The Godsend (1976)
Bernard Taylor
With a new introduction by Mary Danby
Book Description
Alan and Kate Marlowe are a typical, loving, middle-class couple, with four small children. But they wish they had just one more, a beautiful baby daughter. So when a strange young woman abandons her infant at their house, they view it as a blessing—a godsend—and adopt little Bonnie as their own.
But not long after Bonnie’s arrival, terrible things begin to happen to the Marlowes, starting with the death of their son Matthew. As the tragedies mount, Alan suspects that Bonnie is somehow responsible. Is he losing his grip on sanity? After all, surely this angelic child could not be responsible for such horrors . . . ?
The classic first novel by Bernard Taylor, The Godsend (1976) earned widespread critical acclaim on its initial publication and was the basis for a 1980 film. This edition features a new introduction by Mary Danby. Taylor’s chilling novels Sweetheart, Sweetheart and The Moorstone Sickness are also available from Valancourt.
Bernard Taylor
With a new introduction by Mary Danby
Book Description
Alan and Kate Marlowe are a typical, loving, middle-class couple, with four small children. But they wish they had just one more, a beautiful baby daughter. So when a strange young woman abandons her infant at their house, they view it as a blessing—a godsend—and adopt little Bonnie as their own.
But not long after Bonnie’s arrival, terrible things begin to happen to the Marlowes, starting with the death of their son Matthew. As the tragedies mount, Alan suspects that Bonnie is somehow responsible. Is he losing his grip on sanity? After all, surely this angelic child could not be responsible for such horrors . . . ?
The classic first novel by Bernard Taylor, The Godsend (1976) earned widespread critical acclaim on its initial publication and was the basis for a 1980 film. This edition features a new introduction by Mary Danby. Taylor’s chilling novels Sweetheart, Sweetheart and The Moorstone Sickness are also available from Valancourt.
reviews
“Bernard Taylor is capable of making your hair stand on end . . . Fascinating.” – Newsday
“If you liked The Exorcist, The Other, and Rosemary’s Baby, The Godsend is for you!” – Hartford Courant
“The Godsend is a splendidly readable and creepy story.” – Sunday Express
“A shocker . . . I enjoyed every horrid word of it.” – Daily Telegraph
“Taylor’s novel is sensitively written, filled with suspense, and a cinch to please readers.” – Library Journal
“An excellently chilling first novel.” – Boston Sunday Globe
“Eerie and shattering . . . in the tradition of Ira Levin and Tom Tryon.” – Nashville Banner
“If you liked The Exorcist, The Other, and Rosemary’s Baby, The Godsend is for you!” – Hartford Courant
“The Godsend is a splendidly readable and creepy story.” – Sunday Express
“A shocker . . . I enjoyed every horrid word of it.” – Daily Telegraph
“Taylor’s novel is sensitively written, filled with suspense, and a cinch to please readers.” – Library Journal
“An excellently chilling first novel.” – Boston Sunday Globe
“Eerie and shattering . . . in the tradition of Ira Levin and Tom Tryon.” – Nashville Banner
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1954321392 ISBN-13: 978-1954321397 $24.99 US, 174 pp. Case Laminate Hardcover Published 2015 BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1941147755 ISBN-13: 978-1941147757 $16.99 US, 174 pp. Trade paper Published 2015 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Bernard Taylor was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and now lives in London. Following active service in Egypt in the Royal Air Force, he studied Fine Arts in Swindon, then at Chelsea School of Art and Birmingham University. On graduation he worked as a teacher, painter and book illustrator before going as a teacher to the United States. While there, he took up acting and writing and continued with both after his return to England. He has published ten novels under his own name, including The Godsend (1976), which was adapted for a major film, and Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977), which Charles L. Grant has hailed as one of the finest ghost stories ever written. He has also written novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley, as well as several works of nonfiction. He has won awards for his true crime writing and also for his work as a playwright. It was during his year as resident playwright at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch that he wrote The Godsend. There Must Be Evil, his latest true crime study, is to be published in England in September.