Day of the Arrow (1964) by Philip Loraine

[Valancourt Books]

When we stumbled on a used copy of Philip Loraine's DAY OF THE ARROW (1964), we knew right away from the cover blurbs that it was up our alley: "homosexuals and witches" (Chicago Tribune), "brooding, atmospheric ... highly civilized and aristocratic nightmare" (NY Times), "chilling ... something for the connoisseur" (Charleston News). You may be familiar with the book from its film version, EYE OF THE DEVIL (1966), starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasance, and Sharon Tate. If, like us, you enjoy a good, old-fashioned Gothic horror novel, you won't want to miss this one.



Book Description

James Lindsay has been summoned to the ancient estate of Bellac by his old flame, Françoise, to help her husband, Philippe de Montfaucon, who has inexplicably become convinced that he is about to die. His fears may not be unfounded: in old tomes in the castle’s library, Lindsay learns that almost every male Montfaucon has met with a mysterious and untimely end. Now with the ancient festival of Les Treize Jours approaching and the castle filling up with strange and sinister visitors, Lindsay must unravel an intricate and horrifying web of legend and superstition to save Philippe from a terrible fate . . .

A chilling and suspenseful masterpiece of modern Gothic fiction, Day of the Arrow (1964) earned widespread acclaim from critics and was adapted for a 1966 film, Eye of the Devil, starring David Niven, Deborah Kerr, and Sharon Tate.

Reviews

‘The sophisticated and the primitive, the seen and the half-seen . . . homosexuals and witches, in an intriguing mixture of old and new.’ – Chicago Tribune

‘Brooding, atmospheric . . . an ancestral castle and its village are the setting for a highly civilized and aristocratic nightmare . . . full of tantalizing and terror-filled symbols.” – Anthony Boucher, New York Times

‘A story to haunt you.’ – New York Herald Tribune

‘Chilling . . . weaves a spell of terror . . . Day of the Arrow is something for the connoisseur.’ – Charleston News and Courier

http://www.valancourtbooks.com/day-of...

[Tom]

Love movie. No idea it was a book

[Kimberly]

Looks great! :)

[Nancy]

Bought. LOL.
I can't help myself -- I LOVE these old books.

[Nancy]

As I said in another post, it was the words "old tomes in the castle's library" that clinched it.

[Karl]

What a great find ! I recall reading a couple of books by this author "Photographs Have Been Sent to Your Wife" an old Random House book form back in 1972, and "Last Shot" (An old St. Martin's Press book) which was not as impressive. I recall he wrote a number of books that sounded interesting in the mid to late fifties also.

[Valancourt Books]

I'm not familiar with those. I'll keep an eye out for them. This is the only book I've come across by Loraine. Cuckoo's Calling (published under his real name) was recommended to us but I haven't looked into it yet.

[Nancy]

I finished this novel last night, loved it, and can recommend it. Please, more like this! We watched Eye of the Devil afterwards.

[Valancourt Books]

Glad you enjoyed it! What did you think of the movie? It's hard not to get lost in Sharon Tate's gaze.

[Nancy]

She was just amazingly gorgeous in this movie -- and her gaze,as you put it, was intense. I enjoyed the film, although Deborah Kerr was a tad on the over-acting side, and a lot of the nuances of the novel were lost. But in tandem, it was a great experience!

[Karl]

Any movie with Donald Pleasence in it is ok by me.

[Nancy]

Karl wrote: "Any movie with Donald Pleasence in it is ok by me."

He was so thin!