THE PALE BLUE EYE AND EDGAR ALLAN POE

The Pale Blue Eye

This 2022 Netflix film is worth watching for the strong performances of Christian Bale, Toby Jones, Timothy Spall and especially Harry Melling as Poe himself. It’s based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard. (The 17-year gap between publication and film release must give hope to many an author!)

It’s 1830 and (alcoholic – aren’t they all?) retired detective Augustus Landor (Bale) is asked by the military to investigate the hanging of Cadet Leroy Fry at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Landor is a widower who lives alone since his daughter Mathilde left him a few years earlier.

After Fry was hanged, his heart was removed from his body. In the morgue, examining the corpse, Landor finds a small fragment of a note clutched tightly in Fry's hand. Also, marks on Fry's neck and fingers suggest that he did not hang himself, but was murdered.

With the permission of Superintendent Thayer (Spall), Landor enlists the help of Edgar Allan Poe (Melling), another cadet at the academy who has expressed an interest in the case. Poe and Landor deduce from the writing on the note fragment that it was summoning Fry to a secret meeting. Then another cadet, Ballinger, goes missing and is later found hanged; he is also mutilated and organs removed. A third cadet, Stoddard, who was a colleague of the two victims, then disappears, and it is presumed by Landor that this man had reason to believe he was next in line to be killed....

Landor and Poe begin to suspect the family of Dr Daniel Marquis (Toby Jones), who was first brought into the investigation to perform the autopsy on Fry. Particular suspicion is placed on his son Artemus (Harry Lawtey) and his daughter Lea (Lucy Boynton)…

Melling tends to steal every scene he’s in, no mean accomplishment against Bale. His look, voice and mannerism are mesmerising. Certainly, the film prompts the viewer to seek out Bayard’s book.

Poe’s influence on other writers is considerable, notably Conan Doyle, Verne and Lovecraft. I too am not immune. I wrote a noir western as a homage to Poe, Coffin for Cash (2016), which contains several allusions to his life and work. These can be viewed in this blog:

October 2017 Dark Echoes

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com/2017/10/dark-echoes.html

 

February 2016 – Book review of The Tell-Tale Heart

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com/2016/02/book-review-tell-tale-heart.html

 

July 2020 – Disinterring Coffin for Cash - 1

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com/2020/07/disinterring-coffin-for-cash-1.html

 

July 2020 - Disinterring Coffin for Cash - 2

http://nik-writealot.blogspot.com/2020/07/disinterring-coffin-for-cash-2.html

Disinterring Coffin for Cash - 1

This is the first article offering some illumination on several background inspirations for the noir western Coffin for Cash (published 2015 by Beat to a Pulp).

When asked to write my second Cash Laramie novel, I decided to try something different by paying homage to Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).

I’d recently read an interesting biography of the author by Julian Symons, entitled The Tell-Tale Heart (my blog Review – The Tell-Tale Heart, February 6, 2016) so embarked on a fascinating plotting and writing journey involving many Poe references (related in my blog Dark Echoes, October 9, 2017).

Besides the references already itemized in the blogs mentioned, there were other links:

The bank manager, who appears to be schizophrenic, is called William Wilson. Poe’s 1839 short story ‘William Wilson’ concerns a doppelganger, a ‘double’;

Mr Usher Corman is a gun-for-hire. Of course his first name is taken from Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. And Corman is a nod to the legendary film director Roger Corman who produced and directed several Poe inspired movies, among them House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tomb of Ligeia and The Premature Burial.

Indeed, almost every chapter heading relates to a person in Poe’s life or a character or place in his writing: viz. Premature burial, Berenice, Raven, Wilmot, The Bells, Amontillado, the oval portrait, pendulum and pit, and tell-tale heart.

The back cover superbly echoes the theme with a raven on the branch of a dead tree.

Coffin for Cash

Cash Laramie has been in plenty of tight spots, but this – being buried alive – may be his last! 

It all started innocently enough, as a favor for his boss, accompanying a rich woman in her search for her brother. The trail leads to The Bells, a strange hotel run by a brother and sister team, which just happens to be adjacent to the funeral parlor and cemetery...

His friend Miles is nearby, intent on escorting a suspected murderer to Cheyenne for trial. Yet Miles discovers that his charge might be not guilty, after all, and lingers to ask questions. And those inquiries mean upsetting some people, which leads to an ambush, and a final reckoning at the outlandish casino complex constructed by a wealthy bigoted German baron.

Throw into the mix the attractive Berenice, a schizophrenic bank manager, irate miners, Chinese workers, a boisterous slot machine salesman, and a devious lawyer and you have another explosive adventure for the Outlaw Marshal.

Dark echoes

Reading my western Coffin for Cash, you might think there is the odd echo or two from some of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. And you’d be right.

The Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles westerns were created by Edward A. Grainger, who has generously allowed other writers to embellish his characters’ lives in separate self-contained novels. They are noir westerns, so I believed it would be fitting to absorb some aspects of Poe for Coffin for Cash, the twelfth book in the series.

