The French Lieutenant’s Woman 1981 was filmed in Lyme Regis, Dorset and Kingswear, Dart Valley Railway and Torbay in Devon. A gentleman forsakes his fiancee for the abandoned mistress of a French seaman in 1867 intertwined with the modern story of the actors playing the Victorian roles. Written by John Fowles it was a new kind of historical novel, with layers of truth, fantasy and self-awareness. It was made into a multi-Oscar nominated film, starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.