Hell! said the Duchess (1934)
Michael Arlen
With a new introduction by Mark Valentine
Book Description
A female killer stalks the streets of London, sleeping with young men before slashing their throats and mutilating their bodies. The crimes have baffled the police and enraged Londoners, who demand the murderer’s arrest. Mary, Duchess of Dove, a gentle young widow who is beloved by all who know her, seems an unlikely suspect, but the clues all point to her. The police have a variety of theories — perhaps the Duchess has been hypnotized or drugged, maybe she has an evil double, or could it be a Communist plot to discredit the peerage? Inspector Basil Icelin is determined to solve the mystery, but the true explanation is far more shocking and terrifying than anyone could ever imagine.
Michael Arlen (1895-1956) became a rich and world-famous celebrity after the publication of his bestseller The Green Hat in 1924. Hell! said the Duchess (1934) is a delightfully bizarre book, telling a “bedtime story” in a light, humorous style that contrasts oddly with its gruesome and horrific subject matter. This first-ever reprinting of what Karl Edward Wagner has called the best supernatural horror novel ever written includes an introduction by Mark Valentine.
Michael Arlen
With a new introduction by Mark Valentine
Book Description
A female killer stalks the streets of London, sleeping with young men before slashing their throats and mutilating their bodies. The crimes have baffled the police and enraged Londoners, who demand the murderer’s arrest. Mary, Duchess of Dove, a gentle young widow who is beloved by all who know her, seems an unlikely suspect, but the clues all point to her. The police have a variety of theories — perhaps the Duchess has been hypnotized or drugged, maybe she has an evil double, or could it be a Communist plot to discredit the peerage? Inspector Basil Icelin is determined to solve the mystery, but the true explanation is far more shocking and terrifying than anyone could ever imagine.
Michael Arlen (1895-1956) became a rich and world-famous celebrity after the publication of his bestseller The Green Hat in 1924. Hell! said the Duchess (1934) is a delightfully bizarre book, telling a “bedtime story” in a light, humorous style that contrasts oddly with its gruesome and horrific subject matter. This first-ever reprinting of what Karl Edward Wagner has called the best supernatural horror novel ever written includes an introduction by Mark Valentine.
reviews
“[A] perfect masterpiece of hair-raising horror. It may offend some of its readers, but it will not bore them.” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“It belongs to those short, perfect books that are rarely written in English.” - Evening Standard
“[T]his extremely odd performance is indicative of great power.” - Gerald Gould, The Observer
“[A] right intriguing comedy and mystery. As entertainment during your insomnia, it is earnestly recommended.” - Milwaukee Journal
“It belongs to those short, perfect books that are rarely written in English.” - Evening Standard
“[T]his extremely odd performance is indicative of great power.” - Gerald Gould, The Observer
“[A] right intriguing comedy and mystery. As entertainment during your insomnia, it is earnestly recommended.” - Milwaukee Journal
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1939140528 ISBN-13: 978-1939140524 $15.99 US, 114 pp. Trade paper Published 2013 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Michael Arlen was born Dikran Kouyoumdjian in Bulgaria in 1895 to an Armenian merchant family. In 1901, his family moved to England, where Arlen went on to attend school at Malvern College. He enrolled as a medical student at the University of Edinburgh but did not stay long, deciding instead to move to London and make a living by writing. His earliest magazine contributions were under his birth name, but with the publication of his first book, London Venture (1920), he adopted the pen name of Michael Arlen, and in 1922 when he was naturalized as a British subject, he legally changed his name to Michael Arlen.
Arlen’s first books enjoyed some success, but his 1924 novel The Green Hat was a runaway worldwide bestseller. The novel was adapted for the stage on Broadway and in London’s West End and was the basis for a silent Hollywood film starring Greta Garbo. The Green Hat made Arlen rich and famous almost overnight, and he became an international celebrity.
In 1927, Arlen, feeling ill, joined D.H. Lawrence in Florence, where the latter was working on Lady Chatterley’s Lover, in which Arlen would later find himself portrayed as Michaelis. The following year, Arlen married Countess Atalanta Mercati in Cannes; they had a son and a daughter.
Arlen continued to write during the remainder of the 1920s and 1930s, but none of his works met with the same success as The Green Hat. When Arlen found his loyalty to England questioned during World War II, he and his family moved to New York, where during the last ten years of his life he suffered from writer’s block. He died of cancer in 1956.
Arlen’s first books enjoyed some success, but his 1924 novel The Green Hat was a runaway worldwide bestseller. The novel was adapted for the stage on Broadway and in London’s West End and was the basis for a silent Hollywood film starring Greta Garbo. The Green Hat made Arlen rich and famous almost overnight, and he became an international celebrity.
In 1927, Arlen, feeling ill, joined D.H. Lawrence in Florence, where the latter was working on Lady Chatterley’s Lover, in which Arlen would later find himself portrayed as Michaelis. The following year, Arlen married Countess Atalanta Mercati in Cannes; they had a son and a daughter.
Arlen continued to write during the remainder of the 1920s and 1930s, but none of his works met with the same success as The Green Hat. When Arlen found his loyalty to England questioned during World War II, he and his family moved to New York, where during the last ten years of his life he suffered from writer’s block. He died of cancer in 1956.