Memories of Midnight

Last updated
Memories of Midnight
Memories of midnight.jpg
First edition cover
Author Sidney Sheldon
LanguageEnglish
Publisher William Morrow
Publication date
1990
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Preceded by The Other Side of Midnight  

Memories of Midnight, sometimes known as The Other Side of Midnight (Book 2), [1] is a 1990 novel by Sidney Sheldon. It is a sequel to Sheldon's 1973 bestseller The Other Side of Midnight .

Contents

Plot summary

The novel begins at the end of The Other Side of Midnight, with Catherine Douglas recovering in a convent, knowing only her name. Everyone except Constantin Demiris, known as Costa, thinks she was killed by her husband, Larry Douglas, and his mistress, Noelle Page. Catherine requests to leave the convent to uncover her past, which Costa permits.

In Greece Catherine remembers Larry and Noelle trying to drown her, and tells Costa, her apparent benefactor. Worried that she will realise they were wrongfully convicted, he sends her to London to work in one of his offices.

Frederick Stavros begins to feel guilty for sending Larry and Noelle to their death, as he was their lawyer and they were all tricked into pleading guilty by Napoleon Chotas. He dies shortly after confiding in a priest, who then tells an employee of Spyros Lambrou, the brother of Costa's wife Melina. Spyros Lambrou uses this news to destroy Costa, who has been mistreating his sister.

Fearing for his life, Chotas leaves a package with attorney Peter Demonides, and sends a tape to tell Costa this. When Chotas apparently dies in a house-fire the next day, Peter delivers the package to Costa, rather than the authorities, and starts working for him. Meanwhile, Catherine befriends Kirk Reynolds, who falls in love with her. She tells him that her husband and his mistress were executed for her attempted murder. Kirk is doubtful that Greek law would sentence anyone to death for attempted murder, but checks with his acquaintance, Peter Demonides, and dies the next day.

Spyros tries to destroy Costa by convincing drug dealer Tony Rizzoli to trick Costa into taking a drug shipment into the USA. Costa kills Tony, destroys his shipment, and threatens to kill Melina. Melina assures Spyros that she can take care of herself. Spyros's house is attacked but he and his wife survive. Melina finally believes that Costa wants to kill them, so kills herself and frames Costa for the murder. Meanwhile, Costa has ordered the killing of Catherine.

Costa is arrested for Melina’s murder. Only Sypros can give him an alibi for the murder, but he refuses. Chotas reappears, in a wheelchair, having survived the house fire. He defends Costa in court, convincing Spyros into testifying in return for all of Costa’s assets, arguing that forcing him into poverty would be worse than death. Meanwhile, Costa and Chotas arrange for Costa’s assets to be transferred to a firm owned by Chotas, so Spyros will get nothing.

Catherine falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Alan Hamilton. Three strange men arrive in London, and Catherine suspects them, but only at the last minute realizes that in fact it is their office boy who intends to kill her. He locks her in the basement and turns up the thermostat of the boiler, which will explode when it reaches 400 °C (752 °F). She survives by hiding in a nearby bomb shelter, learns the truth about Costa and his conviction, and eventually marries Alan.

In the meantime, Costa is being tried for a murder he didn't commit, but Spyros testifies on the last day of the trial, freeing him. On the drive home, Chotas tells Costa that even though he liked Noelle Page, he still helped kill her. He also says he has donated all Costa’s assets to the convent, since he does not wish to continue living after what Costa did to him. Finally, he drives the car off a cliff, killing Costa and himself.

Adaptation

In 1991, the book was adapted for television as a two-part miniseries directed by Gary Nelson starring Omar Sharif as Constantin Demiris and Jane Seymour as Catherine Alexander. The miniseries follows the events of the book very closely. However, the connection with the preceding book ( The Other Side of Midnight ), which had been turned into a 1977 motion picture, was lost as the story was set in the contemporary world, rather than immediately post-WWII.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Other Side of Midnight</i> 1973 novel by Sidney Sheldon

The Other Side of Midnight is a novel by American writer Sidney Sheldon published in 1973. The book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

<i>The Sands of Time</i> (Sheldon novel) 1988 novel by Sidney Sheldon

The Sands of Time is a 1988 action novel by author Sidney Sheldon. The novel follows the adventures of four women who are forced to leave their Spanish convent for the outside world of threat, violence and passions; and two men who are pitted against each other in a fight to the death.

<i>Corazón salvaje</i> (1993 TV series) Mexican TV series or program

Corazón Salvaje is a Mexican telenovela produced by José Rendón for Televisa in 1993. In addition to breaking audience records in issue, it is one of the most memorable and most successful telenovelas of all time. It is the third television adaptation by Maria Zarattini, about the legendary love triangle between two young countesses, Monica and Aimée with the illegitimate son of a wealthy landowner, Juan del Diablo. The historical advisor for this telenovela was Jose Ruiz de Esparza who also advised the production of Alondra also starred by Ana Colchero in the title role.

<i>Un flic</i> 1972 film by Jean-Pierre Melville

Un flic is a 1972 crime thriller film, the last directed by Jean-Pierre Melville before his death the following year. It stars Alain Delon, Richard Crenna and Catherine Deneuve. Delon had previously portrayed criminals in Melville's Le Samouraï (1967) and Le Cercle Rouge (1970), but in Un flic, his role is reversed, and he plays the title character.

<i>Sto Para Pente</i> Greek TV series or program

Sto Para Pente is a popular Greek comedy-drama television series which was broadcast on Mega Channel for two seasons, from September 27, 2005 until June 18, 2007.

<i>Double Exposure</i> (1944 film) 1944 film by William A. Berke

Double Exposure is a 1944 American crime comedy film directed by William Berke, and starring Chester Morris and Nancy Kelly.

<i>The Sleeping Car Murders</i> 1965 French film

The Sleeping Car Murders is a 1965 French mystery film directed by Costa-Gavras from the novel by Sébastien Japrisot. It stars Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Michel Piccoli, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Allégret, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner and Pascale Roberts. The film was the directorial debut of Costa-Gavras, to be followed later by other, more politically-oriented work.

The North Coast Cartel was a drug cartel operating in northern Colombia between in 1980 and 2010, mostly controlling the area of the Colombian Caribbean coast illegal drug trade flow from other regions of Colombia and neighboring countries and local production. Its operations center was the city of Barranquilla. Other name was the Barranquilla Cartel.

<i>The Midnight Bell</i> Gothic novel by Francis Lathom

The Midnight Bell is a gothic novel by Francis Lathom. It was first published anonymously in 1798 and has, on occasion, been wrongly attributed to George Walker. It was one of the seven "horrid novels" lampooned by Jane Austen in her novel Northanger Abbey.

Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.

Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?

I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.

Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?

Northanger Abbey, ch. 6

<i>The Other Side of Midnight</i> (film) 1977 film by Charles Jarrott

The Other Side of Midnight is a 1977 American drama film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Marie-France Pisier, John Beck, and Susan Sarandon. Herman Raucher and Daniel Taradash wrote the screenplay based on Sidney Sheldon's 1973 novel of the same name.

<i>Demonia</i> (film) 1989 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Demonia is a 1990 Italian horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci.

<i>Lonore e il rispetto</i> Italian soap opera

L'onore e il Rispetto is an Italian crime drama broadcast on Canale 5. It is composed of four seasons of six episodes each: the first aired in 2006, the second in 2009 and the third in 2012. The fourth season, initially scheduled for the first months of the year, was broadcast from 1 September 2015. Even before the airing of the said season, Mediaset renewed the series for a fifth season.

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.

<i>Veedevadu</i> 2017 Indian action thriller film

Veedevadu is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Tatineni Satya. Also partially re-shot in Tamil as Yaar Ivan, the film stars Sachiin J. Joshi and Esha Gupta, with Prabhu and Kishore in pivotal roles. Featuring music composed by S. Thaman, the venture began production in May 2015.

<i>The Convent</i> (2000 film) 2000 American film

The Convent is a 2000 horror film directed by Mike Mendez, starring horror veteran Adrienne Barbeau. It is about a group of college students who go into an abandoned convent, only to discover that it is inhabited by demons intent on possessing them. It premiered in January 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival. Due to the original distributor closing, the film was not released on home video until December 2002.

<i>The Secret Bride</i> 1934 film by William Dieterle

The Secret Bride is a 1934 American drama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Warren William. Based on the play Concealment by Leonard Ide, the film is about governor's daughter and a state attorney general who are forced to keep their marriage secret after the governor is accused of a crime. The initial plot concerns the governor taking a bribe in exchange for pardoning a white collar criminal. The investigation is about political corruption.

Crime and Passion, also known as Ace Up My Sleeve, is a 1975 comedy-drama film.

<i>Mushk</i> 2020 Pakistani television series

Mushk is a Pakistani drama that airs on Hum TV. The actors starring in this show include Imran Ashraf, Urwa Hocane, Momal Sheikh and Osama Tahir. With Imran Ashraf also as the writer, the play is directed by Aehsun Talish. It airs a weekly episode on Hum TV, starting from 17 August 2020.

References

  1. "Memories of Midnight". fantasticfiction.co.uk.
Preceded by Sidney Sheldon Novels
1990
Succeeded by