The Greatcoat

The Greatcoat is a 2012 ghost novel by English writer Helen Dunmore, This imprint is a partnership between Arrow Books and Hammer Film Productions.

Suddenly it came to me that the story would begin with my father's RAF greatcoat...As a small child in the 1950s I remember a particular blend of stoicism, optimism and weariness.

Then a young RAF pilot Alec, taps on her window, Isabel seems to know him and they begin an affair, moving between reality and the nearby WW2 airfield.

'[3] Alison Flood praises the novel in The Sunday Times: 'Dunmore is on fine form here, wielding her skill at bringing history to life in the small, dismal details of the post-war period, and showing off her talents as a poet in her mesmerising depiction of a possession: "Isabel's hair crisped at the roots with terror."

Let's hope that Jeanette Winterson and Melvin Burgess, both also signed up for Hammer novellas, can pull off something as classy as Dunmore's opening salvo.