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The Possession of Joel Delaney
paperbound
215 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1970
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146 people want to read
About the author
Ramona Stewart
21 books1 followerRamona Stewart was best known for her 1946 novel Desert Town and the 1970 supernatural thriller The Possession of Joel Delaney, both of which were adapted into films.
Stewart was born in San Francisco, California in 1922, the daughter of James Oliver Stewart and Theresa Waugh. She grew up in Los Angeles with her father, a promoter of silver mines. She was of Irish descent. Stewart attended the University of Southern California from 1938 until 1941.
Her first published works were serialized stories for Collier's magazine. The first of them, first published as "Bitter Harvest" from November 24 to December 8, 1945, was quickly optioned by Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis and became the basis of Desert Fury, a film noir by Lewis Allen starring Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, and Burt Lancaster. Stewart later developed the story into her first full-length novel with the title Desert Town.
After this early success, Stewart continued to submit material to Collier's, often coming-of-age stories that were popular in the slicks. She wouldn't publish another novel until 1962, The Stars Abide. This was followed by several other books sharing the themes she had established in her debut: odd love triangles, dysfunctional families, and more or less explicit homosexual relationships. At least one of those books, The Surprise Party Complex, dealing with disenchanted teenagers living in Hollywood, seems to have been turned into a spec script, but no film was produced.
After a detour toward the historical novel with Casey in 1968, Stewart finally settled as an author of thrillers with supernatural elements in the 1970s, starting with The Possession of Joel Delaney, which became her second title to be adapted into a film, directed by Waris Hussein and starring Shirley MacLaine and Perry King.
Stewart's final novel, The Nightmare Candidate, was published in 1980. For much of her adult life she resided with her husband in Key West, Florida, where she died in 2006.
While Desert Town has been marketed as an early example of pulp fiction, Stewart's early novels in particular have been praised for the depth hidden beneath the raunchy dialogue and the relationships between innocent females and almost clichéd males. Author and poet Sarah Key wrote that Stewart's female characters were "ahead of their time, often outcasts from conventional society, sometimes aided by supernatural forces".
Stewart's work is also noted for its early depictions of homosexual relationships. Noir expert Eddie Muller called the film adaptation of Desert Town "the gayest movie ever produced in Hollywood's golden era".
-Wikipedia
Stewart was born in San Francisco, California in 1922, the daughter of James Oliver Stewart and Theresa Waugh. She grew up in Los Angeles with her father, a promoter of silver mines. She was of Irish descent. Stewart attended the University of Southern California from 1938 until 1941.
Her first published works were serialized stories for Collier's magazine. The first of them, first published as "Bitter Harvest" from November 24 to December 8, 1945, was quickly optioned by Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis and became the basis of Desert Fury, a film noir by Lewis Allen starring Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, and Burt Lancaster. Stewart later developed the story into her first full-length novel with the title Desert Town.
After this early success, Stewart continued to submit material to Collier's, often coming-of-age stories that were popular in the slicks. She wouldn't publish another novel until 1962, The Stars Abide. This was followed by several other books sharing the themes she had established in her debut: odd love triangles, dysfunctional families, and more or less explicit homosexual relationships. At least one of those books, The Surprise Party Complex, dealing with disenchanted teenagers living in Hollywood, seems to have been turned into a spec script, but no film was produced.
After a detour toward the historical novel with Casey in 1968, Stewart finally settled as an author of thrillers with supernatural elements in the 1970s, starting with The Possession of Joel Delaney, which became her second title to be adapted into a film, directed by Waris Hussein and starring Shirley MacLaine and Perry King.
Stewart's final novel, The Nightmare Candidate, was published in 1980. For much of her adult life she resided with her husband in Key West, Florida, where she died in 2006.
While Desert Town has been marketed as an early example of pulp fiction, Stewart's early novels in particular have been praised for the depth hidden beneath the raunchy dialogue and the relationships between innocent females and almost clichéd males. Author and poet Sarah Key wrote that Stewart's female characters were "ahead of their time, often outcasts from conventional society, sometimes aided by supernatural forces".
Stewart's work is also noted for its early depictions of homosexual relationships. Noir expert Eddie Muller called the film adaptation of Desert Town "the gayest movie ever produced in Hollywood's golden era".
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 29, 2021
I forgot about this book.. I read it many, many years ago plus had seen the film. Both were very scary and disturbing at the time. I would like to read it again to see how I feel about the book although I would think it would be quite dated but sometimes they are some of the best reads!!
September 7, 2012
Dreadful book, poorly written. One of the few books in English in a secondhand bookstore in Montevideo, Uruguay. Despite costing about 30p (40c), and having a lot of long bus journeys to fill, it was still a waste of both time and money. Quite simply, the worst book I have ever read.
December 30, 2017
Absolutely horrible, I lost track of what I was reading more often then I can count. If there was a plot I completely missed it. But I disliked it so much that I couldn’t torture myself enough to read it twice.
November 16, 2023
This is an interesting take on possession and voodoo. Its an interesting snapshot of life in the late 60’s, early 70’s of the upper class living in New York. Not mind blowing but an entertaining quick read.
May 6, 2024
An interesting take on a possession story. Takes a while to build but then unwinds well with a tense climax and plenty of chills.
Read
April 16, 2025PIPER NOOOOO
January 23, 2024
I try not to read older books with the sensitivities of our current time, but there was so much subtle racism in this book against Puerto Ricans and “dark-skinned” (the author’s words) people that it was difficult for me to do that this time and the racism took me out of the book with every reference.
And as far as thrilling or frightening, this was neither and I found myself not caring about any of the characters.
And as far as thrilling or frightening, this was neither and I found myself not caring about any of the characters.
March 8, 2023
Humorous, shrewd writing that paints a snapshot of NYC as it was 50 years ago. It gives you access to the perspectives and values of a certain set of economic classes with earnestness that feels rare these days. Creepy, with edges of tension throughout. The ending felt a bit simple for the amount of complex potential the author had built into her story.
April 29, 2022
An Interesting Read. That Became A Much More Interesting Film.
October 15, 2025
You are told the story of Norah's brother being possessed by a serial killer from Norah's POV. This was a good read. Stewart's writing brings you in and keeps you. There are enough details for you to picture it all but not so many that the story gets bogged down.
September 17, 2024
Definitely not a great horror novel, but definitely a great New York City novel.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews