A Dark Corner

by Celia Dale

When young Errol Winston arrives in London from Jamaica, the racist attitudes of the city’s landlords make it almost impossible to find a place to rent. But he seems to have a stroke of luck when he accidentally winds up at the front door of old Mr and Mrs Didcot, who offer to let him stay. The Didcots seem kindly and harmless enough – despite their bizarre and outdated views on race – but Errol will soon discover that behind the veneer of apparent respectability a dreadful truth lies hidden, a terrible secret that will be revealed in a horrifying and murderous climax.

First published in 1971, Celia Dale’s A Dark Corner is a chilling work of domestic horror that shows how true evil often lurks closer than we think, perhaps even just behind our neighbor’s lace curtains . . .

Genres: Horror, Fiction, British Literature, Mystery, Crime

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Not very much is known about the author Celia Dale except for a few scant details. Celia Dale was born in 1912 and she was daughter of the actor, James Dale and was married to the journalist and critic, Guy Ramsey until his death in 1959. She worked in Fleet Street and as a publishers adviser and book reviewer. Some of her books were dramatised on radio and TV. Dales first book appeared in 1943 but it was her later novels where she branched out in to the realms of psychological crime. In all, Dale produced thirteen novels and a collection of short stories.

Celia Dale took everyday domestic situations and gave them a bitter twist. In Helping with Enquiries there are only three main protagonists, their story revolving around the murder of the mother. In A Helping Hand the vulnerability of the elderly is masterfully portrayed. Dale won the 1986 Crime Writers Association Veuve Cliquot Short Story Award for Lines of Communication which appears in her short story collection, A Personal Call and other stories which show that Dale had the short story down to a fine art. Her final book in 1988 was Sheeps Clothing.

Celia Dale died on the 31st December 2011, just short of her hundredth birthday. - Excerpted from FantasticFiction

Novels
The Least of These (1944)
To Hold the Mirror (1946)
The Dry Land (1952)
The Wooden O (1953)
Trial of Strength (1955)
A Spring of Love (1960)
Other People (1964)
A Helping Hand (1966)
Act of Love (1969)
A Dark Corner (1971)
The Innocent Party (1973)
Helping with Enquiries (1979)
aka The Deception
Sheep's Clothing (1988)

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

As some of you may have noticed, I read a Celia Dale book a few days ago. This is her 2nd I've read in a 5 day period and I can honestly say that I'm glad I came across her work.

With my second helping of an author in such a short time, it almost feels like a continuation of the first. In many ways, this and 'A Helping Hand' are similar; a narcissistic megalomaniac of an antagonist, a vulnerable protagonist desperate for help, a tragedy early in life with a couple, etc.

At times, 'A Dark Corner' feels like a re-write of its predecessor, but there is so much different with this to make up for the similarities. It's much darker and psychotic. Darker in imagery, in theme and will leave you thinking for quite some time when it's finished.

Celia Dale writes atmosphere well. The environment itself is an experience and goes well with what happens inside the home.

Some of the dialogue and introspection can be a little trying as it is a product of its time, but that's what makes it a good book. Could this be written today? Absolutely not and I'm not saying it should be, but I can respect it from when it was written.

For readers that want to try Celia out, I'd recommend 'A Helping Hand' to get a general idea on how she writes and then try this one next. I feel trying this one first may hinder your journey and you won't enjoy it as much as it should be enjoyed.

[Nancy Oakes]

Oh dear god. The best way to describe this book: stomach churning but well worth the read. A Dark Corner is #4 in my ongoing project of finding and reading the work of obscure women writers of crime. So far, it's been the darkest and most edgy novel of the four. Actually, I had no idea at that I was going to be so completely devastated by this novel when I first picked it up. Oh my god -- to say that this book is dark is an understatement. I like dark as a rule, but I'd just read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Stephen Gregory's The Cormorant, both of which are beyond disturbing in their own ways, so it's been darkness on darkness on darkness, which even for me is too much all at once.

Arthur and Nelly Didcot live in a small but respectable house on London's Wardlow Road. On a dark rainy evening, Nelly is summoned to the door where she discovers a young man named Errol with a terrible cough. He's got an ad for a room in his hand, but he has mistakenly come to the wrong street, looking for Wardlow Crescent. Nelly, though, takes pity on him and brings him in for a cup of tea and a warm up by the fire. Errol has a fever and Nelly just can't bring herself to send him on his way. When Arthur comes home and Nelly tells them they have a house guest, Arthur's not too happy, but allows Errol to stay. Soon the temporary arrangement becomes more permanent, and Nelly's happy -- she's a shut in, she'd lost her son when he was a teen, and her affection for Errol begins to grow. Arthur also seems to get used to the arrangement, taking Errol around with him on his Sunday walks and showing him the "project" he's been working on for years in the privacy of his den that no one, not even Nelly has ever seen. Errol returns Nelly's affection, but how he feels toward Arthur eventually becomes an entirely different story. The dynamic between the two literally pushes Errol into the titular "dark corner" from which there may be no possible escape.

The darkness in this book, believe it or not, has nothing to do with the number of dead bodies that are literally piling up, but with what actually goes on behind closed doors in that house on Wardlow Road. A Dark Corner is a story that reveals the secrets that hide behind the facade of respectability; it also asks the question of how a seemingly normal person who prides himself on his high moral and ethical standards can turn out to be a monster who is free to roam the city streets. As a warning to potential readers, this book contains a lot of racist content, but it is not done maliciously, instead reflecting a psychotic sickness lodged in the mind of a truly evil and demented person.

What happens in this novel literally made me squirm on several levels and actually left me unable to sleep after finishing it. However, the worst part of the entire novel is the message that literally anyone might turn out to be the human monster of this book and we may not even have a clue.

definitely not at all a novel for the fainthearted.

[Brandon Prince · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Get Out” meets “10 Rillington Place” written by Muriel Spark.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Sphere Books Limited] (1974). SB. 125 Pages. Bought on Amazon.

A short, gritty portrait of Mr. Arthur Didcot - Racist, Misogynist, Pervert, Delusionist, Serial Killer - unfolded through the unfortunate experiences of his young lodger, Errol.

Celia Dale offers a plainly written tour through suburbia’s hidden horrors.

[Gill Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several Celia Dale books this year and although this is perhaps the weakest so far, I have been intrigued by the author’s depictions of 1960s postwar suburban London, brilliantly evoked, and the monstrous blending with domestic horror. All the stories seem to start innocently enough before they descend slowly but surely into some sort of deviancy. However I should emphasise there is nothing at all graphic in these slim volumes and much is left to the reader’s imagination, which is my preferred kind of thriller or horror story.
This book focuses on an elderly childless couple who take in a homeless Afro-Caribbean teenager Errol by chance and try to set him up with a job and a new start in life after his Aunt and her family return to Jamaica and his father disappears. Nothing is quite as it seems and the ending is a cliffhanger, which seems to characterise Dale’s books.
Overall a fabulous period piece of English history.

[Jessie Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars A Dark Corner by Celia Dale is a quiet, unsettling gem of psychological horror that slowly tightens its grip. Dale’s prose is sharp and unshowy, pulling readers into a chilling domestic atmosphere that feels both intimate and claustrophobic. The novel is also a fascinating time capsule of 1970s England—its rhythms, attitudes, and class tensions vividly preserved. While the ending felt a bit abrupt, the overall experience is satisfying. A rewarding read for fans of slow-burn suspense.

[Chrystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as "A Helping Hand" but only because it was too short. The ending was left hanging and I like books to be wrapped up. I like these "domestic thrillers" and I think in this sub-genre, Celia Dale is much better than Celia Fremlin.

3.5 stars

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short one. Deeply unsettling.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Might have been a better story had it been shortened quite a lot, probably by half at least So, a short story. Maybe. Possibly shocking or at least alarming, when it was published, but in 2025 it fails to even register as bad. Which is bad, obviously, but still. My last Dale read, since I get the premise of her output, but it mostly feels dated and underwhelming, social commentary and daily life dronings aren't my cup of tea. Ha! Yes, i just made that godawful joke.

[Christopher Lucas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spent most of the read thinking: “Uh oh, he’s definitely a RA_IST.” First one, then the other. Welp.

Made me uncomfortable with its language, partly by intent but mostly as a product of its time. Staggeriny slow considering its short length, with a thin, partial ending crammed into the last 3 pages.

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few can rival Celia Dale in the imagery she conjures when writing about domestic mundanity and flipping it midway into sheer terror.

One dark London evening, hammering with rain, Mrs. Didcot, a morbidly obese woman who is not just housebound, but cannot climb the stairs either, hears someone at the front door. It’s a young black man, Errol, soaked to the skin, and bent double with a wracking cough, who has ‘come about the room’. The Didcots are a quiet couple who keep to themselves, aren’t looking for for a lodger, Errol must have the wrong house, but Mrs. Didcot feels sorry for Errol and lets him inside, initially to dry off, and then subsequently to stay.

