Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Writing

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Born May 7, 1927 · Cologne, Weimar Republic [now Germany]

Died April 3, 2013 · aged 85

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE (7 May 1927 – 3 April 2013) was a German-born British and American Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. After meeting Cyrus Jhabvala in England, she married him an…

Known For

The Remains of the DayThe Remains of the Day · 1993
The Remains of the Day
7.41993
MovieDramaRomance
A rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a housekeeper who falls in love with him in post-WWI Britain. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude.
A Room with a ViewA Room with a View · 1986
A Room with a View
7.01986
MovieDramaRomance
When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperon Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans?
Howards EndHowards End · 1992
Howards End
7.01992
MovieDramaRomance
A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.
Le DivorceLe Divorce · 2003
Le Divorce
4.92003
MovieDramaRomance
While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.
Surviving PicassoSurviving Picasso · 1996
Surviving Picasso
5.81996
MovieDramaRomance
The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.
Jefferson in ParisJefferson in Paris · 1995
Jefferson in Paris
5.11995
MovieDramaRomance
His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Paris, he becomes smitten with cultured artist Maria Cosway, but, when his daughter visits from Virginia accompanied by her attractive slave, Sally Hemings, Jefferson's attentions are diverted.
The Golden BowlThe Golden Bowl · 2000
The Golden Bowl
6.02000
MovieRomanceDrama
Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.
Mr. & Mrs. BridgeMr. & Mrs. Bridge · 1990
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
6.11990
MovieDrama
Set during World War II, an upper-class family begins to fall apart due to the conservative nature of the patriarch and the progressive values of his children.

Filmography

Sort
A Soldier's Daughter Never CriesA Soldier's Daughter Never Cries · 1998
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
6.11998
MovieDrama
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotional slice-of-life story. Jones is portrayed here as Bill Willis, a former war hero turned author who combats alcoholism and is starting to experience health problems. Living in France with his wife, daughter, and an adopted son, the family travels an unconventional road which casts them as outsiders to others. Preaching a sexual freedom, his daughter's sexual discovery begins at an early age and betrays her when the family moves to Hanover in America. Her overt sexuality clashes with the values of her teenage American peers and gives her a problematic reputation. Meanwhile, her brooding brother copes with his own interior pain regarding his past, only comfortable communicating within the domestic space.

Screenplay