Poor Things has scooped three Oscars at the 2024 Academy Awards – including Best Actress for Emma Stone for her portrayal of Bella Baxter.
But, it may not be immediately apparent that the feminist Frankenstein's monster movie, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, The Lobster), has its roots in Glasgow.
The story is adapted from a 1992 novel by Glaswegian author Alasdair Gray, considered one of the greatest modern Scottish writers and artists.
Read more: Emma Stone wins Best Actress Oscar for Poor Things
And the book itself is set in Glasgow, with real locations referred to and maps and prints of Glasgow adorning its pages.
The film adaptation however is based in London, with Bella adventuring to Lisbon, Alexandria, and Paris.
The only nod to Glasgow is in Willem Dafoe's Glaswegian accent as Godwin Baxter, which the actor said he partly based on Alasdair Gray's accent.
Let's explore the uniquely Glasgow atmosphere of the book, as well as the life of Alasdair Gray and how people have reacted to changes made in the new film.
Who is Poor Things author Alasdair Gray?
Alasdair Gray was born in December 1934 in Riddrie, Glasgow, where he grew up on a council estate.
Gray attended Whitehill Secondary School in Dennistoun, and later Glasgow School of Art, where he started writing his first novel, Lanark.
He graduated in 1957 with a degree in design and mural painting, and went on to spend time as an artist in Spain and Gibraltar.
Read more: Poor Things film review: Alasdair Gray adaptation is wildly wonderful
Gray returned to Glasgow where he worked as a a freelance artist and art teacher, having studied teaching at Jordanhill College.
His first book, Lanark, a mix of naturalism and science fiction dystopia, was published in 1981 to critical acclaim, with Anthony Burgess calling Gray the greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott.
Gray would go on to write nine novels including 1982, Janine and Poor Things as well as plays and short story collections.
Gray married Inge Sørensen in 1961 and they had a son together, Andrew. The pair separated in 1969 and Gray would later marry Morag Nimmo McAlpine Gray in 1991, and dedicate Poor Things to her.
Gray was a Scottish nationalist, supporting the SNP for most of his life and designing a front page for the Sunday Herald in May 2014 supporting a "yes" vote in the independence referendum.
The Glasgow locations in Poor Things novel
Victorian era Glasgow is the main setting for Poor Things, with many real locations mentioned in the novel.
Bella's home is 18 Park Circus, a real address near Kelvingrove Park, which is illustrated with maps and drawings in the book.
Not far away is Lansdowne Church, on Great Western Road, where Bella goes to get married.
Read more: Poor Things didn't let down Alasdair Gray or Glasgow, we did
A character drowns in the River Clyde after falling from a bridge at the approximate location of where St Andrew's Suspension Bridge is today.
Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow University, The Stewart Memorial Fountain, Pollokshields are also among the many Glasgow locations mentioned in a novel which lives and breathes the city.
However, the narrative does also journey outside of Glasgow with its protagonist Bella Baxter.
The Midland Hotel in St Pancras, is where Bella and Duncan Wedderburn elope to in London. Her adventures also take her to Odesa in Ukraine, Alexandria, Gibraltar and Paris.
Where was Poor Things filmed? Controversy over removing Glasgow
The Poor Things movie was filmed on set in Hungary, with Glasgow locations replaced with surreal versions of Lisbon, Paris, and London.
The removal of Glasgow and lack of Scottish talent in the production sparked outrage from some, who argued Gray's novel is a uniquely Scottish and Glaswegian work.
It led some to quote Duncan Thaw from Grays' novel Lanark: "If a city hasn’t been used by an artist not even the inhabitants live there imaginatively...
"Imaginatively Glasgow exists as a music-hall song and a few bad novels. That’s all we’ve given to the world outside. It’s all we’ve given to ourselves.”
However, Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos, who is Greek, said it would be "totally disingenuous" of him to produce a film about Scotland.
Read more: Alasdair Gray's son 'very happy' with Emma Stone movie
While its producers told The Observer the adaptation "remains true to the spirit of Alasdair's work".
Lanthimos met Alasdair Gray in Glasgow in 2011 to discuss the work and was taken on a tour of the places mentioned in the book.
Though Gray himself never got the opportunity to see the film, having died aged 85 in December 2019, his son Andrew did.
Speaking to The Herald, Mr Gray said: “I feel that you can have a great book and a great film and I think the two of these complement each other.
"I believe the film is going to direct people to the book and if you are going in that direction you are going to be drawn towards Glasgow."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here