AUTHOR GUY PORTMAN'S BLOG

PORTMAN'S PONDERINGS, PROCRASTINATIONS, PREAMBLES, PROGNOSES & PARODIES.

1
7 Mental Health Themed Novels
2
The Psychological Thriller Genre
3
Books with Secret Languages
4
10 Transgressive Novels
5
My Tour of Highgate Cemetery
6
12 Famous Horror Books
7
5 Books that Affected Me
8
My Revamped Blog
9
15 Authors’ Epitaphs
10
21 Famous Authors’ Last Words

7 Mental Health Themed Novels

Here are 7 mental health themed books from the last 90 years:

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

Mrs Dalloway

Set during a single day in June 1923, Mrs Dalloway’s themes include mental health. One of the main characters, Septimus Warren Smith, is a veteran of WWI, who is suffering from shell shock. Click here to read my review.

Tender Is The Night by Scott Fitzgerald (1934)

Tender Is The Night

Protagonist Dick Diver is a talented psychoanalyst, whose wife Nicole is also his patient. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Tender Is the Night when his wife Zelda was hospitalised for schizophrenia. It was his fourth and final completed novel.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kasey (1962)

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
The book’s narrator is ‘Chief’ Bromden, a Native American psychiatric hospital patient. Other characters include Randle Patrick Murphy, who faked insanity to escape a prison sentence, and Mildred Ratched, the hospital’s draconian head nurse.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)

The Bell Jar
Protagonist Esther Greenwood’s year in the ‘bell jar’ as she describes it, culminates in her being institutionalised in a mental health facility. This erudite and humorous semi-autobiographical novel adeptly explores an emotionally disturbed mind. Click here to read my review.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987)

Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood sees protagonist Toru Watanabu reflecting on his college days in Tokyo. During this period Toru had established a relationship with a beautiful but emotionally troubled girl called Naoko. Naoko was to spend time in a secluded mountain sanatorium.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1998)

The Hours
This Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner follows 3 generations of women who have been affected by the Virginia Woolf novel, Mrs Dalloway. The women are: Virginia Woolf herself, Mrs Brown, the wife of a WWII veteran, and the bisexual Clarissa Vaughan.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (2011)

The Marriage Plot
Set during the 1980s, The Marriage Plot is about 3 college friends from Brown University – Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell. Leonard has manic depression. This is affecting his work, friendships and romantic relationships.

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Symbiosis

The Psychological Thriller Genre

My third novel, Symbiosis, is about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. Symbiosis (released Jan 21st 2016) is a Psychological Thriller. This week’s post is dedicated to the Psychological Thriller literary genre.

Definition: A Psychological Thriller is a thriller story, which emphasises the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states… (More)

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Characteristics:

  • Psychological & emotional stress are primary themes.
  • The conflict between the characters is predominantly
    psychological/mental.
  • Deception is a key factor.
  • Tension and suspense are ever-present.
  • There is often an overlap with other genres, including Mystery,
    Transgressive Fiction and Horror (particularly psychological horror).
  • Psychological Thrillers focus on both the hero and the villain.
  • The nature of the protagonist is often questioned.
  • Psychological Thrillers play with both the characters’ and reader’s
    mind.

 

History:

1697 ­– Little Red Riding Hood – the story is about a manipulative, stalking wolf versus an innocent girl.

1844The Count of Monte Cristo – betrayal and revenge are themes in this action-packed novel.

1903Heart of Darkness – the human soul is the central theme in this first person account of a man traveling up the Congo River. Click here to read my review.

1959The Manchurian Candidate – this Cold War classic is about a squad of American soldiers who are left paranoid after being brainwashed by Communists.

1980The Bourne Identity – a man suffering from amnesia finds a trail of deceit when he sets out to discover his past. Most of us have probably seen the film it inspired.

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My Favourite Psychological Thriller Author: Thomas Harris (Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs).

My Most Disturbing Psychological Thriller: The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Click here to read my review.

Psychological Thriller of the Decade so far: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012) – 939,000 sales in 2014 alone.

