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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Are there any good novels or films out there about emotional abuse in romantic relationships?

35 replies

Apacha · 19/01/2024 00:56

I have googled novels about emotional abuse in romantic relationships, but I wasn't sure what's good.

For films, wondering if anyone knows of any. I have seen 'Sleeping with the Enemy' with Julia Roberts, which depicts a certain kind of control (he gets angry at how she arranges the towels). But there are other kinds of controlling relationships too.

I once saw a drama called 'I am Nicola' on Channel 4, which was good on the manipulation element of a controlling relationship.

Was wondering if there's anything else out there?

OP posts:
Josette77 · 19/01/2024 00:57

Maid on Netflix

Apacha · 19/01/2024 00:58

.... I ask because reading a novel / watching a film would be helpful for me in my situation. I just haven't found much.

OP posts:
sprigatito · 19/01/2024 01:00

Gaslight
Marnie
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Dolores Claiborne
Mommie Dearest
Kramer vs Kramer

sprigatito · 19/01/2024 01:00

Not all romantic relationships, sorry

heldinadream · 19/01/2024 01:01

The Woman who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle is a novel about an abusive relationship, includes physical abuse but has all the emotional elements too. I read it a few years ago now but I do remember it was very powerful. He's a great writer.

Twilight7777 · 19/01/2024 01:02

‘Enough’ with JLo

heldinadream · 19/01/2024 01:07

Oh another novel - Strange Fits of Passion by Anita Shreve. Far as I remember this is about a woman and child getting away from an abusive partner. Very tense read.

ScattyHattie · 19/01/2024 02:17

Alice, darling, it was bit of a slow film & could've been a more interesting story, but thought it captured her anxiety well.

Chuffaluffa · 19/01/2024 06:41

Klaxon by niamh Bryan is good

StamppotAndGravy · 19/01/2024 07:30

Purple Hibiscus is about a child coming to realise her adored father abuses her mother (and the children)

HollyKnight · 19/01/2024 07:33

50 Shades of Grey covers all kinds of abuse.

Talipesmum · 19/01/2024 07:34

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë is about an abusive relationship - mostly emotional. It was written so long ago and is astonishingly clear sighted and ahead of its time, in terms of articulating realities.

VanLife33 · 19/01/2024 07:35

The girl on the train

storminabuttercup · 19/01/2024 07:36

Gone girl ?

Urcheon · 19/01/2024 07:39

heldinadream · 19/01/2024 01:01

The Woman who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle is a novel about an abusive relationship, includes physical abuse but has all the emotional elements too. I read it a few years ago now but I do remember it was very powerful. He's a great writer.

It also had a sequel, Paula Spencer, set ten years afterwards.

shepherdsangeldelight · 19/01/2024 07:40

Marian Keyes "Last chance saloon" features an emotionally abusive relationship (but it's not the main storyline of the book).

goingonapearhunt · 19/01/2024 07:57

First Love by Gwendoline Riley

Dery · 19/01/2024 08:00

Yes this:

“The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë is about an abusive relationship - mostly emotional. It was written so long ago and is astonishingly clear sighted and ahead of its time, in terms of articulating realities.”

It’s an amazing novel. Definitely worth reading. There is also a TV adaptation from the 1990s.

GoodOldEmmaNess · 19/01/2024 08:03

Daniel Deronda comes to mind - not the lovely Daniel himself of course but the chilling man that Gwendolen marries.

charlotterosea · 19/01/2024 08:20

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. I read it years ago and still think about it sometimes.

mambojambodothetango · 19/01/2024 08:35

If you can stomach the violence try Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls and Women of Troy. Ostensibly about war crimes but actually revealing about everyday use of power over women by men and the different ways women respond.

pinksheepbeep · 19/01/2024 09:43

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. Quite chilling in places. It's been a while since I've read it and the parts that stick to my memory are the physical / sexual abuse, but I'm sure it includes emotional abuse too.

StepIntoChristmasAgain · 19/01/2024 10:16

In at the deep end is a great book, with a slightly different perspective from within a same sex relationship.

clpsmum · 19/01/2024 10:50

Not without my daughter

barkymcbark · 19/01/2024 10:50

Wasn't there a series on BBC or ITV called Angela or something similar?