A LOVE TRIANGLE TO MELT EVEN THE HARDEST HEART
War And Peace’s famous love triangle – between best friends Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov and sweet Natasha Rostova – is as dramatic as any of the book’s epic battle scenes, and Andrew Davies seized on it for the heart of his adaptation. ‘Those three are at the centre of the drama,’ he says, ‘and I wanted to show as much of the action as possible through their eyes.’ Although the three characters circle each other over many years, it takes time for the passion to build. At the start of the novel Andrei is married to the clingy Princess Lise, but when she dies in childbirth he gives up all thoughts of love. It’s only when he meets Natasha on a visit to the Rostov home, and later dances with her at the Tsar’s Ball, that his passion is stirred. It’s wonderful to see [Andrei] go from the “Russian Darcy”, as Andrew Davies describes him, at the start and then slowly soften into a lovesick puppy when he’s with Natasha. His friend Pierre is a party boy, but after he inherits a fortune he becomes eligible husband material and is tricked into marrying Helene Kuragina. Meanwhile, flighty but lovable Natasha has a series of mini flirtations – but takes nothing seriously until she meets Andrei. It’s a coup de foudre and Pierre, who’s had a soft spot for Natasha since childhood, watches regretfully as she and Andrei are engaged. The poignancy of the story comes from the fact that Pierre and Andrei, whose families are close, adore each other and Andrew Davies thinks we might find Andrei repugnant if it weren’t for his love for Pierre. ‘