What do you think?
Rate this book
A Thirsty Evil
From the poignant realisation as an adult of the cruel brutality of childhood in 'The Robin', man then comes face to face with himself as a boy in 'A Moment of Green Laurel': both stories combining the nostalgia and fear that haunt us all in old age. Meanwhile, in 'Erlinda and Mr Coffin', Southern etiquette is unashamedly turned upside down in a tale of amateur theatricals reminiscent of Dickens and Victorian melodrama. Yet it is in 'Three Stratagems', 'The Zenner Trophy', 'Pages from an Abandoned Journal' and 'The Ladies in the Library' (with more than a hint of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice in the latter) that we see Vidal as we know him best: cynical and provocative in these subtle tales of what was known in those days as 'sexual inversion'.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
2 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Gore Vidal
423 books1,866 followersWorks of American writer Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, noted for his cynical humor and his numerous accounts of society in decline, include the play
The Best Man
(1960) and the novel
Myra Breckinridge
(1968) .
People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.
Essays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Truman Capote.
They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.
At the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller. Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde
Also used the pseudonym Edgar Box.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Gore Vidal é um dos nomes centrais na história da literatura americana pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Nascido em 1925, em Nova Iorque, estudou na Academia de Phillips Exeter (Estado de New Hampshire). O seu primeiro romance, Williwaw (1946), era uma história da guerra claramente influenciada pelo estilo de Hemingway. Embora grande parte da sua obra tenha a ver com o século XX americano, Vidal debruçou-se várias vezes sobre épocas recuadas, como, por exemplo, em A Search for the King (1950), Juliano (1964) e Creation (1981).
Entre os seus temas de eleição está o mundo do cinema e, mais concretamente, os bastidores de Hollywood, que ele desmonta de forma satírica e implacável em títulos como Myra Breckinridge (1968), Myron (1975) e Duluth (1983).
Senhor de um estilo exuberante, multifacetado e sempre surpreendente, publicou, em 1995, a autobiografia Palimpsest: A Memoir. As obras 'O Instituto Smithsonian' e 'A Idade do Ouro' encontram-se traduzidas em português.
Neto do senador Thomas Gore, enteado do padrasto de Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, primo distante de Al Gore, Gore Vidal sempre se revelou um espelho crítico das grandezas e misérias dos EUA.
Faleceu a 31 de julho de 2012, aos 86 anos, na sua casa em Hollywood, vítima de pneumonia.
People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.
Essays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Truman Capote.
They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.
At the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller. Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde
Also used the pseudonym Edgar Box.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Gore Vidal é um dos nomes centrais na história da literatura americana pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Nascido em 1925, em Nova Iorque, estudou na Academia de Phillips Exeter (Estado de New Hampshire). O seu primeiro romance, Williwaw (1946), era uma história da guerra claramente influenciada pelo estilo de Hemingway. Embora grande parte da sua obra tenha a ver com o século XX americano, Vidal debruçou-se várias vezes sobre épocas recuadas, como, por exemplo, em A Search for the King (1950), Juliano (1964) e Creation (1981).
Entre os seus temas de eleição está o mundo do cinema e, mais concretamente, os bastidores de Hollywood, que ele desmonta de forma satírica e implacável em títulos como Myra Breckinridge (1968), Myron (1975) e Duluth (1983).
Senhor de um estilo exuberante, multifacetado e sempre surpreendente, publicou, em 1995, a autobiografia Palimpsest: A Memoir. As obras 'O Instituto Smithsonian' e 'A Idade do Ouro' encontram-se traduzidas em português.
Neto do senador Thomas Gore, enteado do padrasto de Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, primo distante de Al Gore, Gore Vidal sempre se revelou um espelho crítico das grandezas e misérias dos EUA.
Faleceu a 31 de julho de 2012, aos 86 anos, na sua casa em Hollywood, vítima de pneumonia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 26, 2025
Over the years I have said less then kind things about some of Gore Vidal's fiction but I have no reservation in singing the praises of this wonderful collection of stories. On these alone Vidal would deserve to be remembered and it is a pity they are not as widely read as overblown historical epics. Perhaps their genius is they are not 'state of the nation' works, though they are fascinating. Can anyone read 'A Moment Green Laurel' when a man comes face to face with himself as a boy and not wonder at what insights Vidal may unknowingly be providing us with regards to his own psyche?
The collection also includes the incomparable 'Pages from an Abandoned Journal' one of the finest and most honest examples of the dissection of our capacity for self delusion.
A really great collection of stories which any reader of Vidal's other work must read.
Postscript:
How many of you know that this was of many works of literature that the government of Margaret Thatcher attempted to 'ban' in their 1984 homophobic attack on the UK's first gay bookshop 'Gay's the Word'? Well read on:
This book was one of many that was seized in 1984 from the first gay bookshop in London, or anywhere in the UK, Gay's The Word as part of a policy of intimidation against 'uppity' gays and I am posting information on this event against many of the books seized by the police. This is a history that should not be forgotten and the inclusion of works like 'A Thirsty Evil' by Gore Vidal makes plain the intimidatory nature of the whole sordid saga.
A Thirsty Evil: Short Stories and the 1984 attempt to destroy 'Gay's The Word' the UK's first gay bookshop:
This novel was one of many 'imported' gay books which were at the centre of an infamous attempt to push UK gays back into the closet by the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Amazingly this event, important not only for gays but civil liberties in the UK, does not have any kind of Wikipedia entry. Because of this lack I have assembled links to a number of sites which anyone interested in free speech should read. If we don't remember our history we will be condemned to repeat it.
The genesis of the prosecution of 'Gays The Word' was the anger of homophobes to books like 'The Milkman's On His Way' by David Rees which were written for young people and presented being gay as ordinary and nothing to get your-knickers-in-a-twist over. Unfortunately there was no way to ban the offending books because censorship of literature had been laughed out of court at the 'Lady Chatterley Trial' nearly twenty years earlier. But Customs and Excise did have the ability to seize and forbid the import of 'foreign' books, those not published in the UK. As most 'gay' books came from abroad, specifically the USA, this anomaly was the basis for the raid on Gays The Word and the seizure of large amounts of stock. The intention was that the legal costs, plus the disruption to the business, would sink this small independent bookshop long before it came to trial. That it didn't is testimony to the resilience of Gay's The Word, the gay community and all those who supported them.
The best, not perfect, but only, guide to the event is at:
https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2012/10/1...
There follows a series of links to the event connected with an exhibition at the University of London:
The background:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The 142 books seized:
https://exhibitions.london.ac.uk/s/se...
The history of the prosecution:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The fight to clarify the law after the prosecution was dropped:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The collection also includes the incomparable 'Pages from an Abandoned Journal' one of the finest and most honest examples of the dissection of our capacity for self delusion.
A really great collection of stories which any reader of Vidal's other work must read.
Postscript:
How many of you know that this was of many works of literature that the government of Margaret Thatcher attempted to 'ban' in their 1984 homophobic attack on the UK's first gay bookshop 'Gay's the Word'? Well read on:
This book was one of many that was seized in 1984 from the first gay bookshop in London, or anywhere in the UK, Gay's The Word as part of a policy of intimidation against 'uppity' gays and I am posting information on this event against many of the books seized by the police. This is a history that should not be forgotten and the inclusion of works like 'A Thirsty Evil' by Gore Vidal makes plain the intimidatory nature of the whole sordid saga.
A Thirsty Evil: Short Stories and the 1984 attempt to destroy 'Gay's The Word' the UK's first gay bookshop:
This novel was one of many 'imported' gay books which were at the centre of an infamous attempt to push UK gays back into the closet by the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1984. Amazingly this event, important not only for gays but civil liberties in the UK, does not have any kind of Wikipedia entry. Because of this lack I have assembled links to a number of sites which anyone interested in free speech should read. If we don't remember our history we will be condemned to repeat it.
The genesis of the prosecution of 'Gays The Word' was the anger of homophobes to books like 'The Milkman's On His Way' by David Rees which were written for young people and presented being gay as ordinary and nothing to get your-knickers-in-a-twist over. Unfortunately there was no way to ban the offending books because censorship of literature had been laughed out of court at the 'Lady Chatterley Trial' nearly twenty years earlier. But Customs and Excise did have the ability to seize and forbid the import of 'foreign' books, those not published in the UK. As most 'gay' books came from abroad, specifically the USA, this anomaly was the basis for the raid on Gays The Word and the seizure of large amounts of stock. The intention was that the legal costs, plus the disruption to the business, would sink this small independent bookshop long before it came to trial. That it didn't is testimony to the resilience of Gay's The Word, the gay community and all those who supported them.
The best, not perfect, but only, guide to the event is at:
https://www.gayinthe80s.com/2012/10/1...
There follows a series of links to the event connected with an exhibition at the University of London:
The background:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The 142 books seized:
https://exhibitions.london.ac.uk/s/se...
The history of the prosecution:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
The fight to clarify the law after the prosecution was dropped:
https://www.london.ac.uk/news-events/...
December 4, 2009
Evocative, engaging and often more emotionally satisfaying than the longer works I've read. Though written some fifty years ago the stories are artful but timeless. In particular, THE ZENNER TROPHY is sadly topical. These stories are palatable bite size pieces of great writing--with a smart, sympathic but utterly unsentimental sensebility at work.
December 17, 2012
Happened upon this by chance and I’m glad I did. Vidal first published this collection of seven short stories (most had already seen print in small journals) in 1956; the paperback edition I found was a 1981 reprint. Several of these are interesting as period pieces and what they tell us about social behaviors—daring for their time, they give different perspectives from within the varied gay subculture of that day, although to get them published sexuality is often only implied or discreetly referenced. I particularly liked how one piece, “The Ladies in the Library,” alluded to the three Fates of Greek mythology, and Vidal does a bit of a Twilight Zone reflection on his own youth in the semi-autobiographical “A Moment of Green Laurel.” My favorite story of the lot is one where he has fun evoking a respectable widow narrator who runs a Southern boarding house: “Erlinda and Mr. Coffin” shows the influence of Tennessee Williams, certainly, but it also has a stinging wit that is recognizably Vidal.
April 6, 2022
The great appeal of Gore Vidal, perhaps even beyond his incontestable mastery of the written and spoken word, is that irrepressible and ever-present sense of boyish mischief that permeated everything he did and said, every provocation across the decades delivered with a glinting eye and an impish grin. The man published books for sixty years - novels, stories, essays, commentary, history, rhetoric - and that same sense of roguery never left him.
Clearly, this was not something he developed or constructed or ‘put-on’ - as it is already in full-flush here in this short, sharp, utterly delicious collection of early stories. They’re great on their own, but even better when read within the context of the last ‘grand old man of letters’, where the (fictionalised?) summer holiday journey of a 24-year-old Gore is transformed into a Rosetta Stone for future door-stoppers.
Clearly, this was not something he developed or constructed or ‘put-on’ - as it is already in full-flush here in this short, sharp, utterly delicious collection of early stories. They’re great on their own, but even better when read within the context of the last ‘grand old man of letters’, where the (fictionalised?) summer holiday journey of a 24-year-old Gore is transformed into a Rosetta Stone for future door-stoppers.
August 6, 2016
"The Robin" very good. Also "The Ladies In the Library" has an amusing (and quite unanticipated) conclusion. The rest of the stories feature homosexuality and snobbery prominently...and are the usual sorts of vague and rather pointless stuff that they call Literature.
December 24, 2021
De cover (een naakte jongeman weliswaar from the waist up) afficheert duidelijk waarover de verhalen gaan en ook de titel, “A thirsty evil”, laat weinig aan de verbeelding over. Zo schreef ik vóór ik het boekje had gelezen, want – eerlijk gezegd – ik heb geen idee waarop de titel slaat. In geen enkel verhaal komt hij voor. Zal ik hem dan toch maar in verband brengen met dat allereerste “schandalige” verhaal? Dat eerste verhaal (“Three Stratagems”) leest immers als een handleiding (stratagem!) over hoe men als mooie jongeman een rijke weduwnaar moet versieren. De volgende verhalen zijn echter “gewone” kortverhalen. “The Zenner Trophy” gaat weliswaar over twee leerlingen (18j.) die van school worden gestuurd omdat ze “betrapt” zijn. Maar waarop ze “betrapt” zijn wordt heel de tijd in het midden gelaten. Ook de reden waarom één van de leraars sympathiseert met één van de twee gestraften, wordt aan de fantasie van de lezer overgelaten… “Pages from an abandoned journal” gaat dan weer over seksuele uitspattingen (hetero en homo) en drugsgebruik in hogere kringen, maar beschreven in een manier die me aan Somerset Maugham doen denken. Dat is uiteraard als een groot compliment bedoeld, ook wat het Engels (en niet Amerikaans!) van de auteur betreft. Tot slot is ook het laatste – en kortste – verhaal over die moderne schikgodinnen een pareltje.
February 28, 2021
These stories did not take long to read, and they were entertaining...but probably not what I have come to expect from Gore Vidal. It is worth spending 2 hours to enjoy the writing, though...
February 17, 2023
I expected a little more from this collection. Fiction was, sadly, not Gore's strongest talent. "The Zenner Trophy" is the best story, followed by the one about Elliott.
April 14, 2024
Vidal’s style has momentum and shine, though he too often finishes his stories before they’ve really had the chance to stretch their legs. but this is relatable and he is cool
September 28, 2024
Grabbed this First Edition Copy for only a buck and what a satisfying read. And oh the smell of old books!!
Favorites:
Three Stratagems
The Zenner Trophy
Erlinda and Mr. Coffin
Favorites:
Three Stratagems
The Zenner Trophy
Erlinda and Mr. Coffin
Want to read
June 7, 2025Cutting is for The Robin
By Gore Vida
By Gore Vida
December 27, 2016
Prose is clearly not his strongest genre. A lot of the pieces are set up elaborately, like a novel, and then have these rushed endings that are meant to be dramatic twists, but come across as lazy. Such endings include characters dieing, enduring epileptic fits, and other quick twists that abruptly end the story. It is as if Vidal suddenly realizes he is writing prose instead of a novel and devices a gimmick for a quick out.
