Anatomy of a Scandal - the trailers.

In the long run-up to Anatomy of a Scandal being published, nothing has made me more excited than the creation of a video to promote the book.

It's a Netflix style trailer that's dark and tantalising with a soundtrack of searing strings in a minor key, a moody midnight blue and grey palette, and words which appear and disappear, teasing the reader with questions at the heart of the novel. Every time I play it I get goosebumps. Here it is:

Not content with creating one video, the S&S team have created a further two: one from the viewpoint of Sophie - the wife who wants to believe her husband - and another through the eyes of Kate, the criminal barrister who's convinced he is guilty. 

Here they are. First Sophie:

And then Kate:

The videos mirror the two main points of view in the novel, although we also see events from the point of view of James (who doesn't merit his own video), Ali and Holly. I think they capture the claustrophobic, introspective nature of these women's points of view, while the camera's gaze moving across and up the House of Commons, highlights how these personal dilemmas have wider moral and political implications. As current allegations in Hollywood, Westminster and beyond are revealing, some secrets go all the way to the top.

Simon & Schuster in the US have been so inspired they've created their own trailer, see below. I'm intrigued by their take on it, and love seeing how it's captured their imaginations, too: