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Bedelia
Long before Desperate Housewives, there was Bedelia: pretty, ultra femme, and “adoring as a kitten.” A perfect housekeeper and lover, she wants nothing more than to please her insecure new husband, who can’t believe his luck. But is Bedelia too good to be true? A mysterious new neighbor turns out to be a detective on the trail of a “kitten with claws of steel”—a picture-perfect wife with a string of dead husbands in her wake.
Caspary builds this tale to a peak of psychological suspense as her characters are trapped together by a blizzard. The true Bedelia, the woman who chose murder over a life on the street, reveals how she turns male fantasies of superiority into a deadly con.
Femmes Fatales restores to print the best of women’s writing in the classic pulp genres of the mid-20th century. From mystery to hard-boiled noir to taboo lesbian romance, these rediscovered queens of pulp offer subversive perspectives on a turbulent era. Enjoy the series: Bedelia; The Blackbirder; Bunny Lake Is Missing; By Cecile; The G-String Murders; The Girls in 3-B; In a Lonely Place; Laura; Mother Finds a Body; Now, Voyager; Skyscraper; Stranger on Lesbos; Women's Barracks.
Caspary builds this tale to a peak of psychological suspense as her characters are trapped together by a blizzard. The true Bedelia, the woman who chose murder over a life on the street, reveals how she turns male fantasies of superiority into a deadly con.
Femmes Fatales restores to print the best of women’s writing in the classic pulp genres of the mid-20th century. From mystery to hard-boiled noir to taboo lesbian romance, these rediscovered queens of pulp offer subversive perspectives on a turbulent era. Enjoy the series: Bedelia; The Blackbirder; Bunny Lake Is Missing; By Cecile; The G-String Murders; The Girls in 3-B; In a Lonely Place; Laura; Mother Finds a Body; Now, Voyager; Skyscraper; Stranger on Lesbos; Women's Barracks.
213 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
36 people are currently reading
782 people want to read
About the author
Vera Caspary
43 books105 followersVera Caspary, an acclaimed American writer of novels, plays, short stories and screenplays, was born in Chicago in 1899. Her writing talent shone from a young age and, following the death of her father, her work became the primary source of income for Caspary and her mother. A young woman when the Great Depression hit America, Caspary soon developed a keen interest in Socialist causes, and joined the Communist Party under a pseudonym. Although she soon left the party after becoming disillusioned, Caspary's leftist leanings would later come back to haunt her when she was greylisted from Hollywood in the 1950s for Communist sympathies. Caspary spent this period of self-described 'purgatory' alternately in Europe and America with her husband, Igee Goldsmith, in order to find work. After Igee's death in 1964, Caspary returned permanently to New York, where she wrote a further eight titles. Vera Caspary died in 1987 and is survived by a literary legacy of strong independent female characters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
March 30, 2015
This was such a fun book! It reads like an old b&w suspense film (actually this was made into a movie in 1946), and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Basically, we have a Black Dahlia type woman who has already buried four or five husbands, now contentedly married to her latest and acting like the all-doting, butter-wouldnt-melt-in-my-mouth, if-you-ever-leave-me-I'll-die, Suzie Homemaker.
Which really makes the story all the more chilling. Her husband can only see her sweet dependence and childish attractiveness even after being confronted with the truth. And then a heavy snowstorm blocks all roads, downing power lines and bringing both suspicions and opportunities to their inexorable climax...
So I was vaccilating between a four and a five for this, but I think I'll give it a five because for its genre it really was perfect.
CONTENT:G
Basically, we have a Black Dahlia type woman who has already buried four or five husbands, now contentedly married to her latest and acting like the all-doting, butter-wouldnt-melt-in-my-mouth, if-you-ever-leave-me-I'll-die, Suzie Homemaker.
Which really makes the story all the more chilling. Her husband can only see her sweet dependence and childish attractiveness even after being confronted with the truth. And then a heavy snowstorm blocks all roads, downing power lines and bringing both suspicions and opportunities to their inexorable climax...
So I was vaccilating between a four and a five for this, but I think I'll give it a five because for its genre it really was perfect.
CONTENT:G
March 31, 2017
Classic pulp fiction.
Don't expect to get any sleep till you're finished reading this one - impossible to put down thriller.
Don't expect to get any sleep till you're finished reading this one - impossible to put down thriller.
February 27, 2024
From 1945
The story of a serial wife and killer of husbands for insurance money. I love the detail of her taking names and history from romantic fiction. Annabelle, Chloe, Bedelia. Brilliantly plotted, basically from the perspective of her final husband. It has to come to an end sometime.
Takes place in the early 1900s. This kind of thing, poisonings, insurance payouts, identity switches, actually happened a lot in the 1800s.
11/2015
I loved this. I couldn't stop reading it. As far as I can tell, this state of sublime reading happens to me at most twice a year. There were many moments in this which reminded me of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. And Bedelia is from several years before. Just saying. The more you know about the past, the more you see that nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything has precedents.
The story of a serial wife and killer of husbands for insurance money. I love the detail of her taking names and history from romantic fiction. Annabelle, Chloe, Bedelia. Brilliantly plotted, basically from the perspective of her final husband. It has to come to an end sometime.
Takes place in the early 1900s. This kind of thing, poisonings, insurance payouts, identity switches, actually happened a lot in the 1800s.
11/2015
I loved this. I couldn't stop reading it. As far as I can tell, this state of sublime reading happens to me at most twice a year. There were many moments in this which reminded me of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier. And Bedelia is from several years before. Just saying. The more you know about the past, the more you see that nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything has precedents.
November 21, 2020
You know those true crime, cold case TV shows that play on non-cable television at one in the morning where a sheriff solves a mystery long after everyone else gave up by submitting DNA evidence that, because of changes in technology, now prove the husband did it, but you already know the husband did it because the show has interviewed literally everyone else including the victim's neighbor's cousin's roommate's dog but not the husband?
Because this is the 1940s version of that.
I actually think I would have enjoyed it immensely more without the marketing. The synopsis gives the tension away, so any sense of wonder or 'is this all in his head or is it real?' gets thrown out immediately.
But this is still lovely noir fiction. I love how every detail fits symbolically together one way or another. Even if the story feels a little heavy handed and drawn out, it keeps you wondering how thing will end.
A read with plenty of ambiance but not much plot. I think it'd be better to go in without knowing anything.
Because this is the 1940s version of that.
I actually think I would have enjoyed it immensely more without the marketing. The synopsis gives the tension away, so any sense of wonder or 'is this all in his head or is it real?' gets thrown out immediately.
But this is still lovely noir fiction. I love how every detail fits symbolically together one way or another. Even if the story feels a little heavy handed and drawn out, it keeps you wondering how thing will end.
A read with plenty of ambiance but not much plot. I think it'd be better to go in without knowing anything.
September 7, 2019
Noir y/o suspense doméstico, como se le viene a llamar ahora aunque la novela es de 1945 y transcurre en 1913, es ante todo una novela pulp escrita por una mujer en los 40, en una época en que eran los hombres los que escribian sobre todo ese tipo de novelas negras y ásperas.
Cuando empieza la novela, Charlie Horst es el hombre más feliz del mundo porque acaba de casarse con la mujer perfecta, una especie de geisha americana, ultrafemenina, amita de casa, dulce, cuyo único objetivo en la vida es la completa felicidad de su hombre . Y el planteamiento inicial de Vera Caspary es genial en el sentido de que comienza la novela con una fiesta de navidad donde Charlie presenta a su perfecta esposa a sus amigos. Hermosa, dócil y perfecta anfitriona, todos parecen impresionados ante ella, ya que a través de ella, era el orgullo masculino de Charlie el que se reafirmaba. Sin embargo hay notas discordantes: dos amigas de Charlie, chicas independientes y solteras, que no entienden mucho, incluso en esa época (lo que nos reafirma ese toque feminista de Vera Caspary), que una mujer se pueda contentar con ese papel de satélite del hombre:
- Bedelia existe solo por su hombre y toda su vida está enroscada alrededor de él; no podrá vivir sin uno al lado.
-¿Y nosotras, en cambio si podemos?
-Tu y yo cariño, estamos demasiado lejos del harén.Tú te ganas la vida y la disfrutas. Yo tengo una renta y vivo adecuadamente sola. Los hombres no son nuestros señores, ni amos, y se sienten ofendidos por ello.
Hay otro momento, dónde Vera Caspary vuelve a dar su visión de los hombres de la época:
Pero a los hombres no les gusta que que una muchacha sea demasiado independiente ¿verdad? Creen que no es realmente mujer la que no necesita un hombre para protegerla y cuidarla: Abbie y yo, cuando ella estuvo aqui hablamos mucho de eso. El secreto encanto de Bedelia es...
Y la actitud misma de Bedelia nos puede chocar hoy en día, porque tanta dedicación a su marido, resulta un tanto antinatural, en ese sentido comparte la visión que tenia Ira Levin de las mujeres zombies en sus Stepford Wives:
Le apartó las manos con suavidad y Bedelia le dejó hacer, humildemente, sometida, reconociéndolo como su superior, su señor y dueño. Èl era hombre y fuerte; ella, mujer y frágil. La fuerza de Charlie le hacía responsable de ella; su vida estaba en sus manos.
Esta es la actitud de Bedelia, y Charlie está encantado, sin embargo, a medida que avanza la novela, alguien siembra la duda en la mente de Charlie y su mente empieza a divagar y a dudar de Bedelia y cúanto más duda, menos sometida y dócil la va viendo. La tensión va creciendo y esta tensión tiene una fuerza muy poderosa, ante todo porque casi el único espacio donde se desenvuelven los personajes es en la casa, y la mente de Charlie es casi un escenario en si mismo. En ese sentido me ha impresionado mucho esta novela porque creo que a medida que va avanzando y la mente de Charlie entra en juego, se vuelve mejor, transfiriéndole esta tensión al lector.
A veces Charlie pensaba que nada sabía de la vida de Bedelia, pues todo lo que ella le había contado de su infancia y de su primer matrimonio parecía tan irreal como una novela.
En definitiva, una novela estupenda. Quizás Vera Caspary no sea Edith Wharton a la hora de escribir, pero si es una escritora con fuerza, efectiva y con una gran carga psicológica que bucea entre lineas, y en cuanto empiezas la novela, te introduces en ese mundo de gente guay en la superficie pero que en cuanto escarbas un poco, hay capas no tan guays y ciertamente oscuras e inquietantes, porque en un tris tras Vera Caspary tira por la borda cualquier visión romántica que pudiéramos tener del perfecto "american way of life". Quizás lo que menos me ha gustado es ese final un poco apresurado, pero lo que de verdad importa es que esta autora es una antisistema y cuestiona el papel de la mujer de la época. Magnífica Vera Caspary, otra Crime Lady para mi santuario.
Cuando empieza la novela, Charlie Horst es el hombre más feliz del mundo porque acaba de casarse con la mujer perfecta, una especie de geisha americana, ultrafemenina, amita de casa, dulce, cuyo único objetivo en la vida es la completa felicidad de su hombre . Y el planteamiento inicial de Vera Caspary es genial en el sentido de que comienza la novela con una fiesta de navidad donde Charlie presenta a su perfecta esposa a sus amigos. Hermosa, dócil y perfecta anfitriona, todos parecen impresionados ante ella, ya que a través de ella, era el orgullo masculino de Charlie el que se reafirmaba. Sin embargo hay notas discordantes: dos amigas de Charlie, chicas independientes y solteras, que no entienden mucho, incluso en esa época (lo que nos reafirma ese toque feminista de Vera Caspary), que una mujer se pueda contentar con ese papel de satélite del hombre:
- Bedelia existe solo por su hombre y toda su vida está enroscada alrededor de él; no podrá vivir sin uno al lado.
-¿Y nosotras, en cambio si podemos?
-Tu y yo cariño, estamos demasiado lejos del harén.Tú te ganas la vida y la disfrutas. Yo tengo una renta y vivo adecuadamente sola. Los hombres no son nuestros señores, ni amos, y se sienten ofendidos por ello.
Hay otro momento, dónde Vera Caspary vuelve a dar su visión de los hombres de la época:
Pero a los hombres no les gusta que que una muchacha sea demasiado independiente ¿verdad? Creen que no es realmente mujer la que no necesita un hombre para protegerla y cuidarla: Abbie y yo, cuando ella estuvo aqui hablamos mucho de eso. El secreto encanto de Bedelia es...
Y la actitud misma de Bedelia nos puede chocar hoy en día, porque tanta dedicación a su marido, resulta un tanto antinatural, en ese sentido comparte la visión que tenia Ira Levin de las mujeres zombies en sus Stepford Wives:
Le apartó las manos con suavidad y Bedelia le dejó hacer, humildemente, sometida, reconociéndolo como su superior, su señor y dueño. Èl era hombre y fuerte; ella, mujer y frágil. La fuerza de Charlie le hacía responsable de ella; su vida estaba en sus manos.
Esta es la actitud de Bedelia, y Charlie está encantado, sin embargo, a medida que avanza la novela, alguien siembra la duda en la mente de Charlie y su mente empieza a divagar y a dudar de Bedelia y cúanto más duda, menos sometida y dócil la va viendo. La tensión va creciendo y esta tensión tiene una fuerza muy poderosa, ante todo porque casi el único espacio donde se desenvuelven los personajes es en la casa, y la mente de Charlie es casi un escenario en si mismo. En ese sentido me ha impresionado mucho esta novela porque creo que a medida que va avanzando y la mente de Charlie entra en juego, se vuelve mejor, transfiriéndole esta tensión al lector.
A veces Charlie pensaba que nada sabía de la vida de Bedelia, pues todo lo que ella le había contado de su infancia y de su primer matrimonio parecía tan irreal como una novela.
En definitiva, una novela estupenda. Quizás Vera Caspary no sea Edith Wharton a la hora de escribir, pero si es una escritora con fuerza, efectiva y con una gran carga psicológica que bucea entre lineas, y en cuanto empiezas la novela, te introduces en ese mundo de gente guay en la superficie pero que en cuanto escarbas un poco, hay capas no tan guays y ciertamente oscuras e inquietantes, porque en un tris tras Vera Caspary tira por la borda cualquier visión romántica que pudiéramos tener del perfecto "american way of life". Quizás lo que menos me ha gustado es ese final un poco apresurado, pero lo que de verdad importa es que esta autora es una antisistema y cuestiona el papel de la mujer de la época. Magnífica Vera Caspary, otra Crime Lady para mi santuario.
February 10, 2018
Charles, a dry, upstanding New England architect, cannot believe his good fortune in having married the stylish, sumptuous, dimpled Bedelia, a young widow he meets by chance on a trip to Colorado. The two settle into Charles's old family home in Connecticut, and Bedelia succeeds in charming the town and impressing everyone with her style and domestic flourishes. Charles is googly-eyed with adoration of his new wife, who to him is like a warm little animal, or a piece of ripe fruit, or a piece of decorative china. (book written in 1942) She can do no wrong in his eyes. He can't think straight when he's in the same room with her. However, after a few months of marriage, Charles becomes more aware that aspects of Bedelia's background don't add up. Was she, or was she not, married to a well-known painter who died of appendicitis? Was her black pearl ring fake, as she claimed, or was it actually REAL!? Is that powder she gives him for his indigestion really what she says it is? Small inconsistencies turn into bigger ones as the two become snowed in during a long Connecticut blizzard. A terrific example of 1940s noir fiction, and a real page-turner. By the author of Laura (upon which the famous film with Gene Tierney was based)
December 2, 2024
Fantastic, very dark. I think I might have liked this more than Laura, actually.
WEATHER
First of all, just an extremely well-written suspense thriller. A great winter read! The way that Caspary incorporates the snow/the storm/the weather is really evocative.
- “A light blanket of snow concealed the darkness of the earth.”
- “She had buried her face in the pillow and was shaking and sobbing again. The wind split the world, shattering rocks, dividing the rivers. The sky was about to fall, the earth to explode, the waters to rise up and devour them.” And then, “The storm’s fury died. The wind retreated, the waters were lulled. The early became solid again. And Bedelia fell asleep, her head on her bare arm.”
- “A wraith of snow rose, filling his eyes with its bitter powder.” (I highlighted this line when I first read it - but reading it again, knowing how the book ends, really takes it to another level.)
- “Their isolation was as complete as it had ever been, the night as quiet, the snow unscarred. Outside nothing moved except the river, winding like a black snake between snow-covered rocks.” (You could definitely do something with all this snake imagery… this book would be a great pick for a high school English class tbh, there’s enough depth to write essays but it’s also pretty entertaining - and would probably be hard to Cliff Notes it too.)
- “By getting away from Bedelia he had believed he could find clarity and think dispassionately. But his mind was a fog. He felt actually that his head was filled with thick gray clouds.”
- “The house rang with a silence that had more life to it than any sound. It was as if the clock had stopped and the river ceased flowing over the rocks.”
GENDER
And then the parallels between Bedelia and Ben - fascinating. I should say: Charlie is, it turns out, our POV character. Bedelia is his charming, thoughtful, seemingly perfect new wife. Ben is the neighbor who comes between them, planting seeds of doubt in Charlie’s mind…
- Charlie on Bedelia: “She was a tiny creature, lovable as a kitten. Her eyes were lively, dark […] her brunette radiance […]” etc.
- Charlie on Ben: “hard, compact, and wiry, with abundant dark hair and a knowing smile” & “Ben’s vitality, [] his taut darkness” (and in fact that last quote reads in full: “Charlie recognized in Ben’s vitality, in his taut darkness, in the distinctive modeling of his face with the thin nose and high cheekbones, qualities which would attract a woman.”)
And then the shifts in power dynamic/role reversals between Charlie and Ben (“Their positions were reversed. Ben had become the curious, impatient one, Charlie armed with knowledge and the power to tantalize.”) and between Charlie and Bedelia.
And then on top of that, the way that Bedelia is portrayed as feminine, womanly - but in fact so is Charlie, under the influence of Bedelia (“He had cherished, even enjoyed, these little feminine faults because they had flattered him and swelled his male pride. By falling in love with weakness he had grown weak”; “Ben noted the red stain on Charlie’s lip, the scar left by Bedelia’s affection”) and also, still, his mother. Versus Ben being portrayed as masculine… and Ellen as well (“mannish”, her pantsuits and career)… especially interesting given how things end!
And this exchange:
Bedelia: She was such a tiny mouse.
Charlie: It might have been a male.
Bedelia: All helpless things seem female to me.
And then —
Charlie: No use working yourself up over the death of a pest. A mouse seems an inoffensive little thing, really quite touching, but it’s destructive and dangerous, a menace. We’ve got to get rid of them for our own safety.
Some interesting stuff to consider, basically!
AND SOME MISC QUOTES
“When she related conversations she had had with people she used to know, Charlie could see printed lines, correctly paragraphed and punctuated with quotation marks.”
“Before his marriage he had, like every other respectable man, known a number of wantons. […] Bedelia’s easy pleasure gave to the marriage bed a fillip of naughtiness without which no man of Puritan conscience could have been satisfied. He was glad he had married a widow.”
“By twelve o’clock he felt as rugged and witless as an athlete.”
“‘A slug of c.b. would hit the spot.’” (Here, c.b. is cider brandy lol.)
“’Thanks for your thoughtful Christmas gift,’ Charlie said.” Love a deadpan one-liner.
“Charlie turned from the window. In the dim room he saw the shapes of things, chairs, tables, the sofa and love-seat, and the spaces between these things”
“He could no more speak to Bedelia of murder than he could mention deformity in the presence of the deformed.”
“The careful avoidance of all that was unpleasant and unsavory was not only Charlie’s greatest fault, but the fault of his people and his class. By turning their eyes and ears from evil, they nourished evil, gave it sunlight, fresh air, and the space in which to flourish.”
“Thinking of it, Charlie experienced all the sensations. He lost his balance, fell, shuddered as the water closed over him, floundered about, held his breath, struggled and tried to reach the surface.” And “In the shadows at the turn of the stairs, Will Barrett accosted him, a cynical smile curving his wet lips, a warning light in his drowned eyes.” And “Charlie felt himself turn cold all over, moistly cold as if the water were closing over him. He struggled in the dark, trying to extricate himself from the thick weeds and to find the posts of the pier.”
**The edition I read also had an Afterword with a fun biography of Caspary by A.B. Emrys. She lived a life!
WEATHER
First of all, just an extremely well-written suspense thriller. A great winter read! The way that Caspary incorporates the snow/the storm/the weather is really evocative.
- “A light blanket of snow concealed the darkness of the earth.”
- “She had buried her face in the pillow and was shaking and sobbing again. The wind split the world, shattering rocks, dividing the rivers. The sky was about to fall, the earth to explode, the waters to rise up and devour them.” And then, “The storm’s fury died. The wind retreated, the waters were lulled. The early became solid again. And Bedelia fell asleep, her head on her bare arm.”
- “A wraith of snow rose, filling his eyes with its bitter powder.” (I highlighted this line when I first read it - but reading it again, knowing how the book ends, really takes it to another level.)
- “Their isolation was as complete as it had ever been, the night as quiet, the snow unscarred. Outside nothing moved except the river, winding like a black snake between snow-covered rocks.” (You could definitely do something with all this snake imagery… this book would be a great pick for a high school English class tbh, there’s enough depth to write essays but it’s also pretty entertaining - and would probably be hard to Cliff Notes it too.)
- “By getting away from Bedelia he had believed he could find clarity and think dispassionately. But his mind was a fog. He felt actually that his head was filled with thick gray clouds.”
- “The house rang with a silence that had more life to it than any sound. It was as if the clock had stopped and the river ceased flowing over the rocks.”
GENDER
And then the parallels between Bedelia and Ben - fascinating. I should say: Charlie is, it turns out, our POV character. Bedelia is his charming, thoughtful, seemingly perfect new wife. Ben is the neighbor who comes between them, planting seeds of doubt in Charlie’s mind…
- Charlie on Bedelia: “She was a tiny creature, lovable as a kitten. Her eyes were lively, dark […] her brunette radiance […]” etc.
- Charlie on Ben: “hard, compact, and wiry, with abundant dark hair and a knowing smile” & “Ben’s vitality, [] his taut darkness” (and in fact that last quote reads in full: “Charlie recognized in Ben’s vitality, in his taut darkness, in the distinctive modeling of his face with the thin nose and high cheekbones, qualities which would attract a woman.”)
And then the shifts in power dynamic/role reversals between Charlie and Ben (“Their positions were reversed. Ben had become the curious, impatient one, Charlie armed with knowledge and the power to tantalize.”) and between Charlie and Bedelia.
And then on top of that, the way that Bedelia is portrayed as feminine, womanly - but in fact so is Charlie, under the influence of Bedelia (“He had cherished, even enjoyed, these little feminine faults because they had flattered him and swelled his male pride. By falling in love with weakness he had grown weak”; “Ben noted the red stain on Charlie’s lip, the scar left by Bedelia’s affection”) and also, still, his mother. Versus Ben being portrayed as masculine… and Ellen as well (“mannish”, her pantsuits and career)… especially interesting given how things end!
And this exchange:
Bedelia: She was such a tiny mouse.
Charlie: It might have been a male.
Bedelia: All helpless things seem female to me.
And then —
Charlie: No use working yourself up over the death of a pest. A mouse seems an inoffensive little thing, really quite touching, but it’s destructive and dangerous, a menace. We’ve got to get rid of them for our own safety.
Some interesting stuff to consider, basically!
AND SOME MISC QUOTES
“When she related conversations she had had with people she used to know, Charlie could see printed lines, correctly paragraphed and punctuated with quotation marks.”
“Before his marriage he had, like every other respectable man, known a number of wantons. […] Bedelia’s easy pleasure gave to the marriage bed a fillip of naughtiness without which no man of Puritan conscience could have been satisfied. He was glad he had married a widow.”
“By twelve o’clock he felt as rugged and witless as an athlete.”
“‘A slug of c.b. would hit the spot.’” (Here, c.b. is cider brandy lol.)
“’Thanks for your thoughtful Christmas gift,’ Charlie said.” Love a deadpan one-liner.
“Charlie turned from the window. In the dim room he saw the shapes of things, chairs, tables, the sofa and love-seat, and the spaces between these things”
“He could no more speak to Bedelia of murder than he could mention deformity in the presence of the deformed.”
“The careful avoidance of all that was unpleasant and unsavory was not only Charlie’s greatest fault, but the fault of his people and his class. By turning their eyes and ears from evil, they nourished evil, gave it sunlight, fresh air, and the space in which to flourish.”
“Thinking of it, Charlie experienced all the sensations. He lost his balance, fell, shuddered as the water closed over him, floundered about, held his breath, struggled and tried to reach the surface.” And “In the shadows at the turn of the stairs, Will Barrett accosted him, a cynical smile curving his wet lips, a warning light in his drowned eyes.” And “Charlie felt himself turn cold all over, moistly cold as if the water were closing over him. He struggled in the dark, trying to extricate himself from the thick weeds and to find the posts of the pier.”
**The edition I read also had an Afterword with a fun biography of Caspary by A.B. Emrys. She lived a life!
April 25, 2023
This was a fun romp a la femme fatale!
April 4, 2015
What a book.
Bedelia is the perfect wife, who makes the perfect home life and can do no wrong in her husband's eyes. Everyone adores her. So why is it that things don't add up? She tells her past in little stories scattered throughout the years, each of them outstanding tales of the poor Bedelia who has lead a sorry life. Until she met her present husband who believes the sun doesn't shine without her. And now she claims she leads a lovely life and couldn't love him more or be happier. Her husband is completely happy, even though he has been strangely ill lately. Just like all Bedelia's mysterious husbands before him....
So, who is Bedelia? Is she the sweet housewife she seems? Is she just an unfortunate member of a tragedy or is she the tragedy? Did she kill her husbands, and will she do it again?
This book really stuck with me, I'm still puzzling everything out in my head, trying to find out who Bedelia truly is and why tragedy followed in her wake. And the more I think about the ending, the better I like it. Any book with such a perfect ending deserves five stars. Recommended 100%!
PG Some murders, a few swears nothing else.
Bedelia is the perfect wife, who makes the perfect home life and can do no wrong in her husband's eyes. Everyone adores her. So why is it that things don't add up? She tells her past in little stories scattered throughout the years, each of them outstanding tales of the poor Bedelia who has lead a sorry life. Until she met her present husband who believes the sun doesn't shine without her. And now she claims she leads a lovely life and couldn't love him more or be happier. Her husband is completely happy, even though he has been strangely ill lately. Just like all Bedelia's mysterious husbands before him....
So, who is Bedelia? Is she the sweet housewife she seems? Is she just an unfortunate member of a tragedy or is she the tragedy? Did she kill her husbands, and will she do it again?
This book really stuck with me, I'm still puzzling everything out in my head, trying to find out who Bedelia truly is and why tragedy followed in her wake. And the more I think about the ending, the better I like it. Any book with such a perfect ending deserves five stars. Recommended 100%!
PG Some murders, a few swears nothing else.
September 3, 2024
Beware of other reviews! They contain spoilers.
January 25, 2015
Architect Charlie Horst went on vacation to get over his grief after the death of his beloved mother, and while away fell for the beautiful widow Bedelia, whom he married and brought home to Connecticut with him. He's still besotted with her, as are some of the locals. Even journalist Ellen, who's loved Charlie since childhood, admits that Bedelia's a paragon. One person who seems especially interested in her is artist Ben Chaney, who's rented the neighboring house for a few months in order to do some painting of winter scenes.
We discover long before Charlie does that his supposedly ideal wife is capable of deception and manipulation. And we soon learn that Ben isn't an artist at all but an insurance detective on the trail of a Black Widow character who has engineered the "accidental" demise of at least four previous husbands . . . after they've taken out massive insurance policies, of course. Charlie's in line to be her next victim.
The book's not a mystery novel but a suspenser (the section where Charlie and Bedelia are snowed-in alone particularly so), and also a character study of especial interest because, however devious and murderous Bedelia is, at the same time Caspary manages to make us feel a sneaking admiration for her -- or at least some sympathy. Bedelia has, in a sense, merely devised a means for a woman to get ahead in a male-dominated world where wives are possessions and chattels. Milksop mommy's boy Charlie has preferred what he assumes to be a malleable doll over the far more independent, intelligent Ellen; it's difficult not to think meanly that he kinda deserves whatever ill fate might befall him.
A few years ago I watched the movie adaptation -- Bedelia (1946), with Margaret Lockwood in the title role -- so that I could write about it for my Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir; it's not a noir itself but is of definite associational interest, being a sister to the noir classic Laura (1944). Recently I realized I'd managed not to read either of the two Caspary novels upon which the movies are based, and decided it was time to redress that situation. I'm very glad I did; it won't be long, I think, before I read Laura and Evvie, both of which came in the same omnibus edition as my copy of Bedelia.
We discover long before Charlie does that his supposedly ideal wife is capable of deception and manipulation. And we soon learn that Ben isn't an artist at all but an insurance detective on the trail of a Black Widow character who has engineered the "accidental" demise of at least four previous husbands . . . after they've taken out massive insurance policies, of course. Charlie's in line to be her next victim.
The book's not a mystery novel but a suspenser (the section where Charlie and Bedelia are snowed-in alone particularly so), and also a character study of especial interest because, however devious and murderous Bedelia is, at the same time Caspary manages to make us feel a sneaking admiration for her -- or at least some sympathy. Bedelia has, in a sense, merely devised a means for a woman to get ahead in a male-dominated world where wives are possessions and chattels. Milksop mommy's boy Charlie has preferred what he assumes to be a malleable doll over the far more independent, intelligent Ellen; it's difficult not to think meanly that he kinda deserves whatever ill fate might befall him.
A few years ago I watched the movie adaptation -- Bedelia (1946), with Margaret Lockwood in the title role -- so that I could write about it for my Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir; it's not a noir itself but is of definite associational interest, being a sister to the noir classic Laura (1944). Recently I realized I'd managed not to read either of the two Caspary novels upon which the movies are based, and decided it was time to redress that situation. I'm very glad I did; it won't be long, I think, before I read Laura and Evvie, both of which came in the same omnibus edition as my copy of Bedelia.
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September 7, 2015At first pretty great; after 150 pages slightly trying. Caspary is a natural writer but not much really happens: a lot of intense repressed-husband and maybe-psychotic-wife conversations and a climactic twist that I found neither thrilling nor convincing. Psychologically nuanced though it is, and possessed of some nice storm-whipped-country-house-in-harsh-northern-winter atmosphere, it’s a little turgid as a thriller, and not quite well-wrought enough to stand up without the genre scaffold. I liked it – the characters are fresh and alive and Bedelia herself is chilling – but it goes on too long and harps on the same things and doesn’t quite sparkle enough to get me to love it. A piece of history that nearly, but only nearly, speaks direct to today.
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February 5, 2025read for class. SO fun. an original femme fatale. lots of interesting stuff abt gender and class as well.
January 19, 2026
Vera Caspary was very good at this sort of thing.
February 15, 2008
I love the Femme Fatale series, but was disappointed with Bedelia--it's not "bad"--just not as good as I'd hoped. Then again, once you've read "Laura" can any of the author's other books ever measure up? Only three stars, but still a good read.
January 7, 2013
I ordered this book shortly after finishing Laura because I loved that so much and I have to say I may have liked this even better. It was very short, but such a lovely paranoid claustrophobic book. The act of a perfect submissive, bouncy, loving housewife who secretly was a homicidal manic, but never let her mask slip. Bedelia was exactly the type of woman character I'd normally hate but in Caspary's hands she was great. The book was set at Christmas during a snowstorm so this was the perfect time to be reading it. While everything was made a little too obvious from the cover of the book it was enjoyable, though I think it would have been more so if I'd known nothing about it when I picked it up. There was a nice lot of gender issues in the book. There are independent women who work (the book was written in the 40s but set in 1913) who discuss how men don't respect women's independence and just want someone submissive. In fact the murderess is set up as the perfect wife, which is how she gets away with her crimes. I love the idea that the "weaker" woman is the one you should be afraid of. The independent intellectual woman who works at the paper is dismissed as an old maid, despite being the same age as Bedelia when she marries (in her 30s). She is criticised for being old fashioned and frumpy even though in the 19th century she would have been considered a pre-raphelite beauty. I thought it was interesting the way the "modern" working woman was given the "old fashioned" asthetic. The ending of the book did make me feel sad. I really wanted some escape. It was really very good though and I definitely want to find more books by this author.
April 4, 2019
This is an entertaining crime noir that has psychological elements. Bedelia is a fascinating character though, in typical pulp crime fiction fashion, we don't get to know very much of her but only glimpses of her past and the hidden behaviors. The book does leave you guessing a bit as to what kind of person she really is which I liked. I did have a problem with the fact that the author chose to set the book at the turn of the 20th century. This is very obviously a story that needed to be set in its present day (1940's) with its noir fixings and there was no earthly reason I could see to set it in the past. The author didn't even try to make the setting or language the characters used authentic to the early 20th century (other than she left out 1940's slang). That sort of took away from the book a bit but if you read it and put in your mind that it takes place in the 1940's rather than earlier, I think it can be an enjoyable read.
May 26, 2008
I had high hopes for Bedelia going into the read, having heard some high praise for Laura by the same author. I just didn't like the main character...actually i didn't like any of the characters. they're all uncomfortable in their roles in society, secretive and sort of pompous. except for Bedelia, the visual essence of feminine beauty and servitude.
the reader never gets into bedlia's head, which i guess helps the plot, though her motives seem too obvious, maybe, to be real. the weather and the very tight knit community help with the feeling of claustrophobia.
i think the book is maybe most interesting in contrast to Laura.
the reader never gets into bedlia's head, which i guess helps the plot, though her motives seem too obvious, maybe, to be real. the weather and the very tight knit community help with the feeling of claustrophobia.
i think the book is maybe most interesting in contrast to Laura.
February 22, 2017
One of the most famous film noir movies of the 1940's was Laura, based on the novel by Vera Caspary. It made her famous. Bedelia was written a few years later, and also filmed. Bedelia is an amazing psychological thriller. The tag line for this book was: She Seduces Men...But Does She Kill Them? And there you have your plot. I was surprised by the actions of one of the main characters. I was surprised by a major plot twist.And I was surprised by the ending. What more can you ask from a novel? If psychologigal suspense is what you crave, then read this book and see how it is done.
January 30, 2022
Not nearly as good as Laura, many dumb characters doing dumb things. The "femme fatale" is beautiful, but her insipid dialogue was driving me crazy ("I'll just die if you don't love me"). Not a very intersting woman. I missed the more interesting character of Laura
December 14, 2025
I've previously only read one book by American crime writer and screenwriter, Vera Caspary, who lived from 1899 - 1987. That was maybe her best known book, Laura, which was also turned into a great movie which I've watched a few times. After my wife and I watched Laura one of our most recent times, I decided to see what else she'd written as I wanted to explore her work more. And here we are at Bedelia, the novel she wrote immediately after Laura. It was originally published in 1945.
Bedelia is the new wife of Connecticut businessman Charles Horst. Charles met her while he was recuperating in Colorado from his mother's death. Enamored with Bedelia, he proposed, got married and they returned to the family home in Conn. His neighbours, even though his home was quite isolated, also liked Bedelia (fondly called Biddy by Charles), even Mary, who had hoped someday that it would be her who became Charles' wife. New to the scene is artist Ben Chaney, who is renting the cottage next door and seems to have a way with women.
As happy as Charles is, things seem a bit off. Bedelia, for her lovely personality, controls Charles very much. At the Xmas dinner, she fusses over what he eats, due to his upset digestive system. At the New Year's party at Ben's place, Charles suffers a collapse, faints and appears close to death. The doctor is very concerned and orders in a personal nurse to monitor Charles very closely and he insists that all of Charles' meals will be prepared by her. She will be with him at all times.
Now, I'll stop there with the story. Suffice it to say, that it is filled with suspicion, a few neat surprises, both in story and about characters and it moves along quite briskly and ends with a neat surprise. I found it a bit overwrought at times but it did help add to the tension. Bedelia is a fascinating character, with many levels to her. Charles is a bit more straight forward. All in all it was an excellent mystery and I will continue to explore Caspary's work. (4.0 stars)
Bedelia is the new wife of Connecticut businessman Charles Horst. Charles met her while he was recuperating in Colorado from his mother's death. Enamored with Bedelia, he proposed, got married and they returned to the family home in Conn. His neighbours, even though his home was quite isolated, also liked Bedelia (fondly called Biddy by Charles), even Mary, who had hoped someday that it would be her who became Charles' wife. New to the scene is artist Ben Chaney, who is renting the cottage next door and seems to have a way with women.
As happy as Charles is, things seem a bit off. Bedelia, for her lovely personality, controls Charles very much. At the Xmas dinner, she fusses over what he eats, due to his upset digestive system. At the New Year's party at Ben's place, Charles suffers a collapse, faints and appears close to death. The doctor is very concerned and orders in a personal nurse to monitor Charles very closely and he insists that all of Charles' meals will be prepared by her. She will be with him at all times.
Now, I'll stop there with the story. Suffice it to say, that it is filled with suspicion, a few neat surprises, both in story and about characters and it moves along quite briskly and ends with a neat surprise. I found it a bit overwrought at times but it did help add to the tension. Bedelia is a fascinating character, with many levels to her. Charles is a bit more straight forward. All in all it was an excellent mystery and I will continue to explore Caspary's work. (4.0 stars)
March 22, 2022
This is my second Vera Caspary book, and I am disappointed. I may not be reading anymore Vera Caspary.
The protagonist Charlie's wife, bedelia horst, one of her aliases, uses her good looks and flatters men with what they want to hear, to get them to marry her. Then she begins to poison them, and when they die, she gets the insurance money. In this way she has managed to amass $250,000.
But we don't know this until later on.
BeDelia and Charlie Horst live in the country outside of a Connecticut town. BeDelia is a "pretty little thing." She adores clothes, makeup, gew-gaws and jewelry. She is always making up to Charlie, telling him what a good strong husband he is, and how much she loves him, how well he takes care of her. It's enough to make you throw up.
From the poison bedelia is giving him, Charlie gets a terrible indigestion attack. He has to see a doctor, and has to stay in bed. The doctor has his suspicions about Bedelia, so he orders a nurse to live in and take care of Charlie until he is better. He also orders Bedelia to sleep in another room. I found it curious the way the author described the nurse:
"since she had arrived that afternoon, held a conference with Dr Meyers in the den, marched up the stairs and changed her dress for a blue- and white-striped uniform, this woman had ruled the household. Charlie and Bedelia had hated her on sight. Nevertheless, they let her intimidate them. She used her ugliness as other women use Beauty to give her authority. If a country fair had offered prizes for the most unattractive female on exhibit, Miss Gordon would have captured first honors. Below Dusty hair, tightly netted, bulged a forehead like a parentheses. Between this bulge and the crag of her chin, her face curved inward like a soup plate. Her nose was broad but so flat that it gave slight relief to the concavity. Her body was squat, her wrists red and her disposition sour."
There is a snow storm coming through the area, but before it gets there, their neighbor Ben comes by their house. He lets them know that his friend from St Paul Minnesota will be coming into town. This news greatly affects Bedelia:
" 'I had a wire from my friend in St paul,' Ben said. 'The blizzards are apparently over in the Middle West and he's coming here, after all. You'll meet Keene Barrett in a few days.'
the ornament slipped from Bedelia's hands. The Dresden lovers lay shattered on the floor. The Marquis's white wigged head rolled into the corner, the porcelain lace of his Mistress's skirt powdered the rug.
Bedelia's face had been drained of color. Her empty hands were circled before her as if she were still holding the ornament.
'biddy my sweet!' Charlie took her in his arms. 'Don't be upset. The thing has no value and, just between you and me, I'll confess that I always thought it hideous.'
She lowered her unsteady hands. Her rings sparkled in the lamplight. Her eyes had become blank, all expression was erased from her countenance, and it was clear that she had not heard what Charlie said. He led her to the couch, sat with his arm around her swelling waist. Soon he and Ben were talking casually again, about motors, comparing the merits of their machines and discussing the improvements which were being made by manufacturers. BeDelia sat beside her husband quietly, sunk in reverie, hardly aware of the men's voices. Presently Ben Rose and said that he must leave. Charlie asked him to stay for supper. Bedelia did not repeat the invitation."
As it turns out, Bedelia, in another alias, had been married to Keene Barrett's brother. When he died, she took the $1,000 of insurance money, and left town.
Charlie increasingly becomes aware of Bedelia's lies. In the beginning of the book, she had told Charlie that she had given away a black pearl ring, that was of great value, but she said it was fake. After Bedelia ran away in the snowstorm, wanting to run away to Europe, he had found her lying in a ditch, apparently overcome by the cold. In a bag flung to the side, among other things, he found the black pearl ring that she said she had given away.
" 'don't be horrid to me, charlie. I love you. I live only for you.'
Her fervor embarrassed him. He rose and walked away from the bed, and looked at his mother's portrait above the mantle. Harriet Philbrick had never colored her lips and cheeks with rouge. Only righteousness had adorned her countenance. She sat upright in the carved Victorian chair and faced the world with full assurance of her superiority. Emboldened by the look in his mother's eyes, Charlie whirled around and said in The voice she had used when she wished to show displeasure, 'why did you lie to me about the ring?'
'What ring, dear?'
'please don't lie, Bedelia. I know you didn't give away the black pearl. I saw it in your bag.'
'oh, that. Yes, of course, you found it in my bag. Since I thought I was leaving you, it didn't matter whether I wore it or not. You see, dear, you haven't improved my taste at all. I'm still fond of that imitation pearl.'
'But you said you'd given it away.'
'No, I didn't. I never gave that ring away.'
'You told me you had.'
'What a funny idea!'
'look here' - Charlie almost shouted it - 'you told me that on christmas. I wanted to give Abbie the ring and you said you've given it away.'
She shook her head.
'I distinctly remember,' Charlie said. 'On two occasions you said it. The night we dined at Ben's.'
'No!' She interrupted. 'No, I didn't say it at all. You said it. I remember now that you told Ben and Abbie I'd given the ring away. I didn't say anything then because I didn't want to contradict you in public, particularly after Abbie made that flattering remark about me and what an unusual wife I was. I wondered where you got the idea, and I meant to ask you about it when we were alone, but you had your attack that night, and I was so frightened I completely forgot.' "
So bedelia now starts gaslighting charlie, in the way that men usually gaslight women.
I don't even know why I've spent this much time reviewing this book, because I really didn't care for it. Charlie and bedelia, especially bedelia, are tiresome characters.
The ending is better, though, after we have to suffer through Bedelia's pouting and quaffing about.
The protagonist Charlie's wife, bedelia horst, one of her aliases, uses her good looks and flatters men with what they want to hear, to get them to marry her. Then she begins to poison them, and when they die, she gets the insurance money. In this way she has managed to amass $250,000.
But we don't know this until later on.
BeDelia and Charlie Horst live in the country outside of a Connecticut town. BeDelia is a "pretty little thing." She adores clothes, makeup, gew-gaws and jewelry. She is always making up to Charlie, telling him what a good strong husband he is, and how much she loves him, how well he takes care of her. It's enough to make you throw up.
From the poison bedelia is giving him, Charlie gets a terrible indigestion attack. He has to see a doctor, and has to stay in bed. The doctor has his suspicions about Bedelia, so he orders a nurse to live in and take care of Charlie until he is better. He also orders Bedelia to sleep in another room. I found it curious the way the author described the nurse:
"since she had arrived that afternoon, held a conference with Dr Meyers in the den, marched up the stairs and changed her dress for a blue- and white-striped uniform, this woman had ruled the household. Charlie and Bedelia had hated her on sight. Nevertheless, they let her intimidate them. She used her ugliness as other women use Beauty to give her authority. If a country fair had offered prizes for the most unattractive female on exhibit, Miss Gordon would have captured first honors. Below Dusty hair, tightly netted, bulged a forehead like a parentheses. Between this bulge and the crag of her chin, her face curved inward like a soup plate. Her nose was broad but so flat that it gave slight relief to the concavity. Her body was squat, her wrists red and her disposition sour."
There is a snow storm coming through the area, but before it gets there, their neighbor Ben comes by their house. He lets them know that his friend from St Paul Minnesota will be coming into town. This news greatly affects Bedelia:
" 'I had a wire from my friend in St paul,' Ben said. 'The blizzards are apparently over in the Middle West and he's coming here, after all. You'll meet Keene Barrett in a few days.'
the ornament slipped from Bedelia's hands. The Dresden lovers lay shattered on the floor. The Marquis's white wigged head rolled into the corner, the porcelain lace of his Mistress's skirt powdered the rug.
Bedelia's face had been drained of color. Her empty hands were circled before her as if she were still holding the ornament.
'biddy my sweet!' Charlie took her in his arms. 'Don't be upset. The thing has no value and, just between you and me, I'll confess that I always thought it hideous.'
She lowered her unsteady hands. Her rings sparkled in the lamplight. Her eyes had become blank, all expression was erased from her countenance, and it was clear that she had not heard what Charlie said. He led her to the couch, sat with his arm around her swelling waist. Soon he and Ben were talking casually again, about motors, comparing the merits of their machines and discussing the improvements which were being made by manufacturers. BeDelia sat beside her husband quietly, sunk in reverie, hardly aware of the men's voices. Presently Ben Rose and said that he must leave. Charlie asked him to stay for supper. Bedelia did not repeat the invitation."
As it turns out, Bedelia, in another alias, had been married to Keene Barrett's brother. When he died, she took the $1,000 of insurance money, and left town.
Charlie increasingly becomes aware of Bedelia's lies. In the beginning of the book, she had told Charlie that she had given away a black pearl ring, that was of great value, but she said it was fake. After Bedelia ran away in the snowstorm, wanting to run away to Europe, he had found her lying in a ditch, apparently overcome by the cold. In a bag flung to the side, among other things, he found the black pearl ring that she said she had given away.
" 'don't be horrid to me, charlie. I love you. I live only for you.'
Her fervor embarrassed him. He rose and walked away from the bed, and looked at his mother's portrait above the mantle. Harriet Philbrick had never colored her lips and cheeks with rouge. Only righteousness had adorned her countenance. She sat upright in the carved Victorian chair and faced the world with full assurance of her superiority. Emboldened by the look in his mother's eyes, Charlie whirled around and said in The voice she had used when she wished to show displeasure, 'why did you lie to me about the ring?'
'What ring, dear?'
'please don't lie, Bedelia. I know you didn't give away the black pearl. I saw it in your bag.'
'oh, that. Yes, of course, you found it in my bag. Since I thought I was leaving you, it didn't matter whether I wore it or not. You see, dear, you haven't improved my taste at all. I'm still fond of that imitation pearl.'
'But you said you'd given it away.'
'No, I didn't. I never gave that ring away.'
'You told me you had.'
'What a funny idea!'
'look here' - Charlie almost shouted it - 'you told me that on christmas. I wanted to give Abbie the ring and you said you've given it away.'
She shook her head.
'I distinctly remember,' Charlie said. 'On two occasions you said it. The night we dined at Ben's.'
'No!' She interrupted. 'No, I didn't say it at all. You said it. I remember now that you told Ben and Abbie I'd given the ring away. I didn't say anything then because I didn't want to contradict you in public, particularly after Abbie made that flattering remark about me and what an unusual wife I was. I wondered where you got the idea, and I meant to ask you about it when we were alone, but you had your attack that night, and I was so frightened I completely forgot.' "
So bedelia now starts gaslighting charlie, in the way that men usually gaslight women.
I don't even know why I've spent this much time reviewing this book, because I really didn't care for it. Charlie and bedelia, especially bedelia, are tiresome characters.
The ending is better, though, after we have to suffer through Bedelia's pouting and quaffing about.
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November 14, 2024I support women’s wrongs
May 30, 2020
3.5 stars, a quick and interesting read, Caspary also wrote films and this read like the literary equivalent of a 40s thriller movie
July 16, 2015
As the story opens, we are introduced to a young couple who are so obviously head-over-heels in love, only to meet a second man who is assiduously feigning his disinterest in them. Of course, since we are reading a Vera Caspary novel, this can only mean that one and all are headed for trouble, and somebody will turn up dead.
BEDELIA is “the other famous Caspary novel” after LAURA. Like that other work, it is filled with twists and turns that cause the reader to wonder who is really guilty…and if the guilty party had any other choice in a world of limited options. And not unlike LAURA, the reader is put in the position of empathizing with the killer and understanding the motives. Sympathy is shed, though, when we realize that the killings may not have ended.
This is a very difficult book to review without giving away essential plot details. Like LAURA, many readers may already know those details going in. I cannot say whether that detracts from the enjoyment because I did not know them, and I had a great deal of fun as the story unfolded. This one would have been right at home as the screenplay for a Hollywood Pre-Code movie from the early 1930’s. (There was a version made in Great Britain in 1946. I haven’t seen it, but I understand that the updating to a contemporary setting hurt the story a bit.)
The pace is very brisk and the characters are particularly memorable. The plot may be a bit overheated, yet there is a plot point allusion to romantic thrillers that justifies this approach. This is also one of the few times that I exactly guessed the ending. That is not to say that it is inappropriate or overly obvious…but, I was surprised!
As much as I enjoyed this one, Caspary’s EVVIE remains my favorite. Still, I haven’t found one of her novels that I haven’t liked. She has a unique style that is a real pleasure to read.
BEDELIA is “the other famous Caspary novel” after LAURA. Like that other work, it is filled with twists and turns that cause the reader to wonder who is really guilty…and if the guilty party had any other choice in a world of limited options. And not unlike LAURA, the reader is put in the position of empathizing with the killer and understanding the motives. Sympathy is shed, though, when we realize that the killings may not have ended.
This is a very difficult book to review without giving away essential plot details. Like LAURA, many readers may already know those details going in. I cannot say whether that detracts from the enjoyment because I did not know them, and I had a great deal of fun as the story unfolded. This one would have been right at home as the screenplay for a Hollywood Pre-Code movie from the early 1930’s. (There was a version made in Great Britain in 1946. I haven’t seen it, but I understand that the updating to a contemporary setting hurt the story a bit.)
The pace is very brisk and the characters are particularly memorable. The plot may be a bit overheated, yet there is a plot point allusion to romantic thrillers that justifies this approach. This is also one of the few times that I exactly guessed the ending. That is not to say that it is inappropriate or overly obvious…but, I was surprised!
As much as I enjoyed this one, Caspary’s EVVIE remains my favorite. Still, I haven’t found one of her novels that I haven’t liked. She has a unique style that is a real pleasure to read.
February 21, 2017
definately belongs on any shelf with Double Indemnity or Nightmare Alley. It's a shame the film doesn't exist anymore.
February 22, 2017
'Bedelia' is an excellent example of the femme fatale - sexy but dangerous. I was hooked throughout, and can't wait to explore this more in the lecture/seminars.
August 17, 2016
Like other readers, I got to "Bedelia" after enjoying "Laura." They are very different books, though. "Laura" is a mystery and this one is more suspense. Not much happens, but the book still really held my interest.
Caspary writes with skill. I especially liked her attention to details, even down to the lacing on Bedelia's corset. The things in this story are tangible, especially clothing and implements of domestic living.
People are less crisply delineated, aside from Charlie and Bedelia. Through them, though, one gets a fascinating sense of gender roles in the 1940's. Indeed, the events of this story are fairly well tied to the era in which it is placed, since so much has changed in the decades since then.
This was a lot of fun, very visual and certainly creepy. I will read more of Caspary.
Caspary writes with skill. I especially liked her attention to details, even down to the lacing on Bedelia's corset. The things in this story are tangible, especially clothing and implements of domestic living.
People are less crisply delineated, aside from Charlie and Bedelia. Through them, though, one gets a fascinating sense of gender roles in the 1940's. Indeed, the events of this story are fairly well tied to the era in which it is placed, since so much has changed in the decades since then.
This was a lot of fun, very visual and certainly creepy. I will read more of Caspary.
March 27, 2014
I had no expentations whatsoever when I picked up this book. Choosing it because I wanted to learn why Bryan Fuller had named one of his characters on Hannibal after the main character of this book, I thought that maybe it was going to be about a strong, mysterious and potentially dangerous woman. And I was partially right about that.
I really enjoyed the suspence in this. Bedelia is a very bizarre character and she enjoys mindgames and playing with fear. She is scary and knows how to play with her sweetness to make men forget about how evil she is. It was a very easy read, considering that it was written in the 1940s. A good read, it kept me wanting to know more and it gave me a few chills for sure.
I really enjoyed the suspence in this. Bedelia is a very bizarre character and she enjoys mindgames and playing with fear. She is scary and knows how to play with her sweetness to make men forget about how evil she is. It was a very easy read, considering that it was written in the 1940s. A good read, it kept me wanting to know more and it gave me a few chills for sure.
March 14, 2019
As I've gotten more into film noir, I've been trying to pick up cheap paperbacks of the original novels whenever I see them, especially those written by female authors. This is the second Caspary novel I've read (after Laura) and I certainly have to say she knows how to create great characters and believable atmosphere. Unfortunately, I think she reveals the answer to the mystery a little too quickly here and ruins some of the creepy suspense she builds in the early pages. This is one of those novels that I think might work better as a movie but I haven't yet had a chance to see the one made in 1947 with Margaret Lockwood. I will keep an eye out for it though. This was quite fun.
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