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Dominique
Some rubbing & edgewear; creases; previous owner's name inside; yellowing; otherwise overall clean & tight. 172 pages
- GenresHorror
Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
24 people want to read
About the author
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
140 books58 followersRonald Henry Glynn Chetwynd-Hayes aka Angus Campbell.
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes was an author, best known for his ghost stories. His first published work was the science fiction novel The Man From The Bomb in 1959. He went on to publish many collections and ten other novels including The Grange, The Haunted Grange, And Love Survived and The Curse of the Snake God. He also edited over 20 anthologies. Several of his short works were adapted into anthology style movies in the United Kingdom, including The Monster Club and From Beyond the Grave. Chetwynd-Hayes' book The Monster Club contains references to a film-maker called Vinke Rocnnor, an anagram of Kevin Connor, the director of From Beyond the Grave.
He won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for 1988, and the British Fantasy Society Special Award in 1989.
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes was an author, best known for his ghost stories. His first published work was the science fiction novel The Man From The Bomb in 1959. He went on to publish many collections and ten other novels including The Grange, The Haunted Grange, And Love Survived and The Curse of the Snake God. He also edited over 20 anthologies. Several of his short works were adapted into anthology style movies in the United Kingdom, including The Monster Club and From Beyond the Grave. Chetwynd-Hayes' book The Monster Club contains references to a film-maker called Vinke Rocnnor, an anagram of Kevin Connor, the director of From Beyond the Grave.
He won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for 1988, and the British Fantasy Society Special Award in 1989.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 9, 2026
Tie-in novelisation of the 1978 movie of the same name, directed by Michael Anderson from a script by Edward & Valerie Abraham based on a short story called ‘What Beckoning Ghost’ by Harold Lawlor.
Well to do middle-aged couple David & Dominique Ballard live in a fine old English mansion with a small staff of servants. He runs a private company, she’s a socialite. However, lately she’s been suffering from alarming lapses of memory and odd behaviour, putting a strain on their marriage. One night, she hangs herself in the conservatory at the back of the house. However, after the funeral, Ballard hears her piano playing in the middle of the night and then encounters her ghost walking in the corridors…
This is mystery thriller with supernatural overtones, that reveals itself to be a twisted tale of manipulation and deceit.
Finding a respected author, such as Chetwynd-Hayes, taking on a movie novelisation is a little unusual, to say the least. Of course, it’s tempting to assume that he took it on for the paycheque, but, if that was the case, it’s not reflected in the final product. The book is actually better than the film in several, crucial aspects.
Although Chetwynd-Hayes' narrative does not differ in any substantial way from the events in the film, he does provide some important extra material. This helps ground the story in reality, which is absolutely essential in a story where the resolution involves a significant suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience/reader. The most obvious example is the exhumation of Dominique’s body. In the film, Ballard simply orders it without any real grounds to do so, and there are no official representatives at the graveside save the undertaker. Instead, family members and friends are invited to the happy occasion! In the book, Chetwynd-Hayes is at pains to detail how Ballard is able to get this done and representatives of officialdom replace the on-screen interested parties.
Character roles and relationships are also more clearly defined and this is done with a deft touch that doesn’t involve huge chunks of exposition. Of course, the written medium does allow for more expansion of the story, but the fixes that Chetwynd-Hayes includes are neat enough that they could have been incorporated into the film. Some of these additions, which I am crediting to him, may have been present in the original script and were omitted for time or other practical reasons when the film was shot, but there is no way to establish that almost 50 years on.
It’s not a great book or a major entry in Chetwynd-Hayes’ bibliography but it’s a good example of a fine craftsman making the most out of some slightly underwhelming source material.
Well to do middle-aged couple David & Dominique Ballard live in a fine old English mansion with a small staff of servants. He runs a private company, she’s a socialite. However, lately she’s been suffering from alarming lapses of memory and odd behaviour, putting a strain on their marriage. One night, she hangs herself in the conservatory at the back of the house. However, after the funeral, Ballard hears her piano playing in the middle of the night and then encounters her ghost walking in the corridors…
This is mystery thriller with supernatural overtones, that reveals itself to be a twisted tale of manipulation and deceit.
Finding a respected author, such as Chetwynd-Hayes, taking on a movie novelisation is a little unusual, to say the least. Of course, it’s tempting to assume that he took it on for the paycheque, but, if that was the case, it’s not reflected in the final product. The book is actually better than the film in several, crucial aspects.
Although Chetwynd-Hayes' narrative does not differ in any substantial way from the events in the film, he does provide some important extra material. This helps ground the story in reality, which is absolutely essential in a story where the resolution involves a significant suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience/reader. The most obvious example is the exhumation of Dominique’s body. In the film, Ballard simply orders it without any real grounds to do so, and there are no official representatives at the graveside save the undertaker. Instead, family members and friends are invited to the happy occasion! In the book, Chetwynd-Hayes is at pains to detail how Ballard is able to get this done and representatives of officialdom replace the on-screen interested parties.
Character roles and relationships are also more clearly defined and this is done with a deft touch that doesn’t involve huge chunks of exposition. Of course, the written medium does allow for more expansion of the story, but the fixes that Chetwynd-Hayes includes are neat enough that they could have been incorporated into the film. Some of these additions, which I am crediting to him, may have been present in the original script and were omitted for time or other practical reasons when the film was shot, but there is no way to establish that almost 50 years on.
It’s not a great book or a major entry in Chetwynd-Hayes’ bibliography but it’s a good example of a fine craftsman making the most out of some slightly underwhelming source material.
December 26, 2024
Dominique had an accident and didn't remember any of the six hours. Didn't remember the cracked ribs, fracture leg. They thought she fell down some stairs. As Dominique walks the massive mansion she sees a body rocking back and forth. She looks at the body and the face revealed is hers. This can't be happening. Hallucinations? Sleep walking? Her medication is mixed and she plows her car into a tree surviving. The walls seem to be talking to her. Calling her name. I love how whiskey is always used on people in shock. Love the 70s! Suicide, death, coffins dug up, money, money and money. This horror ends up being a thriller with twists and turns.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews