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A Woman on the Place
Hard-boiled novel about a man who accepts his cousin and her husband into his home only to find out that the law is after the husband.
159 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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18 people want to read
About the author
Harry Whittington
180 books42 followersHe also wrote under the names Ashley Carter, Harriet Kathryn Myers, and Blaine Stevens, Curt Colman, John Dexter, Tabor Evans, Whit Harrison, Kel Holland, Suzanne Stephens, Clay Stuart, Hondo Wells, Harry White, Hallam Whitney, Henri Whittier, J.X. Williams.
Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Harry Whittington (February 4, 1915–June 11, 1989) was an American mystery novelist and one of the original founders of the paperback novel. Born in Ocala, Florida, he worked in government jobs before becoming a writer.
His reputation as a prolific writer of pulp fiction novels is supported by his writing of 85 novels in a span of twelve years (as many as seven in a single month) mostly in the crime, suspense, and noir fiction genres. In total, he published over 200 novels. Seven of his writings were produced for the screen, including the television series Lawman. His reputation for being known as 'The King of the Pulps' is shared with author H. Bedford-Jones. Only a handful of Whittington's novels are in print today.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 26, 2024
A Woman on the Place is a 1956 country noir, set in the orange fields of Florida, when there were still small towns and family farms. Will is a man with debts no honest man could possibly pay, a wheelchair-bound wife stricken with cancer, and an ornery uncompromising nature. Will wants to do things his way - damn the consequences. In this story, his debts are piling up way too high. His temper gets the better of him. And he has eyes for the young bride his wife's cousin brings from Alabama. Pretty soon you've got shades of moonshine smuggling, shotguns going off, temptation, and jealousy. This one starts out rather slow, but picks up pace as it goes on.
April 12, 2025
A Little Sex And A Lot Of Suffering
Will Johnson, the hero of this novel, is made to suffer like a modern day (well, 1950s actually) Job. His wife is dying of cancer and needs expensive medical treatment, so to pay for it he’s taken out a mortgage on their farm with his rival, who has suddenly decided to call in the loan and take the farm. Behind his back, his wife sells their orange crop (the book is set in Florida) to a local harvesting company who will destroy the groves to get the fruit, and Will gets arrested after running the pickers off his land. His wife’s cousin arrives unexpectedly from Alabama with a new young wife and immediately starts causing trouble. Oh, and the young wife falls in love with Will and they have sex, which sounds good but causes him tremendous guilt. It’s a fast moving novel, and a lot happens, but it’s not your typical 1950s noir. There is some gunplay and one fist fight, but they take place off screen, as it were. It’s really more a coming-of-age story about Will’s step-son, Rhodes, who accompanies Will throughout the book and learns life lessons from watching Will respond to one setback after another. In fact, if it weren’t for the sex and violence (and some pretty blatant racism in the form of a Black caretaker who epitomizes every stereotype you can think of), this would be a good YA novel. As it is though, it’s just a rather mediocre Southern gothic. But it’s also pretty short, so if you’re in the mood for this sort of thing, you can probably get through it in an afternoon.
Will Johnson, the hero of this novel, is made to suffer like a modern day (well, 1950s actually) Job. His wife is dying of cancer and needs expensive medical treatment, so to pay for it he’s taken out a mortgage on their farm with his rival, who has suddenly decided to call in the loan and take the farm. Behind his back, his wife sells their orange crop (the book is set in Florida) to a local harvesting company who will destroy the groves to get the fruit, and Will gets arrested after running the pickers off his land. His wife’s cousin arrives unexpectedly from Alabama with a new young wife and immediately starts causing trouble. Oh, and the young wife falls in love with Will and they have sex, which sounds good but causes him tremendous guilt. It’s a fast moving novel, and a lot happens, but it’s not your typical 1950s noir. There is some gunplay and one fist fight, but they take place off screen, as it were. It’s really more a coming-of-age story about Will’s step-son, Rhodes, who accompanies Will throughout the book and learns life lessons from watching Will respond to one setback after another. In fact, if it weren’t for the sex and violence (and some pretty blatant racism in the form of a Black caretaker who epitomizes every stereotype you can think of), this would be a good YA novel. As it is though, it’s just a rather mediocre Southern gothic. But it’s also pretty short, so if you’re in the mood for this sort of thing, you can probably get through it in an afternoon.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews