A Dark-Adapted Eye

Last updated

A Dark-adapted Eye
ADarkAdaptedEye.jpg
First edition (UK)
AuthorBarbara Vine (Ruth Rendell)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Crime / Mystery novel / Psychological thriller
Published1986 (Viking/UK)
(Bantam/US)
Media typePrint/Audiobook
Pages304 (paperback)
ISBN 0-14-008636-6
OCLC 60261763
Followed by A Fatal Inversion  

A Dark-Adapted Eye (1986) is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pen name Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award. [1] It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC. [2]

Contents

Plot

Largely set during World War II, the story is told by Faith Severn, who at the prompting of a true-crime writer recounts her memories of her aunt, the prim, fastidious, and snobbish Vera Hillyard. Vera's life is initially centred on her beautiful younger sister, Eden, even to the exclusion of her own son, Francis, with whom she has a poor relationship. Later, Vera brings up a second son, Jamie, born during the war and presumably fathered by Vera's soldier husband, though the timing of his birth raises questions. Vera becomes intensely devoted to Jamie, while Eden marries the scion of a wealthy family.

When Eden is unable to have children with her husband, she begins to demand custody of Jamie, who she claims is being poorly raised by Vera. To the bewilderment and shock of the rest of the family, the custody battle escalates to violent levels, leading to tragedy and a series of disturbing revelations. [3]

Adaptation

A Dark-Adapted Eye was dramatised (with the storyline significantly altered) by the BBC in 1994 as part of The Barbara Vine Mysteries . [4] It starred Celia Imrie as Vera, Sophie Ward as Eden, and Helena Bonham-Carter as Faith. [5]

A note on the title

A dark-adapted eye is one that has adjusted to darkness so that it is able to discern objects. [6] In the context of the novel, the title refers to Faith's ability, after many years, to examine and analyse her family's history and its tragedy.

The book includes themes that were common in the novelist's work, including illegitimate births and miscarriages. She refused to reveal details of her personal life, but admitted that one of the incidents in the book was based on a story she had heard in childhood. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>King Solomons Carpet</i>

King Solomon's Carpet (1991) is a novel by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. It is about the London Underground and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets, buskers, vigilantes, and children who go "sledging" on the roofs of train carriages as an initiation rite. The title of the book refers to the legend of King Solomon's magic carpet of green silk which, as it could fly and brought everyone to their destination, is likened to the underground. King Solomon's Carpet is one of the few novels set in London which should be read with the help of a tube map. It won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Rendell</span> English writer (1930–2015)

Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.

<i>The Poisonwood Bible</i> 1998 novel by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible (1998), by Barbara Kingsolver, is a best-selling novel about a missionary family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from the U.S. state of Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo, close to the Kwilu River.

Margaret Ellis Millar was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minette Walters</span> English crime writer

Minette Caroline Mary Walters DL is an English crime writer.

<i>The Mystery of the Blue Train</i> 1928 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The book features her detective Hercule Poirot.

<i>Mrs McGintys Dead</i> 1952 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Mrs McGinty's Dead is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1952 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 March the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at nine shillings and sixpence (9/6). The Detective Book Club issued an edition, also in 1952, as Blood Will Tell.

<i>They Do It with Mirrors</i> 1952 Miss Marple novel by Agatha Christie

They Do It with Mirrors is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1952 under the title of Murder with Mirrors and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 17 November that year under Christie's original title. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at ten shillings and sixpence (10/6). The book features her detective Miss Marple.

<i>The Ruth Rendell Mysteries</i> British television crime drama series

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broadcast on ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000. Created by renowned author Ruth Rendell, the first six series focused entirely on her main literary character, Chief Inspector Reg Wexford, played by George Baker. Repeat airings of these series changed the programme's title to The Inspector Wexford Mysteries. However, later series shifted focus to other short stories previously written by Rendell, with Wexford featuring in only three further stories, in 1996, 1998 and 2000. When broadcast, these three stories were broadcast under the title Inspector Wexford.

The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.

<i>A Fatal Inversion</i> 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell

A Fatal Inversion is a 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in that year and, in 1987, was also shortlisted for the Dagger of Daggers, a special award to select the best Gold Dagger winner of the award's 50-year history.

<i>A Judgement in Stone</i> 1977 novel by Ruth Rendell

A Judgement in Stone is a 1977 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell.

<i>Vanity Dies Hard</i>

Vanity Dies Hard is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, published in 1965 by John Long Ltd in the UK and in 1966 as In Sickness and in Health by Doubleday in the US. In a later interview, the author said that it was at the very bottom of the list of "my worst books". In 1995 the novel was adapted for the ITV series of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Ewing</span> British actress, playwright and novelist

Barbara Ewing is a New Zealand actor, playwright and novelist based in the UK. In the 1980s Ewing played the character Agnes Fairchild in British comedy series Brass. Ewing's novel The Petticoat Men was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award in 2015.

<i>The Brimstone Wedding</i>

The Brimstone Wedding is a 1996 mystery novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, written under the name Barbara Vine.

<i>No Night Is Too Long</i> (novel)

No Night is Too Long is a 1994 crime / mystery novel depicting a bisexual love triangle, a possible murder and the aftermath. The book was penned by British writer Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine.

<i>Gallowglass</i> (novel) 1990 novel by Ruth Rendell

Gallowglass is a 1990 novel by the British writer Ruth Rendell, written under the name Barbara Vine.

<i>The Childs Child</i>

The Child's Child is the 14th novel written by Ruth Rendell under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, and the first such novel in 4 years, since 2008's The Birthday Present. The novel was published in the United States in December 2012 and in the UK by Penguin Viking in March 2013. In a number of interviews Rendell has intimated that this will be the last novel she writes under the Vine pseudonym.

<i>The Little House</i> (novel)

The Little House is a 1996 psychological thriller novel by British author Philippa Gregory.

<i>The Barbara Vine Mysteries</i> British TV series or programme

The Barbara Vine Mysteries is a British television mystery drama series, principally written by Sandy Welch and Jacqueline Holborough and directly solely by Tim Fywell, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 10 May 1992.

References

  1. "Revisiting the Edgar Awards: 1987's A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine". Criminal Element. 23 August 2019.
  2. "A Dark Adapted Eye (1994)". BFI. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020.
  3. S. Rowland (19 December 2000). From Agatha Christie to Ruth Rendell: British Women Writers in Detective and Crime Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 59. ISBN   978-0-230-59878-2.
  4. Tracie Cooper (2007). "A Dark Adapted Eye (1994)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  5. Jerry Roberts (5 June 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 186. ISBN   978-0-8108-6378-1.
  6. "Dark Adaptation - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com.
  7. Andrew Wilson (10 March 2013). "Open and shut case: Is Ruth Rendell finally ready to open up about her puzzling personal life?" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.