If you are a Vidal fan, this collection is worth a read. He is very young when writing these pieces, so you see flashes of his sardonic wit and hard-nosed look at queer identity. "The Robin" is a haunting piece that stays with you and "Three Stratagems" feels like chapters from City and the Pillar.
If you know Vidal and are hungry for more work from him, this collection is an interesting read. If you don't know him and are looking for quality prose or looking to get into Vidal for the first time, this collection probably isn't a good fit for you.
If you are a Vidal fan, this collection is worth a read. He is very young when writing these pieces, so you see flashes of his sardonic wit and hard-nosed look at queer identity. "The Robin" is a haunting piece that stays with you and "Three Stratagems" feels like chapters from City and the Pillar.
If you know Vidal and are hungry for more work from him, this collection is an interesting read. If you don't know him and are looking for quality prose or looking to get into Vidal for the first time, this collection probably isn't a good fit for you.
June 29, 2015
"Erlinda and Mr. Coffin" is laugh out loud funny the whole way, then hits you with a big one. His characterization of the ridiculous main character is the real draw.
The Zenner Trophy and the Three Strategems is sadly cynical, but Trophy has a moment of strange uplift.
Vidal seems to have an obsession with age and its corrosive effect on people and their personalities. Its a cynical view, not taking the usual line on wisdom. He seems afraid of it, and its interesting to see someone grapple with a fear of the inevitable.
The theme of homosexuality, not unrelated to age I think, is especially resonant for me as a gay man of a completely different generation. The Zenner Trophy is a fantastic look at general reaction to it, and Three Stratagems is an interesting look into gay culture and inter-generational relationships.
The Zenner Trophy and the Three Strategems is sadly cynical, but Trophy has a moment of strange uplift.
Vidal seems to have an obsession with age and its corrosive effect on people and their personalities. Its a cynical view, not taking the usual line on wisdom. He seems afraid of it, and its interesting to see someone grapple with a fear of the inevitable.
The theme of homosexuality, not unrelated to age I think, is especially resonant for me as a gay man of a completely different generation. The Zenner Trophy is a fantastic look at general reaction to it, and Three Stratagems is an interesting look into gay culture and inter-generational relationships.
Read
December 21, 2015In between books I picked this one up from the hidden shelves in my room. These books belonged to a previous owner or tenant in the place.
I have to say I enjoyed the stories. They were the right length and each contained complete characters and plausible situations. I suspect most of the characters and storylines were based on Vidal's own life and his experiences and acquaintances. Virginia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC are referenced a great deal. In addition, the main character who acts as a narrator in each, tends to be from NYC.
A gay lifestyle is hinted in the subtlest of ways, not only by the narrator, but by what is said about the some of the characters.
I have to say I enjoyed the stories. They were the right length and each contained complete characters and plausible situations. I suspect most of the characters and storylines were based on Vidal's own life and his experiences and acquaintances. Virginia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC are referenced a great deal. In addition, the main character who acts as a narrator in each, tends to be from NYC.
A gay lifestyle is hinted in the subtlest of ways, not only by the narrator, but by what is said about the some of the characters.
April 25, 2015
Seven short stories, seven of them at least good. Vidal follows in the footsteps of Thomas Mann and precedes those of Bret Easton Ellis, without the excesses of either. Decadence and wistfulness are always close at hand, and the prose is always faultless, sometimes brilliant, and impressively adaptable. The stories aren't flashy, but they are ensnaring and some carry quite a punch.
September 26, 2009
The title and blurb suggested stories that would shock or terrify, or at the very least, make the reader uncomfortable. Nope. Ah, except for The Robin. Now THAT was worthy of being in a collection entitled 'A Thirsty Evil'.
June 30, 2014
Gore Vidal does horror! Who knew??? I did not know this book existed...I happily found this little gem at a used book store. This man can write anything, and write it well. "A Moment of Green Laurel" was superb!
April 30, 2014
Not all the stories are good, but some are definitely interesting. The best is "Erlinda and Mr Coffin." Here, I think, Vidal discovers that voice of his that would later explode in his fantasy satires.
March 29, 2007
One story in particular is amazing, about a little boy and a bluebird.
the rest are good but not spectacular.
the rest are good but not spectacular.
Want to read
June 8, 2007From the back cover: "the twilight realm of sexual inversion is the scene of action..."
January 11, 2013
Bit and pieces which hint at brilliance but never really deliver, would love to read a full novel by him.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews