The Bridges of Madison County earlier about "the dreams of a woman named Francesca," gave him the idea for the novella, which was completed in eleven days. After he had written "Bridges", Waller came to believe that he had based the character of Francesca Johnson on his wife, Georgia, whom Francesca physically resembles. According to Marc Eliot, Waller's novella is a modernization of the Noël Coward play "Still Life" (1934), which was adapted into David Lean's film "Brief Encounter" (1945). "Still Life" is about 'the desperation, guilt, and temptations of two married people who meet, fall in love, commit adultery, and then separate forever." In
Noël Coward and "Our Man In Jamaica" (2007), with Malcolm Sinclair playing Coward in each. On stage, characters based on Coward have included Beverly Carlton in the 1939 Broadway play "The Man Who Came to Dinner". A play about the friendship between Coward and Dietrich, called "Lunch with Marlene", by Chris Burgess, ran at the New End Theatre in 2008. The second act presents a musical revue, including Coward songs such as "Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans". Coward was an early admirer of the plays of Harold Pinter and backed Pinter's film version of "The Caretaker" with a £1,000 investment.