Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense
Praise for
Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives
“This fascinating collection of stories represents a long-overdue tribute to mystery writers who laid the foundation for those of us working in the field today. The remarkable range and complexity of these tales is a humbling reminder of the importance of the trailblazers whose work established psychological suspense as the backbone of crime writing both then and now.”
—Sue Grafton, New York Times bestselling author of V Is for Vengeance
“Sarah Weinman knows everything about crime fiction, and in her amazing anthology, she introduces an array of brilliant female writers who know more than they should about the dark side of the human psyche. Each story features a woman who’s ‘good and mad’ in her own shocking way, and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives is an important and riveting read.”
—Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Go
“Troubled, twisted, and terrific. Where have these women been? Sarah Weinman’s Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives serves up stellar short stories, forgotten gems by some of the finest authors of their era.”
—Hallie Ephron, author of the bestselling There Was an Old Woman
“A short unabashed fan letter for a first-rate job. My compliments to Ms. Weinman. It was like opening gifts, one story to the next, from a very young Patricia Highsmith to Shirley Jackson in her prime. A rare and worthy collection of suspense pioneers.”
—Carol O’Connell, New York Times bestselling author of It Happens in the Dark and Crime School
“At last, the anthology we have been waiting for: a veritable goldmine of spellbinding, psychologically rich tales. Masterfully curated by crime fiction expert Sarah Weinman, Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives not only brings much-deserved attention to fourteen unjustly neglected, pioneering writers—it also changes the way we think about the history, and the future, of the suspense genre.”
—Megan Abbott, Edgar Award–winning author of Dare Me
“Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives proves that women were writing smart, dark, twisty tales long before anyone thought to label their work a subgenre, and often by subverting gendered cultural expectations. Sarah Weinman serves as an expert curator to this wonderful collection, providing a coherent narrative tying these trailblazing stories to one another and to a new wave of female-led psychological suspense. This is a must-read for crime fiction fans.”
—Alafair Burke, author of If You Were Here
“These thoughtfully selected and very readable crime stories give us an unusually revealing and subtle portrait of the curtailed real lives of women in the mid-twentieth century and the fantasies that would free them.”
—Sheila Kohler, author of Becoming Jane Eyre
“Sarah Weinman has dug up hidden treasure. Not only are these stories compelling gems in their own right—their exploration of the darker side of the relationships that link women to their lovers, husbands, fathers, and mothers also provides a thought-provoking perspective on contemporary crime writing. Strong women characters and strong women writers did not appear out of nowhere—this is the background, these are the pioneers.”
—Lene Kaaberbøl, New York Times bestselling
coauthor of The Boy in the Suitcase and Death of a Nightingale
“A captivating selection of finely tuned suspense stories from masters of their craft: brilliant depictions of seemingly ordinary women, some with far from ordinary motivations, and others compelled by extraordinary circumstances. It was a delight to experience stories from old favorites Charlotte Armstrong, Shirley Jackson, Margaret Millar, and Patricia Highsmith—with a sparkling entry from Dorothy B. Hughes—and to discover a cluster of immensely talented writers I’d never read. Insightful introductions by Sarah Weinman for each story sharpened the pleasure of delving into these gems from past decades.”—Sara J. Henry, award-winning author of
Learning to Swim and A Cold and Lonely Place
“We tend to view the past through a rosy lens, imagining it as a simpler, gentler time. Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives buries that fantasy by exploring the dark drama festering beneath the façade of domestic bliss. The stories by these pioneering female crime writers range from the quietly menacing to the out-and-out devastating. Editor Sarah Weinman has assembled an extraordinary collection that shows just how great a debt modern crime writers owe to the past, and proves that, once again, the female is the deadlier of the species.”
—Hilary Davidson, author of Evil in All Its Disguises
“In this book, Weinman has expertly curated near-forgotten works by some of the most gifted women crime writers of all time. These chilling, provocative stories prove just how harrowing domestic suspense can be and together provide an eye-opening perspective on the evolution of the psychological thriller. Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives delivers page after page of pure, dark pleasure.”
—Koethi Zan, author of The Never List
“A revealing glimpse into the dark hearts and secret lives of mid-century women.”
—Christa Faust, author of Choke Hold
PENGUIN BOOKS
TROUBLED DAUGHTERS, TWISTED WIVES
SARAH WEINMAN is the news editor for Publishers Marketplace, the book industry service that produces the widely read daily newsletter Publishers Lunch. Weinman also writes the monthly “Crimewave” mystery and suspense column for the National Post, and has contributed to publications including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Observer, Slate, and the New Yorker’s Web site. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and the anthologies Long Island Noir, Dublin Noir, and Baltimore Noir. Weinman lives in Brooklyn, and can be reached on the Web at www.sarahweinman.com and on Twitter (@sarahw).
PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
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New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com
First published in Penguin Books 2013
Introduction and selection copyright © Sarah Weinman, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Pages 355–356 constitute an extension of this copyright page.
The author has made diligent efforts to contact all rights holders for the stories included in this anthology and gratefully acknowledges their cooperation in allowing their stories to be reprinted. In some cases locating the rights holders was difficult and one case impossible. Rather than exclude any story, they are all presented here with thanks to those rights holders who gave permission and to those who could not be found.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Troubled daughters, twisted wives : stories from the trailblazers of domestic suspense / edited by Sarah Weinman. pages cm
ISBN 978-0-698-13624-3
1. American fiction—Women authors. 2. Suspense fiction, American. 3. Domestic fiction, American. I. Weinman, Sarah, editor of compilation. PS647
.W6T67 2013 813'.01089287—dc23 2013011939
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To my mother, Judith, and my father, Jack (1936–2012)
CONTENTS
About Sarah Weinman
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
The Heroine • PATRICIA HIGHSMITH
A Nice Place to Stay • NEDRA TYRE
Louisa, Please Come Home • SHIRLEY JACKSON
Lavender Lady • BARBARA CALLAHAN
Sugar and Spice • VERA CASPARY
Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree • HELEN NIELSEN
Everybody Needs a Mink • DOROTHY B. HUGHES
The Purple Shroud • JOYCE HARRINGTON
The Stranger in the Car • ELISABETH SANXAY HOLDING
The Splintered Monday • CHARLOTTE ARMSTRONG
Lost Generation • DOROTHY SALISBURY DAVIS
The People Across the Canyon • MARGARET MILLAR
Mortmain • MIRIAM ALLEN DEFORD
A Case of Maximum Need • CELIA FREMLIN
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
___________________
A PASSION project like this cannot possibly happen without the help, hard work, and input of a great many people.
First and foremost, the rights holders, permissions managers, and other literary representatives who granted kind permission to republish these stories as they were originally meant to be read: Jack Callahan; Christopher Harrington; Evan Harrington; Barry Malzberg; Roger Schwed; Shira Hoffman at MacIntosh and Otis; Craig Tenney at Harold Ober; Charles Schlessiger and Lina Granada at Brandt & Hochman; Linda Allen of the Linda Allen Literary Agency; Vianny Cruz at ICM; Dara Hyde at Grove/Atlantic; Lynda Gregory of the Blanche Gregory Literary Agency; and Claire Morris and Ruth Murray at Gregory & Company.
Thanks to those who were instrumental in tracking down physical copies of the stories and with additional research: Jackie Sherbow and Janet Hutchings at Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine; Noreen Tomassi and Brenda Wegener at the Center for Fiction; Steve Viola, Maggie Griffin, Kizmin Reeves, and Maggie Topkis at Partners & Crime (sadly missed, more than I can possibly express); Bud Webster; Anne Besig Forwand; the New York Public Library; Greg Shepard; Jessica Ferri; Rick Cypert; Tom Nolan; Charles Ardai; Jason Pinter; Christa Faust; Tina Wexler; Oline Cogdill.
Friends, colleagues, and family helped in ways big and small, and this list is by no means comprehensive: Megan Abbott; Jami Attenberg; Dov Berger; Michael Cader; Hilary Davidson; Roe D’Angelo; Robin Dellabough; Juliet Grames; Sara J. Henry; Jennifer Jordan; Stuart Krichevsky; Aline Linden; Michael Macrone; Mark Medley; Bryon Quertermous; Jonathan Santlofer; Jacob Silverman; Michele Slung; Jack Weinman, z"l; Jaime Weinman; Judith Weinman; Joe Wallace; Sharon Avrutick Wallace; Dave White; Emily Williams; Jennifer Young. Special thanks to Michelle Wildgen, who commissioned the essay at Tin House that started me on the road leading to this anthology, and beyond.
At Penguin, Stephen Morrison, for listening to my excitable rant at lunch one day, suggesting there might be an anthology in it, and turning the idea into reality; Becca Hunt, for invaluable help and support at early critical junctures; Elda Rotor, for key advice and understanding; Henry Freedland, for his patient phone manner; Sam Moore, for able permissions work; Lynn Buckley, for the amazing cover; Lavina Lee, for the most thoughtful copyedits I’ve ever received; and Tara Singh, who got what I was trying to do with absolute clarity, vision, and action. I’m lucky to be part of this publishing village.
To my agent, Shana Cohen, for being the best advocate, sounding board, neurosis-deflector, and, above all, friend I could ever have.
And to Ed Champion, for everything.