Amazon’s Current No.1 Best Selling Psychological Thriller: The Girl With No Past by Kathryn Croft.

Most Famous Contemporary Psychological Thriller Author: Lee Child.

The Psychological Thriller I Want to Read Next: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

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I have written 3 novels. My latest is the psychological thriller, Symbiosis.

Symbiosis

 

Books with Secret Languages

My third novel, Symbiosis, is about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. It is a psychological thriller. Talulah and Taliah speak to each other in a cryptophasia. A cryptophasia is a secret language developed by a set of twins, which only they understand.

Cryptophasia

Here are 6 authors who invented/alluded to idiosyncratic languages in their writing:

James Joyce – Finnegans Wake (1939) – Written in Paris over a period of 17 years, much of Finnegans Wake is written in an idiosyncratic language, made up of a combination of portmanteau words, multilingual puns and English lexical items.

 J. R. R. Tolkien – The Lord of the Rings (1954) – Tolkien had a penchant for creating languages. In The Lord of the Rings he described in intricate detail the linguistics of Middle-earth. A number of constructed languages were envisaged.

H.P. Lovecraft – Various books/stories – In Lovecraft’s writing the language R’lyehian is a hieroglyphic lettering system, which was brought to earth by the spawn of Cthulhu. Lovecraft never gave a name to this language, but his fans did.

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Anthony Burgess – A Clockwork Orange (1962) – Set in a dystopian near future, this violent and at times comical work employs an imaginary teenage dialect called nadsat that is in part inspired by Russian. A glossary is provided. Click here to read my review.

Russell Hoban – Riddley Walker (1980) – Set in the English county of Kent, 2000 years after a nuclear war, Riddley Walker is written in an idiosyncratic language, composed of a phonetic transliteration of a Kentish accent.

Chris Beckett – Dark Eden (2012) – In this science fiction novel, the descendants of 2 people who crashed on a planet called Eden, communicate in an unsophisticated language. The inhabitants of Eden do not yet have words for much of their environment.

 

10 Transgressive Novels

This week’s post is devoted to 10 works of Transgressive Fiction by 10 different authors, all of which I have reviewed here. As followers of this blog are aware, Transgressive Fiction is one of my favourite genres. My second book, Necropolis, is a transgressive, black comedy about a psychopath who works for the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways. Protagonists in Transgressive Fiction are in one form or other rebelling against society.  Due to this they may appear to be anti-social, nihilistic or even sociopathic.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

Tropic of Cancer

About: Sexuality, freedom and the human condition are themes in this groundbreaking work of Transgressive Fiction. Tropic of Cancer was banned from being imported into the United States after its publication in France in 1934. 

My Review: Set in the late 1920s and early 30s, Tropic of Cancer is a semi-autobiographical first-person account of a young, struggling American writer living in Paris, and for a short period Le Havre. His is a seedy existence, characterised by a shortage of money… (More)

Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev (1934)

Novel with Cocaine

About: Novel with Cocaine is a nihilistic and philosophical novel about adolescence and addiction that could be described as Dostoyevskian. Since the time of its publication in book form there has been intense speculation over who wrote it.

My Review: Set in the years immediately before and after the Russian Revolution, Novel with Cocaine follows the life of Vadim, a Moscow adolescent and student. Vadim is prone to self-loathing and disdainful of others, none more so than his mother, whose… (More)

Savage Night by Jim Thompson (1953)

Savage Night 

AboutSavage Night is a suspenseful crime novel written in its author’s trademark stark, pulp prose style. Protagonist Carl is a paranoid, pensive and perplexing character, who suffers poor health, and is convinced that he is disintegrating.  

My Review: A shadowy crime boss known as ‘The Man’ sends contract killer Carl Bigelow to a small town, on a mission to kill a man, by the name of Jake Winroy. Jake is a key witness in a forthcoming court case. Carl, whose ruse is that… (More)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

Lolita

AboutThe story is about a man named Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with a twelve-year-old girl, Lolita, the daughter of his landlady. Banned in a number of countries Lolita continues to cause controversy to this day.

