- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; New edition edition (2 Mar 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140086366
- ISBN-13: 978-0140086362
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 378,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Like most families they had their secrets ...
And they hid them under a genteelly respectable veneer. No onlooker would guess that prim Vera Hillyard and her beautiful, adored younger sister, Eden, were locked in a dark and bitter combat over one of those secrets. England in the fifties was not kind to women who erred, so they had to use every means necessary to keep the truth hidden behind closed doors - even murder. 'A rich, complex and beautifully crafted novel' P.D. James
About the Author
Barbara Vine is the pen-name of Ruth Rendell. Viking have published all of her novels, including most recently The Minotaur. Ruth Rendell sits in the House of Lords as a Labour peer. She lives in Maida Vale, London.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the first sentence of "A Dark Adapted Eye," the reader is informed that someone important is about to die. By page six, we know that this person will be hanged by the neck until dead for a murder she committed. So, this extraordinary novel by Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, is not a classic whodunit, rather a fascinating and complex psychological drama - a more suspenseful mystery than many of the best in which the perpetrator, or murderer, remains unknown until the conclusion.
Faith Severn nee Longley is our narrator, and I believe this is so because she is related in one way or another to all the novel's primary characters, and is of an age, and a position in her family, where her point of view is more objective than most could possibly be, under the circumstances. "A Dark Adapted Eye" is, above all, the riveting story of a middle class English family during the first half of the 20th century. Thirty years after the fact, Faith, with the assistance of an interested journalist, attempt to piece together the events leading up to a tragic murder which would have profound effects on the entire clan.
The Longley family appeared to be a relatively normal and united group of people. Like many families, they had their temporary dysfunctional moments, as well as happier gatherings and reunions. Faith, along with her parents, John and Vranni Longley lived just outside of London. John's twin sister, Vera Hillyard, was 32 years-old in 1939, and had been caring for their sister Eden, younger by fifteen years, since the girl was 14. The Longley parents were both dead. Vera had lived with her husband, a military man, in India, and she come home when her father became ill. Her young son, Francis, had been farmed off to boarding school at age 7. Although they are sisters, Vera acted the mother to Eden and obviously adored her. Faith joined her aunts, and Francis, at their country home, Laurel Cottage, Great Sindon, East Anglia, for holidays. Other relatives, who played an important role in their lives, lived within a relatively close distance. Overall, they appeared to be a group of relatively contented human beings, related by blood and marriage. Yet even Faith, as a young girl, realized that many family stories, and other personal news and events of both little or great importance, were never discussed at home, nor with her aunts. They were a closed-mouthed, secretive and repressed bunch of folks. The tragedy and drama that was to eventually unfold began during this time, right before WWII.
Ms. Vine is a marvel at creating her characters and developing them. Throughout the skillful narrative, it is remarkable to watch individuals change and grow; to observe how they interact with each other and impact each other's lives. The author builds tension from the beginning of her intricate story, and it increases in intensity, almost non-stop, until the book's conclusion. A sinister air permeates parts of the novel when certain characters are front and center, and then lightens-up considerably when others appear on the scene. This deep psychological study, and the manipulative behavior described, are outstanding. It is obvious why the author won The 1986 Edgar Award for her achievements here. Truly exceptional fiction!
JANA
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I cannot praise this book enough.I've just read it for the second time and liked it even better than the first. In a convulated way, an intolerant, snobbish woman is eventually killed by those very faults (you know who dies on the first page so I'm not giving anything away). The dreary wartime atmosphere is sketched brilliantly, and are the explosive consequences of self-inflicted repression. Best of all, there are no neat answers. Wonderful. Look out for the BBC adaptation too.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Barbara Vine manages to capture the mood and moral climate of post-war England in this tale of an outwardly respectable family in which a tragedy is about to occur. The story follows Vera Hillyard and her younger sister Eden through the war years, during which they are living a seemingly serene life in the country. All the characters are beautifully drawn, and Vine skilfully weaves in other strands alongside the main story. The narrative is in the first person, as seen by Faith, the niece of Vera and Eden; this device works particularly well in this novel. The final denouement is clever and shocking leaving an element of doubt in the reader's mind. This is Barbara Vine at her best, probing the human psyche and showing the lengths to which people will go when they reach desperation.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Barbara Vine at her suspenseful best
The Brimstone Wedding was excellent, but on reading A Dark-Adapted Eye Barbara Vine rockets to the top of erudite and creative writing in the crime genre.
Published on 9 July 2009 by LADYJANE
tremendous!
a fantastic book, drawing you in from the start, right up to the (for me) somewhat frustrating ending. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2008 by L. Thomas
"In these circumstances alone, one can know when someone is going to...
From the outset of this powerful psychological novel, the reader knows that someone is going to be hanged--in this case, Vera Longley Hillyard, the aunt of speaker Faith Longley... Read more
Published on 28 April 2007 by Mary Whipple
Chilling
Set in 1940s Britain (when respectibility was the backbone of society and to have an illegitimate child resulted in the mother becoming a social outcast), 'A Dark-Adapted Eye' is a... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2003
A flat-out masterpiece
I have read several Rendell/Vine books, and this is one of the best if not the best. Not only is the mystery at the centre of the novel totally baffling, but the style of writing... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2000
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