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Benighted (novel)

Benighted
First edition
AuthorJ. B. Priestley
LanguageEnglish
GenreDrama, Thriller
PublisherHeinemann
Publication date
October 1927
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint

Benighted (released in the United States as The Old Dark House) is a 1927 novel by the British writer J.B. Priestley.[1][2] Priestley's second published novel, the story explores the post-First World War disillusionment that Britain felt during the time period.[3] A number of travellers are forced to take shelter at an old Welsh country house during a storm. The book was released in the United States in 1928.[4][5]

Adaptations

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It served as the basis for James Whale's film The Old Dark House in 1932 and its remake in 1963.[6]

Analysis

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The book has been described as a study of British feeling following the First World War. Priestley himself described the book's characters as "forms of postwar pessimism pretending to be people".[7] As an author, Priestley tended to pit characters against people and environments that took place outside their regular circumstances.[8] Within the book, three travellers are taken in by a family, and they discover hidden dark secrets. The book draws on gothic literature elements.[7] In particular, the book draws inspiration from the 1847 novel Jane Eyre.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Watson, George; Willison, Ian (1972). The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 713. ISBN 978-0521085359.
  2. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1920). Catalogue of Title-entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, Under the Copyright Law ... Wherein the Copyright Has Been Completed by the Deposit of Two Copies in the Office. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  3. ^ Petley, Julian; Chibnall, Steve (2002). British Horror Cinema. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 9780415230032. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  4. ^ Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1928). Catalogue of Copyright Entries Part 1: Books, Group 1 New Series, Volume 25 For the Year 1928 Nos. 1-152. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 123.
  5. ^ "The old dark house. (Pub. abroad as Benighted) - Copyright Renewals - Spotlight at Stanford". Stanford Libraries. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  6. ^ Kabatchnik, Amnon (2010). Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950 - Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. Scarecrow Press. p. 339. ISBN 9780810869639.
  7. ^ a b Baxendale, John (2013). Priestley's England - J. B. Priestley and English Culture. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781847796448. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  8. ^ McFarlane, Brian (2005). The Cinema of Britain and Ireland. Wallflower. p. 35. ISBN 9781904764380.
  9. ^ Downing, Niamh; Heholt, Ruth (2016). Haunted Landscapes - Super-Nature and the Environment. Rowman & Littlefield International. p. 114. ISBN 9781783488834. Retrieved 23 February 2023.

Bibliography

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