Their relationship is strange to say the least. Arthur Didcot is methodical in his manner, and though he lets Errol stay, secretly he searches his belongings. The Didcots lost their only child in an accident years before, but still refer to each other as ‘father’ and ‘mum’. Arthur cares for his infirm wife, but the degree of control and dominance are unnatural. It isn’t long before the reader questions what the Didcots want from Errol.
But the twist takes a while to arrive, perfect timing from Dale, as when it does it is quite shocking, astonishingly evil.

Dale is superb at this sort of stuff. Here is a clip from a much longer passage that describes the neighbourhood where the Didcots live..

Some of them were coming up a little; they have pink front doors and a carriage lamp beside it, window boxes and the walls in front of the basement windows have been taken away. Some of them are going down and await development; pale corrugated iron masks their doors and lower windows, their paths are cracked, their gates gone, rubbish is scattered among the sour grass of their gardens, and even to the topmost floor someone has broken their windows.

[George Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

QOTD: who's a woman in horror that you love? who's a woman in horror who doesn't get enough love?

READ MY FULL REVIEW: https://fanfiaddict.com/review-a-dark...

"Today, we are blessed to have so many wonderful women in horror, from reviewers to readers to authors. Gemma Amor, Ania Ahlborn, Rachel Harrison, just to name a few, are duly celebrated here, but it’s also imperative we acknowledge the sobering reality: it’s not always been so. There’s a historical oversight of numerous remarkable female writers- and Celia Dale is one of them. She takes the domestic and the mundane, and somehow extracts every ounce of terror from it. This novel is so taut with suspense, you could probably strum it like a guitar string, and it’s an utter tragedy that since its release in 1971, it’s never received the praise it deserves. "

At this point, my account is basically a Valancourt Books fan page. As is self-explanatory through a brief scroll through my page, I am an avid Paperbacks From Hell fan, but their wider repertoire is also well worth checking out. I can only hope they continue to breathe life into the works of authors like Celia Dale, who frankly, don't get enough loving on here. I also "A Helping Hand," from her, which I'm told is very similar to this read, I'll give that one a go soon too.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Dark Corner by Celia Dale is an old fashioned mystery about a couple in London who takes in a young, black man as a boarder, and, over time, becomes attached to him--not unlike their son who died very young. But the father in the story has secrets that will ultimately bring the relationship of the three to a screeching, horrifying halt. The book is sensitively written, and truly embraces racial tension and what it means to be trapped. Originally published in 1972, this new edition is much more contemporary than I thought it would be, and at just over 120 pages, it reads very fast, almost like an extended story. I don't know Dale, but she encompasses domestic terror as well as most other authors I've read, and the story, as it exists, has tragic implications long past its length. Highly recommended if you like old fashioned mysteries.

[Wendy Greenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Celia Dale's other books of everyday domestic situations to which she gives bitter twists. This novel, although expressing thoughts of the period, really jarred on me, made me angry. Control disguised as benevolence and racism that just kept slapping me round the chops.

A couple (the Didcots) take in a young black man (Errol) as a lodger. The wife, Nelly is disabled and the husband, Arthur, dominates the household with a grossly inflated sense of himself and his "Project". This is a dark look at the truth behind the facade and how the monsters hide in plain sight.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, dark slice of cultural and domestic unease set in 70's London. There's no complicated plot, but there is good writing and a trio of well-drawn characters. While it's not exactly scary, I liked it enough to try another from Dale.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets a little slow in the middle, but the last third makes up for it. If you liked "Let's Go Play at the Adams'" you should like this.

[Kristie G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring.

[Charles Fischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, tight, creepy - it just ended so abruptly. Needed to be be longer.

[ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus Christ that ending 😳

[Bella Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

😱😱😱

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great thriller, full of low key menace and great characters.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect much but didn't disappoint. Great book, chilling to the bone- the insidious racism and violence of 'proper' facade of the middle class.

[Margaret Mechinus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read- 125 pages- masterfully written psychological masterpiece. This English author is dead. I have read every book of hers that I could find.

[Brent Legault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a bit, but mostly for the author's voice and less so for the story that it gave voice to. I will say that I'm very happy the novel did not begin with chapter two since that was a chapter made, purposefully, certainly, to lull the reader into a comfortable doze.

I can't imagine this book appealing to many modern readers. The place it describes, much like the time in which it is set, is almost certainly long gone (like that of Winesburg, Ohio). And I doubt it goes far enough, both in the evil it depicts and the retribution it inflicts, for most modern minds.