INTRODUCTION
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AS WE speak, the current crop of crime writers who excite and inspire me the most are women. These authors are very much rooted in the present, exposing our most potent fears and showing the most insidious effects of human behavior in ways that are fresh, smart, and forward-looking, but—consciously or otherwise—draw on the rich tradition crime writing has to offer. Their books color outside the lines, blur between categories, and give readers a glimpse of the darkest impulses that pervade every part of contemporary society. Especially those impulses that begin in the home.
With each passing year I’ve grown more picky and discerning about my crime fiction reading. The books I’m drawn to are most often written by women, about women. Their authors speak to me as a reader, as a feminist, and as one who cares about the greater good.
Consider Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, 2012’s most popular and critically acclaimed suspense novel, with more than two million copies sold as of this writing. It’s a masterful look at a marriage that seems like pure bliss to outsiders, but to the husband and wife in question, bears greater resemblance to the 1989 movie The War of the Roses, the ultimate poisonous battle of the sexes.
Flynn is just one of the many standouts at the vanguard of psychological suspense that addresses matters of great relevance to women. Edgar Award–winning author Megan Abbott moves smoothly from feminine-subversive midcentury noir in novels like Die a Little or Bury Me Deep to taut, almost hallucinatory examinations of teenage girls making sense of their hearts, bodies, and minds, as in The End of Everything or Dare Me. In her most recent suspense novel And When She Was Good, Laura Lippman illuminates the world of the suburban madam with expert empathy, as she did with a kidnap victim’s battle of wits with her former tormentor in I’d Know You Anywhere. And Attica Locke, in The Cutting Season, restarts a disquieting but necessary conversation on America’s slavery past through the lens of a plantation-turned-tourist attraction overseen by a single mother.
The burgeoning renaissance has an international flavor, too, with successful authors like Tana French of Dublin, Sophie Hannah of London, Louise Penny of Canada, and the duo of Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis of Denmark. They may nominally be writing police procedurals, but what they really do, book after book, is take a scalpel to contemporary society and slice away until its dark essence reveals itself: the ways in which women continue to be victimized, their misfortunes downplayed by men (and women) who don’t believe them, and how they eventually overcome.
In marveling at these women, I began to wonder about who came before them. They certainly could not have existed without the efforts of the generation immediately preceding them, who collectively furthered the cause of women in the genre and coalesced into the group Sisters in Crime, founded in 1986. At that point four women—Liza Cody, Sue Grafton, Marcia Muller, and Sara Paretsky—were making critical and commercial inroads into the identifiably male private detective story, transmuting the darkness, nobility, humor, and detection savvy of the form from the vantage point of their investigating heroines Anna Lee, Kinsey Millhone, Sharon McCone, and V. I. Warshawski.
Over the next two and a half decades, where there was a market, women were there to fill it, master it, and put their distinct stamp on it. The police procedural, long a male-dominated category, gave birth to the splinter group of the forensic thriller, pioneered by Thomas Harris but made mainstream by Patricia Cornwell and, later, Kathy Reichs, Val McDermid, and Karin Slaughter. And when a crime story demanded a vivid sense of place in settings stretching from upstate New York to Appalachia to the West and the South, women like Julia Spencer-Fleming, Margaret Maron, Vicki Lane, and Margaret Coel rose up to meet those goals and gain devoted readerships for their region-flavored fare.
When I reached back further in time I discovered, much to my surprise, an entire
generation of female crime writers who have faded from view. Their work spanned a period of three decades, from the early 1940s through the mid-1970s. At the time, their work, about the concerns of women, didn’t easily fit within the genre’s two marquee categories, which had come of age during the Great Depression and flourished thereafter: the male-dominated hard-boiled story made famous by the likes of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Dashiell Hammett; and the tonally lighter and less violent cozy, which grew out of the success of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh, known colloquially as the “Queens of Crime.”
The crime genre, concerned as it is with the righting of wrongs and playing by rules, is less comfortable with blurred boundaries. It’s especially uneasy about stories that feature ordinary people, particularly women, trying to make sense of a disordered world with small stakes, where the most important worry is whether a person takes good care of her children, stands up to a recalcitrant spouse, or contends with how best to fit—or subvert—social mores. The bombast of global catastrophe, the knight-errant detective’s overweening nobility, or the gaping maw of total self-annihilation has no place in these stories. A subtle approach to the human condition with a more domestically oriented view attracts far less notice than books with grand ambitions writ large, but they are no less deserving of appreciation and understanding.
With cultural conversations increasingly focused on women’s issues, from the “war on women” waged during the 2012 American election cycle, hand-wringing over whether women can “have it all,” and books saluting or decrying the end of men, this misplaced generation of female crime writers deserves, more than ever, to take their place at the literary table. Understanding the time and place in which these women created some of the best and most influential works of crime fiction ever written will allow their branch of the genre’s family tree—what we think of as domestic suspense—to be properly recognized.