The film was made and first released about four years after its source novel of the same name by William Boyd had been first published in 1984.
"The film," according to its writer William Boyd, "looks at certain attitudes of English life, certain manners, the way we talk
to each other and the way we hide our emotions."
Producer David Puttnam first acquired the highly popular novel "Stars and Bars" (1984) written by William Boyd. When Puttnam became Chairman of Columbia Pictures, he and director Pat O'Connor immediately turned to producer Sanford Lieberson, who, after years of being a studio film executive, had re-entered the independent producer ranks with the hit film, Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987). They then asked Lieberson to take over the production of this picture as a producer.
The picture's producer Sanford Lieberson said of the picture's source novel 'Stars and Bars' (1984): "It was the first novel in years that gave a fresh look at an Englishman in the United States and examined the clash of cultures between a particular class of Englishman and Americans."