of secret love letters and, unable to resist digging deeper into their story, she enlists the help of a colleague for whom she has a growing attraction. Back in the sixties, Jennifer (Shailene Woodley) is the glamorous but unhappy wife of financier Laurence (Joe Alwyn) but she falls in love with journalist Anthony (Callum Turner) and has to decide where her future lies.
Although she wrote the script for ‘Me Before You’, this time around Moyes was involved in other aspects of making the film. ‘The Last Letter From Your Lover‘ was originally optioned about ten years ago but, as she describes it, “went round and round in production circles”. When the film was finally given the go-ahead, she worked alongside director Augustine Frizzell, providing comprehensive notes and advice. This ultimately resulted in her becoming an executive producer, which allowed her to spend a lot of time on set, watching the characters she’d created come to life in front of her eyes.
Having worked non-stop for eight years or so, she’d planned to take a year off in 2020, but it didn’t quite work out as planned. She recalls being unable to write at all during the first part of the pandemic. “My brain went into survival mode,” she remembers. “I’d planned to go traveling, but the only travel I did was walking around my garden with my dogs.” This year has seen her return to writing again, and she’s started a new book, but it’s very much at the early stages.
‘The Last Letter From Your Lover’ is in cinemas from 6 August.
