Littlehampton, a sleepy Sussex beach resort, had been the center of scandalous and profanity-filled letters for months. Respected as a cornerstone of the community, Edith Swan was critical of her Irish neighbor Rose Gooding for her nasty mouth.
The historical comedy drama Wicked Little Letters, which stars Olivia Colman as Edith and Jessie Buckley as Rose, is based on the confrontation between the two neighbors.
“Parliament absolutely debated it and it was covered by all the broadsheets at the time,” Colman told the news. “The fact the nation was gripped by this I found to be hilarious.”
According to Colman’s co-star Buckley, the letters were “the sort of sensationalist trolling you would expect in the modern day” and “sent the whole country into a frenzy”.
