Lie Down In Darkness (Vintage classics) - Softcover

Styron, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099284995 ISBN 13: 9780099284994

Publisher: Vintage Classics, 2000

Synopsis

In this novel, the South looms dark and ominous in the background with its Biblical rhetoric, its conflict between a tradition of religious fundamentalism and modern scepticism, racial contrasts and the industrialisation of a rural society. But more than a novel of time and place, it is the story of a tormented family submerged in infidelity and driven by a vengeful love that is blocked, hurt and perverted. Peyton Loftis, who frantically needs a husband precisely because she loves her father; the decadent Milton, whose infidelity has made his marriage no more than a stage drama; and Helen, his wife, who loves only what she can control - her crippled daughter Maudie, or the childish part of her husband. This extraordinarily powerful novel is the portrait of a family who, in the words of Sir Thomas Browne in his URN BURIAL, 'all lie down in darkness'.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

With the publication in 1952 of his first novel, Lie Down in Darkness, William Styron, author of Sophie's Choice, was catapulted into the front ranks of post-war American writers, achieving immediate international recognition.

In this novel, the South looms dark and ominous in the background with its Biblical rhetoric, its conflict between a tradition of religious fundamentalism and modern scepticism, racial contrasts and the industrialisation of a rural society.

More than a novel of time and place, it is the story of a tormented family submergerd in infidelity and driven by a vengeful love that is blocked, hurt and perverted: Peyton Loftis, who frantically needs a husband precisely because she loves her father; the decadent Milton, whose infidelity has made his marriage no more than a stage drama; and Helen, his wife, who loves only what she can control.

About the Author:

William Styron (1925-2006), a native of the Virginia Tidewater, was a graduate of Duke University and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. His books include Lie Down in Darkness, The Long March, Set This House on Fire, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie's Choice, This Quiet Dust, Darkness Visible, and A Tidewater Morning. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Howells Medal, the American Book Award, the Legion d'Honneur, and the Witness to Justice Award from the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation. With his wife, the poet and activist Rose Styron, he lived for most of his adult life in Roxbury, Connecticut, and in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, where he is buried.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Classics
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0099284995
• ISBN 13: 9780099284994
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400