My Review: The protagonist, Humbert Humbert, is an intellectual with an all-consuming craving for young girls, or nymphets as he refers to them.  After his wife leaves him for another man, Humbert Humbert becomes a live-in tutor for the Hazes, a family consisting of a… (More)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

A Clockwork Orange

About: First published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is a ground-breaking and controversial book with an intriguing and intelligent narrator, which leaves many questions to ponder concerning behaviourism and the role of the state. 

My Review: Alex is an eccentric 15-year-old delinquent with a penchant for classical music and drinking milk. He and his fellow ‘droogs’ assault, rob and rape with impunity, that is until a serious incident sees him arrested and incarcerated. Our anti-hero is anticipating… (More)

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)

slaughterhouse-5

About: Slaughterhouse-Five’s anti-war rhetoric has resulted in it being banned from numerous US schools and libraries. The story is about the exploits of Billy Pilgrim, a survivor of the notorious firebombing of Dresden in World War II.

My Review: Narrated in a non-linear order, the story follows protagonist Billy Pilgrim’s journey through life. A married optometrist with two children, Billy is a veteran of World War II, and a survivor of the notorious fire bombing of Dresden. Billy is also a time traveller… (More)

Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski (1982)

Ham On Rye

About: Ham On Rye is a coming-of-age story, in which the protagonist views himself as an intruder, refusing to adhere to society’s expectations. This is a sad and moving work written in the author’s trademark economy of prose style.

My Review: Ham On Rye is a semi-autobiographical account of Bukowski’s formative years in his home city of Los Angeles. The story follows the early life of the author’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, starting with his earliest memories, then through his school years… (More)

Queer by William S. Burroughs (1985)

Queer

About: Autobiographical in nature, the book is an account of Burroughs’s life in Mexico, during a troubled time in his life shortly after accidentally shooting wife Joan Vollmer dead. The author adeptly portrays a deep sense of longing and loss. 

My Review: Queer is an unreciprocated love story, in which the protagonist Lee craves love and attention from a young American by the name of Eugene Allerton. Set in the American ex-pat scene of hedonistic, lawless 1940s Mexico… (More)

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (1985)

Less Than Zero

About: Less Than Zero is about a privileged group of L.A. youngsters, who appear on the surface to have an idealistic life, but in reality live unrewarding existences. Unrelenting in its bleakness, this is a must read for all Easton Ellis admirers.

My Review: Set in nineteen-eighties Los Angeles, the story follows eighteen-year-old Clay, returned home for Christmas from college in New Hampshire.  Clay immediately falls back into the L.A. social scene, spending his time hanging-out with various wealthy teenagers… (More)

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (2007)

Rant

About: This is a challenging book, employing an innovative interview format. Rant adroitly challenges our own traditions by demonstrating how we contort our recollection of events in accordance with our desires, motives and beliefs.

My Review: Rant is the oral history of Buster ‘Rant’ Casey, recounted by an array of people including his relations, friends, enemies and lovers. Rant’s childhood companions from the small rural town where he spent his formative years remember… (More)

 

My Tour of Highgate Cemetery

I am fascinated by cemeteries. The protagonist in my 2nd novel, Necropolis, works for the burials and cemeteries department in his local council. I have also written blog posts about the Old Brompton Cemetery in London, Recoleta in Buenos Aires and Zentralfriedhof in Vienna. This week I visited Highgate Cemetery in London. It is home to many famous people including a number of authors.

Highgate Cemetery is divided into 2 sections – East and West. To view the West one has to pre-book. Tour groups are admitted once a day. As for the East it is open to the public – admission £4. And it is the East side that I visited on a grey, wet but mild November afternoon. Below is Douglas Adams grave. Adams wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. (Note the pens in the pot).

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Jim Horn was an avid reader.

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Below is Mary Ann Cross’s (pen name – George Eliot) grave. Eliot was one of the leading novelists of the Victorian era. She used a male pen name so that she would be taken seriously in a male-dominated society.

