| A Good Marriage | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Suspense |
| Published in | Full Dark, No Stars |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Publication date | 2010 |
A Good Marriage is a novella by American writer Stephen King, published in the collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010).
Darcy Anderson has been married to Bob, an accountant from Portland, Maine, for 27 years. They have a happy yet humdrum relationship, running a mail order business selling and appraising rare coins. One day, while Bob is away on business, Darcy goes into the garage to search for batteries. When she rummages through Bob's belongings, she stumbles across a pornographic magazine showing sadomasochistic images. Unnerved by the magazine—and that it is in Bob's possession—Darcy finds a secret compartment behind the garage's baseboard and makes a more horrific discovery: a small box containing the ID cards of Marjorie Duvall, a victim of a serial killer called "Beadie".
Bob phones Darcy and senses her distress. Afterwards, Darcy looks up Beadie online and cross-checks Bob's business records with the locations of the murders, finding that Bob was close to most of the crimes. When Darcy wakes up the next morning, she finds that Bob has deduced her discovery and returned home early. He calmly explains his insanity to his horrified wife, recounting how he and a sadistic friend named Brian Delahanty—nicknamed "BD", from which "Beadie" was derived—planned a school shooting as teenagers. Delahanty was hit by a truck before they could carry it out, but Bob claims he had "infected" him with "certain ideas", resulting in his homicidal urges.
Bob claims that after he started his family with Darcy, his murderous alter ego receded and he was not driven to kill again for several years. He pleads to Darcy to put the matter behind them, for the sake of herself and their family. After mulling it over, Darcy feigns an agreement to do so, on the condition that he bury Duvall's ID cards deep in the woods. Bob believes Darcy has put the truth behind her; however, she is trying to think of a way to stop him from killing again. A few months after Darcy's discoveries, an elated Bob finds a rare 1955 doubled die cent, and the couple goes out to celebrate. When Bob becomes drunk from champagne, Darcy devises a plan to murder him.
Upon arriving home, Darcy has Bob fetch some Perrier while she waits for him upstairs, ostensibly for sex. However, when Bob arrives, Darcy pushes him down the stairs, breaking his arm, neck, and back. She then manages to shove a plastic bag and a dish cloth down his throat, killing him. After removing the evidence of murder, Darcy manages to convince the police and the children that Bob died in a drunken accident, and is not suspected of committing any foul play. Darcy assumes the ordeal is over.
However, not long after Bob is buried, a retired detective named Holt Ramsey visits the house. Ramsey spent years investigating the Beadie murders and had questioned Bob. Ramsey tells Darcy that he suspected Bob was the killer, since his Chevrolet Suburban was seen in the vicinity of each victim. Darcy realizes that Ramsey has figured out her role in Bob's death. Once she admits the truth, Ramsey assures her that she "did the right thing" and leaves; before he does, she tells him about Delahanty. Darcy realizes that Bob was close to being caught and wasn't as smart as he thought he was, and finds that she can now be at peace with herself. [1]
In the afterword for Full Dark, No Stars, King stated that the character of Bob Anderson was inspired by Dennis Rader, the infamous "BTK Killer". Like Rader, Anderson gruesomely tortures and kills his victims, then mails his victims' identification to the police; Anderson's victims, like Rader's, are women and children. Also like Rader, Anderson is a pillar of the community who is well regarded by his friends and colleagues. King said that he felt inspired to write the story after the public outcry against Rader's wife, Paula, who had been married to him for 34 years yet seemed to have no knowledge of his crimes. [1]
On May 19, 2012, it was announced that Will Battersby and Peter Askin were producing an adaptation of A Good Marriage with Askin directing Stephen King's screenplay of his own novella. [2] On September 11, 2012, Joan Allen was announced as the lead in the film. [3] Anthony LaPaglia and Stephen Lang were later added to the cast. [4] [5]
Terrence Rafferty of The New York Times wrote, "King works the double motifs deftly and guides the narrative to a satisfyingly cathartic climax—after which he supplies a nifty denouement". [6] Bill Sheehan of The Washington Post wrote, "Through his mastery of detail and his deceptively effortless narrative voice, King transforms this disquieting material into a disturbing, fascinating book." [7] Tim Martin of The Daily Telegraph wrote that the story starts off with a familiar premise but ends "with some far more troubling and resonant points about justice and forgiveness". [8] Doug Johnstone of The Independent called the story "King at his absolute best". [9] Carol Memmott of USA Today called it the best story of the collection and wrote, "It's a grim reminder that you can never really know the people you love, and it's a warning about how the little things in life can be the tipping point toward a living nightmare." [10]
In the wake of the novella and its subsequent film, Kerri Rawson, the daughter of Dennis Rader, spoke publicly, claiming that King had exploited both her family and her father's victims with the story. [11]
Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Called the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections. His debut, Carrie, was published in 1974, and was followed by 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand and The Dead Zone. Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the horror genre. The novellas provided the basis for the films Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption. King has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has cowritten works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King.
Four Past Midnight is a collection of novellas written by Stephen King in 1988 and 1989 and published in August 1990. It is his second book of this type, the first one being Different Seasons. The collection won the Bram Stoker Award in 1990 for Best Collection and was nominated for a Locus Award in 1991. In the introduction, King says that, while a collection of four novellas like Different Seasons, this book is more strictly horror with elements of the supernatural.
Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awards. Three of his novels have been adapted into films.
Dennis Lynn Rader, also known as BTK, is an American serial killer who murdered at least ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Although Rader occasionally killed or attempted to kill men and children, he typically targeted women. His victims were often bound, sometimes with objects from their homes, and either suffocated with a plastic bag or manually strangled with a ligature.
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh in his directorial debut, and starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film follows scientists as they use experimental technology to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to locate where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.
Derry is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Maine that has served as the setting for a number of Stephen King's novels, novellas, and short stories, notably It. Derry first appeared in King's 1981 short story "The Bird and the Album" and has reappeared as recently as his 2011 novel 11/22/63.
A deely bobber is a novelty item of headgear comprising a headband to which are affixed two springy protrusions resembling the antennae of insects. These "antennae" may be topped with simple plastic shapes or more elaborate and fanciful decorations, such as mini pom poms or light-emitting diodes. The name "deely bobber" is a genericized trademark; other names include deely-boppers, bonce boppers, head boppers, or space boppers. The product was introduced in 1981 and quickly became a fad of the 1980s. In June 1982, a headline of The New York Times called them Martian antennae.
"Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game " is a horror short story by Stephen King, first published in the 1980 anthology New Terrors, edited by Ramsey Campbell, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. It was adapted from an unfinished novel called "The Milkman". The events in this story follow the events of the previously unpublished short story "Morning Deliveries ", which appears in the same collection.
Payment on Demand is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan. The screenplay by Bernhardt and Bruce Manning chronicles a marriage from its idealistic early days to its dissolution.
Daughters of Darkness is a 1971 erotic horror film co-written and directed by Harry Kümel and starring Delphine Seyrig, John Karlen, Andrea Rau, and Danielle Ouimet.
Full Dark, No Stars, published in November 2010, is a collection of four novellas by American author Stephen King, all dealing with the theme of retribution. One of the novellas, 1922, is set in Hemingford Home, Nebraska, which is the home of Mother Abagail from King's epic novel The Stand (1978), the town the adult Ben Hanscom moves to in It (1986), where Alice and Billy stop for a while towards the end of the book Billy Summers, and the setting of the short story "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (1978). The collection won the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Best Collection, and the 2011 British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Also, 1922 was nominated for the 2011 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
Fair Extension is a novella by American writer Stephen King, published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010).
Big Driver is a novella by American writer Stephen King, published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010). An excerpt was published in the November 12, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly.
The Potter's Field is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters set in August to December 1143. It is the 17th volume of the Cadfael Chronicles and was first published in 1989.
Letters from Three Lovers is a 1973 made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. An ABC Movie of the Week and a sequel to The Letters (1973), the film is co-produced by Aaron Spelling, written by Ann Marcus and stars Martin Sheen, Belinda Montgomery, Robert Sterling, June Allyson, Ken Berry and Juliet Mills, among others.
A Good Marriage is a 2014 American psychological thriller film based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, from the 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars. It stars Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Kristen Connolly and Stephen Lang. It was released on October 3, 2014.
Big Driver is a 2014 American crime thriller television film based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010). It was directed by Mikael Salomon and written by Richard Christian Matheson.
1922 is a 2017 American horror drama film written and directed by Zak Hilditch, based on Stephen King's 2010 novella of the same name. Starring Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough, and Molly Parker, the film was released on Netflix on October 20, 2017.
The Clovehitch Killer is a 2018 American coming-of-age thriller film directed by Duncan Skiles in his directorial debut, and written by Christopher Ford. It stars Dylan McDermott, Charlie Plummer, Samantha Mathis, and Madisen Beaty. The film was mostly inspired by the story of real life serial killer Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer.
