Herr's book started life as a dramatic screenplay.是什么意思？

Herr's book started life as a dramatic screenplay.

赫尔的书一开始是一个电影剧本。

book

n. 书，卷，课本，账簿；vt.& vi. 预订；vt. 登记，（向旅馆、饭店、戏院等）预约，立案（控告某人），订立演出契约；adj. 书的，账簿上的，得之（或来自）书本的，按照（或依据）书本的；

例句
Throughout the book we have addressed ourselves to the problem of ethics.
整本书中我们都在探讨伦理观的问题。

started

v. 出发，启程( start的过去式和过去分词 )，起动，提出（问题），开办；

例句
He started eating an apple...
他开始吃苹果。

life

n. 生活，生计，生命，性命，一生，寿命，人生，尘世；

例句
In his later life he became even more absent-minded.
他晚年变得愈加健忘了。

as

adv. 同样地，一样地，例如；prep. 作为，以…的身份，如

例句
As far as I can recall, Patti was a Smith.
我记得帕蒂是姓史密斯的。

dramatic

adj. 戏剧的，戏剧性的，引人注目的，突然的，巨大的；

例句
Holiday spots have seen a dramatic revival and tourist chiefs are competing for a slice of the action.
各个度假点重又呈现出一派兴旺景象，旅游业的龙头老大们都在争着分一杯羹。

screenplay

n. 电影剧本，剧本；

例句
Colin Welland's screenplay is faithful to the novel.
科林·韦兰的电影剧本忠实于原小说。