George Eliot

Karl Marx is the most famous resident of Highgate Cemetery.

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Much of the cemetery has a rural feel (see below).

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This lady evidently really loved her dog.

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The multi-cultural nature of the area is reflected in the style of graves (see below).

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No prizes for guessing what Harry Thornton did for a living. He perished in the 1918 flu pandemic.

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Malcolm McClaren (1946-2010) was an impresario, rock-artist, clothes designer and boutique owner. His epitaph reads – ‘Better a spectacular failure, than a benign success.’

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Below is TV presenter Jeremy Beadle’s grave. The diminutive star was adored by the nation’s TV watchers.

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Some of the graves have seen better days. I was trying to locate Anthony Shaffer’s resting place (author of 1970 bestseller Sleuth) when I came across this grave. I never did find Shaffer’s.

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Bruce Reynolds was the mastermind of the Great Train Robbery in 1963.

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Below is a resident of the cemetery.

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I would highly recommend Highgate Cemetery.

Necropolis

12 Famous Horror Books

As it is Halloween, I am dedicating this week’s blog post to a Halloween related theme – 12 famous horror books from the last 250 years. (Well literary works would be more accurate). The Horror genre encompasses all forms of fiction that ‘causes feelings of fear, dread, and shock.’

The following 12 books are presented in chronological order:

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (1764) – This trendsetting book is widely accepted to be the world’s first gothic novel. It became an instant bestseller. The story is about the lord of a castle and his family.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) – Mary Shelley started writing this iconic work when she was only 18-years-old. Frankenstein was published when she was 20. We all know the story – Victor Frankenstein creates a hideous, cognizant creature in a scientific experiment. Click here to read my review.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (1845) – The Raven is Poe’s most famous poem. It tells the story of a talking raven’s visit to a distraught lover. The poem made the master of mystery and the macabre a celebrity.

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) – Dracula sees Dracula trying to move from Transylvania to England to find new blood and to spread the undead curse. This gothic horror novel defined the modern form of the vampire.

Raven

Tales of Men and Ghosts by Edith Wharton (1910) – Edith Wharton was a versatile Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Although horror was not her usual genre, she did write ghost stories, including this eerie and fantastic compilation, consisting of 10 tales.

A Thin Ghost and Others by M.R. James (1919) – The author had published 2 collections of ghost stories prior to writing this highly acclaimed compilation. James redefined the form of the ghost story by utilising contemporary settings.

The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (1928) – First published in a pulp magazine, this short story is about the weakness of the human mind when faced by extra-terrestrial powers. Lovecraft is arguably the greatest horror writer ever.

The October Country by Ray Bradbury (1955) – This collection of 19 macabre short stories includes The Skeleton – a tale about a man convinced his own skeleton is out to ruin him. Bradbury is best known for his dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451.

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Song of Kali by Dan Simmons (1985) – Set in Calcutta, the story follows an American who discovers the macabre and horrifying activities of a cult that worships Kali. The Song of Kali won the 1986 World Fantasy Award.

IT by Stephen King (1986) – IT was the best-selling book in the U.S. in 1986. The story is about 7 children, who are persecuted by a being, which takes on various guises, more often than not that of a clown.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (2005) – This innovative book comprises 23 short stories, most of which are preceded by a free verse poem. Its author has stated that his shocking and controversial creation illustrates our battle for credibility. Click here to read my review.

The Secret of Crickley by James Herbert (2006) – This supernatural thriller, written by bestselling British writer James Herbert, is set in a children’s home, which is flooded. The children who do not escape come back as ghosts to seek revenge.

Honourable Mention: Necropolis by Guy Portman (2014) – This satirical black comedy is about a psychopath who works for the burials and cemeteries department in his local council. Its many memorable scenes include a public sector Halloween party. (Amazon link).

5 Books that Affected Me

All of us have read books that have affected us in some way. This week’s blog post is devoted to 5 books by 5 different authors that have affected me, and perhaps influenced my own writing in some small way (3 novels to date).

 

Post Office by Charles Bukowski
Post Office

Post Office is a humorous, semi-autobiographical account of its author’s years of toil at the United States Postal Service. Although its protagonist Chinaski is a crude and cynical man with a misogynistic outlook, it is his intrinsic humanness that has endeared him to many readers, myself included.

My Review: Henry Chinaski is a heavy drinking, womanising, race track frequenting low-life, who works at the post office. The story follows his menial existence of 12 night shifts, sorting post, delivering mail, observing his fellow colleagues and facing countless disciplinary measures, … (more)

 

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Down and Out

Orwell’s first published novel is about the author’s time spent living amongst the destitute in Paris and later London. The book’s vivid descriptions and captivating prose give the reader an appreciation of the nature of urban poverty in the early 20th century.

My Review: George Orwell’s first published novel, Down and Out in Paris and London, is an account of the author’s time spent living in abject poverty, first in Paris and later in London. Having spent his savings and with tutoring work having come to … (more)

 

The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man And The Sea

The Old Man And The Sea is a novella about endeavour, endurance and man’s place within nature. Written in the author’s trademark simple, concise, economy of prose style, this is a carefully constructed, moving and memorable work that is replete with symbolism.

My Review: Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba, this is a tale about an old man, a boy and a colossal Marlin. The old man, Santiago, is a veteran fisherman, who is on a run of bad luck having been 84 days… (more)

 

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson

The Killer Inside Me

The Killer Inside Me is a thought provoking, suspenseful and unrelentingly bleak first person narrative about a psychopath, in which the author adeptly employs suspense and realistic, simple prose. It is without doubt the most disturbing work of fiction I have read to date.

My Review: 29-year-old Lou Ford is a Deputy Sheriff from the West Texas town of Central City. Lou, who is in a long-term relationship with childhood sweetheart Amy Stanton, is a hard-working, trustworthy, simple character with a keenness for clichés; at least this is … (more)

 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

Set during the Great Depression, this Pullitzer Prize winning book follows the Joads, a poor family from Oklahoma, travelling to California in search of a better life. If there is a better novel in this world than The Grapes of Wrath I am yet to read it.

My Review: Unfortunately there is no review. I read The Grapes of Wrath prior to starting this blog. No doubt many of you have read it anyway. I know Americans study it in school, and perhaps for that reason aren’t as fond of it as I. There are reviews of 5 Steinbeck books in the review section of this blog.

 

My Revamped Blog

March 12th 2012 saw the launch of this blog with a post titled Miami Day One. It was followed 4 days later with a post dedicated to my first and last visit to Taco Bell (Fort Lauderdale). I am not sure anyone other than myself ever read these posts.

Today, 3.5 years and 36,000 page views later, I finally got around to getting a professional to redesign this blog. It was out with the all-encompassing grey, including grey font, and in with a tasteful white and blue scheme with a clear, large, black font.

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You can find my 2 novels (Necropolis and Charles Middleworth) on the right hand side of the page. I went with a red font for the Amazon links. The rationale being that red encourages action. Wishful thinking perhaps, only time will tell.

I write a blog post every Friday afternoon (16:03 GMT) and hope to continue to do so for many decades to come. There are now over 50 instalments of my famous author series, in addition to posts devoted to books, as well as the occasional update on my travels, including a trip around a high-tech Japanese house and tours of 3 cemeteries (The Brompton Cemetery in London, Recoleta in Buenos Aires and Zentralfriedhof in Vienna). I am interested in cemeteries. The protagonist in my second novel, Necropolis, works for the burials and cemeteries department in his local council.

Necropolis

In the My Reviews section (see top of page) you will find 81 of my book reviews. The titles, unlike before, are now neatly nested in a table. There are books to interest all tastes. I look forward to sharing many more reviews in the forthcoming years.

You might be interested in joining my mailing list (see right hand column). I will be sending out occasional newsletters.

Have a good weekend.

 

 

 

15 Authors’ Epitaphs

This week sees the latest instalment in my famous author series. Here are 15 famous authors’ epitaphs:

Grave

John Keats – (1795 – 1821) – Here Lies One Whose Name was Writ in Water

Edgar Allan Poe – (1809 – 1849) – Quoth the Raven, Nevermore

Emily Dickinson – (1830 – 1886) – Called Back

Oscar Wilde – (1854 – 1900) – And alien tears will fill for him. Pity’s long broken urn, For his mourners will be outcast men, And outcasts always mourn. (from Wilde’s poem,  The Battle of Reading Goal).                                       

Jack London – (1876 – 1916) – The Stone the Builders Rejected

Joseph Conrad – (1857 – 1924) – Sleep after toyle, port after stormie seas, Ease after warre, death after life, does greatly please.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – (1859 – 1930) – Steel true, Blade Straight.

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D. H. Lawrence – 
(1885-1930) – Homo sum! the adventurer

H.P. Lovecraft – (1890 – 1937) – I am Providence

F. Scott Fitzgerald – (1896 – 1940) & Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald – (1900 – 1948) So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. – (The Great Gatsby).

Virginia Woolf – (1882 – 1941) – Against you I will fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!

Sylvia Plath – (1932 -1963) – Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted. (From Monkey by Wu Ch’Eng-En)

C. S. Lewis – (1898 – 1963) – Man must endure his going hence

Dorothy Parker – (1893 – 1967) – Excuse my dust

Billy Wilder – (1906 – 2002) – I’m a writer but then nobody’s perfect

 
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Necropolis by Guy Portman — Dyson Devereux works in the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council. Dyson is intelligent, incisive and informed. He is also(more)

Necropolis

21 Famous Authors’ Last Words

Here are 21 famous authors’ purported last words. They are presented in chronological order.

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Voltaire (1694–1778) ­– On his deathbed when asked by the priest to renounce Satan, Voltaire allegedly said, ‘Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies.’ 

Jane Austen (1775–1817) – When her sister, Cassandra, asked the dying author if she wanted anything, Jane Austen replied, ‘Nothing, but death.’

George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) – ‘Now I shall go to sleep. Goodnight.’

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) – The Victorian poet was close to death when her husband enquired as to how she felt. Browning replied, ‘Beautiful.’ She then passed away.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) – ‘Moose. Indian.’ Perhaps not the most rational last words ever uttered, but apt, considering the subject matter of Thoreau’s writing.

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) – ‘So, this is death. Well!’

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) ‘This is the fight of day and night. I see black light.’

Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) – ‘Let us go in; the fog is rising.’

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) – Immediately after Chekhov told his wife that he was about to die, he purportedly picked up a glass of champagne and said, ‘It’s a long time since I drank champagne.’ After drinking the glass, he died.

Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) – The Norwegian playwright and poet allegedly uttered his last words to a nurse, who commented that he seemed to be improving. Ibsen said, ‘Tvertimod!’ (‘On the contrary!’) He then died.

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O. Henry (1862–1910) – ‘Turn up the lights, I don’t want to go home in the dark.’

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) – ‘But the peasants…how do the peasants die?’

Saki (1870 –1916) – Immediately prior to being killed by a sniper’s bullet in a First World War trench, the author allegedly said, ‘Put that bloody cigarette out.’

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) – Suffering from tuberculosis, Kafka demanded his doctor give him an overdose of morphine. He shouted, ‘Kill me, or else you are a murderer!’ These were his last words.

J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) – Prior to dying of pneumonia the Peter Pan author said, ‘I can’t sleep.’

James Joyce (1882 –1941) – ‘Does nobody understand?’

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) – ‘Dying is easy, comedy is hard.’

Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) – ‘I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room, and God damn it, died in a hotel room.’

Walter De La Mare (1873–1956) – ‘Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers.’

Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) – ‘A certain butterfly is already on the wing.’  Fitting last words for a lepidopterist.

Truman Capote (1924–1984) – ‘It’s me, it’s Buddy… I’m cold.’

 

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My 3 novels include the satirical black comedy Necropolis. It is about a sociopath who works for the burials and cemeteries department in his local council.

Necropolis

 

 

 

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