Room at the Top (novel) Room at the Top (novel) Room at the Top is a novel by John Braine, first published in the United Kingdom by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1957, about the rise of an ambitious young man of humble origin, and the socio-economic struggles undergone in realising his social ambitions in post-war Britain. A film adaptation was made in 1959, followed in 2012 by a TV film. John Minton's cover art from the first edition was restored and used on the new edition by Valancourt Books in 2013. Joe Lampton, demobilised at the end of the Second World War, is starting in
Siân James (novelist) series, "Calon Gaeth", which won the 2007 Bafta Cymru award for Best Drama/Drama Serial for Television. She translated Kate Roberts's novel "Y Byw Sy'n Cysgu" into English as "The Awakening". In 1958 Siân James married the actor, Emrys James. They lived for a time near Stratford-upon-Avon, where he worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Their four children were William, Owen, Jo and Anna. Emrys James died in 1989. Siân James (novelist) Siân James (born 1932) is a Welsh novelist, academic and translator, who writes in English. James was born near Llandysul in Carmarthenshire, and attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.