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Unfaithful Wives
'A sultry novel of unbridled lust'; 'One slut deserves another'; 'They played and then paid!.'
Hitt is said to have produced a pulp novel every two weeks from his trailer, for which he was paid as little as $250, in order to put his kids thru college. He quit writing when that goal was achieved.
Hitt is said to have produced a pulp novel every two weeks from his trailer, for which he was paid as little as $250, in order to put his kids thru college. He quit writing when that goal was achieved.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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About the author
Orrie Hitt
221 books30 followersOrrie Edwin Hitt was born in Colchester and died from cancer in a VA hospital in Montrose, NY. He married Charlotte Tucker in Pt Jervis, NY (a small town upstate where he became a lifelong resident), on Valentine’s Day, '43. Orrie & Charlotte had 4 kids—Joyce, Margaret, David & Nancy. He was under 5’5″, taking a 27' inseam, which his wife altered because no one sold pants so short.
Hitt wrote maybe 150 books. He wasn’t sure. “I’m no adding machine”, he answered on the back cover of his book Naked Flesh, when asked how many he’d written. “All I do is write. I usually start at 7 in the morning, take 20 minutes for lunch & continue until about 4 in the afternoon.” Hitt wrote a novel every 2 weeks in his prime, typing over 85 wpm. “His fastest & best works were produced when he was allowed to type whatever he wanted,” said his children. “His slowest works were produced when publishers insisted on a certain kind of novel, extra spicy etc.”
Most of Hitt’s books were PBOs. He also wrote some hardcovers. Pseudonyms include Kay Addams, Joe Black, Roger Normandie, Charles Verne & Nicky Weaver. Publishers include Avon, Beacon (later Softcover Library), Chariot, Domino (Lancer), Ember Library, Gaslight, Key Publishing, Kozy, MacFadden, Midwood, Novel, P.E.C, Red Lantern, Sabre, Uni-books, Valentine Books, Vantage Press, Vest-Pocket & Wisdom House.
He wrote in the adults only genre. Many of such writers were hacks, using thin plots as an excuse to throw tits & ass between covers for a quick buck. Others used the genre as a stepping stone to legitimate writing, later dismissing this part of their career. There were few like Hitt, whose writing left an original, idiosyncratic & lasting mark even beyond the horizons of '50s-mid 60s adult publishing. What made him unique was his belief he was writing realistically about the needs & desires, the brutality (both verbal & physical), the hypocritical lives inside the suburban tracts houses & the limited economic opportunities for women that lay beneath the glossy, Super Cinecolor, Father Knows Best surface of American life. He studied what he wrote about. Wanting to write about a nudist camp, he went to one tho “he wouldn't disrobe”.
His research allowed him to write convincingly. S. Stryker, in her Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback, says, “Only one actual lesbian, Kay Addams, writing as Orrie Hitt, is known to have churned out semipornographic sleaze novels for a predominantly male audience.” She thought “Orrie Hitt” a pseudonym, & “Kay Addams” a real lesbian author! Orrie’d like that one.
It wasn’t just about sex. It was also about guts. “The characters,” Hitt’s protagonist–a movie producer complimenting a screenwriter on her work–says in the novel Man-Hungry Female, “were very real, red blooded people who tore at the guts of life. That’s what I’m after. Guts.” If anyone knew about guts, it was him.
Life started out tough for Hitt. His father committed suicide when he was 11. “Dad seldom spoke of his father, who'd committed suicide, because it was a very unpleasant chapter in his life,” said his children.
After Father’s death, Orrie & his mother moved to Forestburgh, NY, where they worked for a hunting-fishing club. He started doing chores for wealthy members for $.10 hourly. Management offered him a better job later, at .25 hourly. Eventually, he became club caretaker & supervisor. “Dad talked a lot about working as a child to help his mother make ends meet,” his children recalled. “He wanted his children to have a better life while growing up.”
Tragedy struck Hitt again during those years. His children explain: “Dad’s mom died at her sister’s house on the club property during an ice storm, so Dad walked to the house to get his mother & carried her back to his car"
Hitt wrote maybe 150 books. He wasn’t sure. “I’m no adding machine”, he answered on the back cover of his book Naked Flesh, when asked how many he’d written. “All I do is write. I usually start at 7 in the morning, take 20 minutes for lunch & continue until about 4 in the afternoon.” Hitt wrote a novel every 2 weeks in his prime, typing over 85 wpm. “His fastest & best works were produced when he was allowed to type whatever he wanted,” said his children. “His slowest works were produced when publishers insisted on a certain kind of novel, extra spicy etc.”
Most of Hitt’s books were PBOs. He also wrote some hardcovers. Pseudonyms include Kay Addams, Joe Black, Roger Normandie, Charles Verne & Nicky Weaver. Publishers include Avon, Beacon (later Softcover Library), Chariot, Domino (Lancer), Ember Library, Gaslight, Key Publishing, Kozy, MacFadden, Midwood, Novel, P.E.C, Red Lantern, Sabre, Uni-books, Valentine Books, Vantage Press, Vest-Pocket & Wisdom House.
He wrote in the adults only genre. Many of such writers were hacks, using thin plots as an excuse to throw tits & ass between covers for a quick buck. Others used the genre as a stepping stone to legitimate writing, later dismissing this part of their career. There were few like Hitt, whose writing left an original, idiosyncratic & lasting mark even beyond the horizons of '50s-mid 60s adult publishing. What made him unique was his belief he was writing realistically about the needs & desires, the brutality (both verbal & physical), the hypocritical lives inside the suburban tracts houses & the limited economic opportunities for women that lay beneath the glossy, Super Cinecolor, Father Knows Best surface of American life. He studied what he wrote about. Wanting to write about a nudist camp, he went to one tho “he wouldn't disrobe”.
His research allowed him to write convincingly. S. Stryker, in her Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback, says, “Only one actual lesbian, Kay Addams, writing as Orrie Hitt, is known to have churned out semipornographic sleaze novels for a predominantly male audience.” She thought “Orrie Hitt” a pseudonym, & “Kay Addams” a real lesbian author! Orrie’d like that one.
It wasn’t just about sex. It was also about guts. “The characters,” Hitt’s protagonist–a movie producer complimenting a screenwriter on her work–says in the novel Man-Hungry Female, “were very real, red blooded people who tore at the guts of life. That’s what I’m after. Guts.” If anyone knew about guts, it was him.
Life started out tough for Hitt. His father committed suicide when he was 11. “Dad seldom spoke of his father, who'd committed suicide, because it was a very unpleasant chapter in his life,” said his children.
After Father’s death, Orrie & his mother moved to Forestburgh, NY, where they worked for a hunting-fishing club. He started doing chores for wealthy members for $.10 hourly. Management offered him a better job later, at .25 hourly. Eventually, he became club caretaker & supervisor. “Dad talked a lot about working as a child to help his mother make ends meet,” his children recalled. “He wanted his children to have a better life while growing up.”
Tragedy struck Hitt again during those years. His children explain: “Dad’s mom died at her sister’s house on the club property during an ice storm, so Dad walked to the house to get his mother & carried her back to his car"
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 27, 2020
Published in 1956, I think this is one of Hitt's best books. I'd rank it along side I'll Call Every Monday and The Promoter. The story line revolves around Fred and Rita - married and dissatisfied - and the people they are having affairs with and the complications that ensue. Plenty of conflict and sex, with murder and theft also in the mix. The multiple POV narration moves effortlessly from character to character, each of whom is dissatisfied, striving, and edgy. Early on the plot is elusive, but this is a real strength of the novel because we are tracking along with these on edge characters, not sure what is going to happen, yet knowing that multiple fuses are lit and something is going to explode. The characters are explored in-depth and the language and psychology is more from within the characterization rather than being the shallow (and lecturing) rationalizations that show up in a lot of Hitt's later books. I read a paperback original, but there is an ebook edition from Prologue Books, so this is an easy one to get a hold of and read.
May 31, 2012
There are no stereotypical hard men or gallant knights in shining armour in Orrie Hitt’s entertaining take on the promiscuous and the poisonous characters of ‘Unfaithful Wives’. What I really liked about this novel was the time given to each character and the detailed expression of their relationships with one another. Rita is a piece of work and a woman not to be messed with. As the wife of the lead male character, Fred, she is enthralled in a scheme which looks certain to rid her of her dire life with Fred and commence anew with lover Norman Williams. What she didn't expect was to be double crossed and left stranded with only her hate to keep her company.
There are few degrees of separation when it comes to murder with every male suspect in some manner linked to a killing which threatens to destroy all of the characters. No cheating couple will be spared.
'Unfaithful Wives' is a compact classic pulp hard pressed with lies, deceit, murder, thieving, and sex. A real page turner that maintains its relevance in a modern day setting (even if the easy going free-love nature is a little hard to swallow whole) topped off with an ending I couldn't predict (and one that's not typically conventional either). I will definitely chase up more novels by Orrie Hitt - if 'Unfaithful Wives' is anything to go by, then this is one true pulp author that deserves to have his novels dusted off the shelf and re-read. 5 stars.
***spoiler alert***
I've detailed some of the key elements to the characters and their corresponding relationships below - as there were so many cheating couples it's easy for one to blend into another. I deliberately left out some characters and other associated information as to not give everything away.
Rita Sharpe
- married to Fred Sharpe
- occupation: housewife
- cheats with teen gardener, Darby (had plans to set him up for forced conduct that didn't eventuate)
- cheats with Norman Williams (a slick talking nobody with no job prospects)
- steals 8k that Fred had been saving
- gives the 8k to Norman in hopes they can run away together (he leaves her stranded)
- quick to turn Fred over to the police when they come questioning over the murder of Sandra Thomas
Fred Sharpe
- married to Rita Sharpe
- is a travelling grocery salesman who earns decent coin
- cheats with Sandra Thomas (later displays open regret and disdain)
- lusts for June (a former friend’s wife who now runs a motel) but is rebuked
- wants to make things write with Rita but concedes defeat when she fails to arrive shortly after he provided her details of the mass amount of money he’d been saving
- is assumed responsible for the murder of Sandra Thomas
Darby
- teen gardener who works for Rita Sharpe
- has a sexual relationship with Rita (in some cases forceful)
Norman Williams
- unemployed slick talker who uses charms and trickery to get what he wants
- partnered with the comely Betty with whom he wants to wed
- cheating with Rita Sharpe (using her for financial gain)
- Rita hands over 8k under the impression they will run away together
- Norman makes off with the 8k back to Betty and they run away from Rita (he tells Betty he won it at the track)
- is caught up in suspicion of murder
Betty
- partner of Norman
- isn't swayed by money and would rather have justice over her own happiness
Sandra Thomas
- married to Jake
- cheats with Fred Sharpe (and anyone with a pulse)
- has children to multiple men none of whom are her husband
- rubs her misogynous manner in Jakes face
- is the murder victim which drives the plot
Jake Holt
- married to Sandra Thomas
- murders her using a pillow (then makes haste)
- drives long haul trucks
- is cheating with Jennie (who is subsequently cheating on him with someone called Peter)
- his dreams of a life with Jennie once Sandra is out of the way are quashed, only thing left to do it turn himself in...
June
- doesn’t wholly conform to the stereotype of an overtly sexual and uninhibited women
- previously married to Fred’s now deceased friend (Red)
- is a business women who runs a motel
- openly flirtatious with Fred Sharpe
There are few degrees of separation when it comes to murder with every male suspect in some manner linked to a killing which threatens to destroy all of the characters. No cheating couple will be spared.
'Unfaithful Wives' is a compact classic pulp hard pressed with lies, deceit, murder, thieving, and sex. A real page turner that maintains its relevance in a modern day setting (even if the easy going free-love nature is a little hard to swallow whole) topped off with an ending I couldn't predict (and one that's not typically conventional either). I will definitely chase up more novels by Orrie Hitt - if 'Unfaithful Wives' is anything to go by, then this is one true pulp author that deserves to have his novels dusted off the shelf and re-read. 5 stars.
***spoiler alert***
I've detailed some of the key elements to the characters and their corresponding relationships below - as there were so many cheating couples it's easy for one to blend into another. I deliberately left out some characters and other associated information as to not give everything away.
Rita Sharpe
- married to Fred Sharpe
- occupation: housewife
- cheats with teen gardener, Darby (had plans to set him up for forced conduct that didn't eventuate)
- cheats with Norman Williams (a slick talking nobody with no job prospects)
- steals 8k that Fred had been saving
- gives the 8k to Norman in hopes they can run away together (he leaves her stranded)
- quick to turn Fred over to the police when they come questioning over the murder of Sandra Thomas
Fred Sharpe
- married to Rita Sharpe
- is a travelling grocery salesman who earns decent coin
- cheats with Sandra Thomas (later displays open regret and disdain)
- lusts for June (a former friend’s wife who now runs a motel) but is rebuked
- wants to make things write with Rita but concedes defeat when she fails to arrive shortly after he provided her details of the mass amount of money he’d been saving
- is assumed responsible for the murder of Sandra Thomas
Darby
- teen gardener who works for Rita Sharpe
- has a sexual relationship with Rita (in some cases forceful)
Norman Williams
- unemployed slick talker who uses charms and trickery to get what he wants
- partnered with the comely Betty with whom he wants to wed
- cheating with Rita Sharpe (using her for financial gain)
- Rita hands over 8k under the impression they will run away together
- Norman makes off with the 8k back to Betty and they run away from Rita (he tells Betty he won it at the track)
- is caught up in suspicion of murder
Betty
- partner of Norman
- isn't swayed by money and would rather have justice over her own happiness
Sandra Thomas
- married to Jake
- cheats with Fred Sharpe (and anyone with a pulse)
- has children to multiple men none of whom are her husband
- rubs her misogynous manner in Jakes face
- is the murder victim which drives the plot
Jake Holt
- married to Sandra Thomas
- murders her using a pillow (then makes haste)
- drives long haul trucks
- is cheating with Jennie (who is subsequently cheating on him with someone called Peter)
- his dreams of a life with Jennie once Sandra is out of the way are quashed, only thing left to do it turn himself in...
June
- doesn’t wholly conform to the stereotype of an overtly sexual and uninhibited women
- previously married to Fred’s now deceased friend (Red)
- is a business women who runs a motel
- openly flirtatious with Fred Sharpe
March 9, 2019
"Unfaithful Wives" by Orrie Hitt is a pretty typical example of Hitt's high-end trash. And I mean that in a nice way. There are about 6 significant characters - three men and three women. Among them, there are a couple marriages and about a dozen sexual relationships. Unfaithfulness comes easily in the promiscuous world of casual sex. I suspect most of Hitt's 150 or so novels are like this. Who is married and who is not doesn't matter. What matters is that couples come together when the opportunity arises. Or maybe they don't.
The many, many soft sex scenes form a coherent whole. The reader is treated to vivid descriptions, without graphic detail. There are a lot of feelings. For example" "She shuddered and moaned, clutching fiercely at the pillow. She heard herself crying helplessly as the moment spun up into a pinnacle of fury and passion and then slid away into a canyon of complete exhaustion."
This is a novel with a plot that relies on sexual encounters. And in addition to infidelity and promiscuity, there are all kinds examples of deceit, immorality, dishonesty, stealing, abuse, and even a murder to keep things interesting. The fact that "men are pigs" is often reinforced, but so is the idea that women are no better and sometimes worse.
I haven't read enough of Hitt's novels to identify the formula, but there must be one. The plot may not be the strongest, but it is clear and identifiable and drives the action along very nicely. The sex is well described, very tangential, and also necessary. Maybe not the greatest literature, but a good solid pulp story, told by a master of the craft. Give the man some credit.
The many, many soft sex scenes form a coherent whole. The reader is treated to vivid descriptions, without graphic detail. There are a lot of feelings. For example" "She shuddered and moaned, clutching fiercely at the pillow. She heard herself crying helplessly as the moment spun up into a pinnacle of fury and passion and then slid away into a canyon of complete exhaustion."
This is a novel with a plot that relies on sexual encounters. And in addition to infidelity and promiscuity, there are all kinds examples of deceit, immorality, dishonesty, stealing, abuse, and even a murder to keep things interesting. The fact that "men are pigs" is often reinforced, but so is the idea that women are no better and sometimes worse.
I haven't read enough of Hitt's novels to identify the formula, but there must be one. The plot may not be the strongest, but it is clear and identifiable and drives the action along very nicely. The sex is well described, very tangential, and also necessary. Maybe not the greatest literature, but a good solid pulp story, told by a master of the craft. Give the man some credit.
June 25, 2025
Unfaithful Wives is an early Orrie Hitt novel in which he is still trying to find his voice, and as with most of his early books, this is a crime novel, that actually involves a murder. Throughout his career most of Hitt's novels featured white-collar or other victimless crimes.
The first time Fred Sharpe is unfaithful to his wife, the woman ends up dead. Although she too is married, her husband, a trucker is on the rode, as an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of his wife's murder. Sharpe's actions following the night of the murder all appear suspicious.
Worth reading, especially for Orrie Hitt fans.
The first time Fred Sharpe is unfaithful to his wife, the woman ends up dead. Although she too is married, her husband, a trucker is on the rode, as an alibi for his whereabouts on the night of his wife's murder. Sharpe's actions following the night of the murder all appear suspicious.
Worth reading, especially for Orrie Hitt fans.
December 20, 2015
This ebook was free from Barnes and Noble when I downloaded it to my Nook library. It was originally published in 1956, and books such as this one were a reason my teacher Mrs. Thomas had such an aversion to paperback novels that she usually threw them away if they were brought into her classroom. Prologue Books republished it as an "inspiration for contemporary fiction...living record of crime, ...genres."
I recommend it to readers who want a noir novel to be scandalous, brutal, tittilating and politically incorrect.
I recommend it to readers who want a noir novel to be scandalous, brutal, tittilating and politically incorrect.
June 6, 2012
it was ok.
June 21, 2012
This book did not hold my interest. I did not finish it.
July 8, 2012
One of the free Friday selections from Barnes & Noble for the Nook, I found this book to poorly written. The plot was thin, the characters were one dimensional and the editing was pretty bad.
July 12, 2012
I struggled to read the entire book!
July 28, 2012
If I could give this book no stars I would. I did not even finish the book it was so bad. Thankfully it was free.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews