Before the Fact

Francis Iles’ 1932 novel Before the Fact is best known today as the book on which Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie 1941 Suspicion was based. As most fans of the movie are aware, the endings of the novel and the movie differ very significantly, and which you prefer is largely a matter of taste. Anthon......more

Esta es de esas pocas veces que llego a una novela gracias a la película, cosa rara porque lo que me gusta es leer antes el libro: nunca me ha atraído leer un libro de una película ya vista. El caso es que me llamó especialmente la atención esta novela porque Hitchock la llevó al cine en 1941 y sabí......more

"Some women give birth to murderers, some go to bed with them, and some marry them." First line of a whopper dark comedy that Christopher Morley tabbed in 1932 as "a masterpiece of cruelty and wit." Rich, late 20s-something-virgin Lina succumbs to Johnnie on the spot and elsewhere. She divines that he's......more

A study in moral monstrosity. At first it seems pretty clear who is the monster and who is the monster's victim; Lina's passivity and self-doubt are maddening, but her essential goodness seems clear. But as the story continues, that easy binary--of monster and victim--becomes increasingly troubled.......more

This book in one sentence: the story of a sociopath and his wife, who happens to be the stupidest woman in the world. I read this book because I'd seen Alfred Hitchcock's screen version (the movie's called "Suspicion"). I didn't like the end of the movie, so I thought maybe the book would be better.......more