To begin with, I wanted to start the story with a life-threatening event for Cash Laramie. Finding himself buried alive seemed to fit the bill. The Prologue then, inevitably, has the title Premature Burial. Poe’s short story ‘The Premature Burial’ was published in 1844.

Poe’s 1835 story ‘Berenice’ is one of the few tales where the narrator is named; director Eric Rohmer made a short film of Poe’s story in 1954. Berenice is the narrator’s cousin and she is buried alive. Chapter 1 of Coffin is titled Berenice: Berenice Rohmer, an heiress who seeks the help of Cash in locating her missing brother, Horace.

“Hello, Marshal Laramie,” Berenice Rohmer said as he approached. She looked at him, her golden brown eyes shining brightly, appraising. Boldly, he returned her scrutiny. She was probably in her mid-twenties, buxom, curves pressing alluringly against the green velvet jacket; a matching hat sat askew atop her long red hair that was done up and tamed by jewelled pins. Beneath the skirt, her legs were crossed; she wore black lace-up boots with a high heel. Thin pale red lips parted slightly and then finally formed into a smile.(p4)

Gideon Miles is Cash’s closest friend. He’s at Fort Bridger to escort an accused murderer for trial, Vincent Raven, a black settler. Raven has been accused of murdering the postmaster, Mr Edgar Clemm. A local lawyer, Rufus Wilmot, saw Raven standing over the body.

Poe married his first cousin Virginia Clemm in 1835 – he was 27, she was 13 though the documentation stated she was 21. Virginia’s mother, Maria Clemm (née Poe), lived with the couple. Their relationship has been debated over the years: was it ever sexual, or were they living virtually as brother and sister? Nobody knows. I melded Poe with Clemm; it seemed apt. As for Wilmot, I decided to use Rufus Wilmot Griswold’s first two names; anthologist and editor Griswold was castigated by Poe the critic and yet perplexingly Poe chose him as his executor. After Poe’s death Griswold attempted with some success to destroy Poe’s reputation, yet hindsight confirms that Poe is remembered through his work while Griswold is not.

By now, you can see that several influences or names permeated the writing of Coffin. Chapter 2 is titled Raven. Poe’s poem ‘The Raven’ was published in 1845.

“Well, sadly for Raven, he was found in the town’s post office standing over the slain postmaster, Mr Edgar Clemm. Packets of opium were strewn about. He denies it, naturally, but the postmaster was still warm, according to a lawyer, Rufus Wilmot, who entered moments later. Sheriff Arnold Royster brought Raven here for protective custody, before he could be lynched. There’s bad feeling about him in the town, as well; Mr Clemm was a greatly liked citizen of Green River.”(p11)

The sheriff is named after Sarah Elmira Royster who was Poe’s sweetheart, but they became estranged, until years later she was engaged to Poe shortly before his death; she may have influenced his work.

Cash’s trail leads to The Bells, a strange hotel run by a brother and sister team, Roderick and Madeline Allan, who keep a black cat. ‘The Bells’ was one of Poe’s last poems, published in 1849 after his death; ‘The Black Cat’ short story was published in 1843. Coffin echoes the theme found in this story. The name Roderick is high-jacked from ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1839); Roderick Usher has a twin sister, Madeline.

In Chapter 6 titled Amontillado, we find that there is a Monsieur Valdemar staying at the hotel; he supplies the establishment with wine. Poe’s stories ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ (1846) and ‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’ (1845) lent themselves to the plot and characters.

The chapter headings Pendulum and Pit and Tell-Tale Heart owe their existence to Poe, too. There are several other allusions to Poe’s life and work; none dominate the story, which is essentially a gothic western.

Coffin for Cash

'An added twist...'

Today, I found a fine birthday surprise - a review of my book Coffin for Cash, so thought I'd share it here:

"I know you aren't a 'Westerns' fan but give this one a try” said a friend with whom I occasionally exchange books. The Westerns genre has never been a favourite of mine; I find the storylines a little predictable but I suppose most genres are formulaic to some degree.

Well, here's a Western that I truly enjoyed. Apparently the book is from a series that features ongoing players, here it's Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles. Continuing readers will already 'know' their characters; I didn't but soon felt able to identify with them.

The title of the book and the contents of the blurb may lead you to think you can guess the plot. I think not. When did you last read a book involving such a gamut of characters as Chinese workers and miners plus a dodgy bank manager, even dodgier lawyer and a slot machine salesman. Oh, and of course the feminine side is also represented. You could rightly begin to think 'Ahh, this is a bit different'.

If that isn't enough, there is an added twist but not in the tale itself which I found pretty innovative. I guess that author Nik Morton may be an admirer of Edgar Allan Poe. The tale is sprinkled with nods and references to the famous writer's works and characters. However, whether or not you notice them won't affect your reading pleasure at all.

Maybe the good guys win in the end - who knows? Well I do, but I'm not telling! I will say that this is a well written tale that moves smoothly along at a good pace using colourful but believable characters and as a self-admitted Outlander to the genre, I vote this a very good Western.

***

Thank you, Mr Robson - particularly as you're not a fan of westerns. Your review, like all others, is greatly appreciated!

Coffin for Cash can be obtained from Amazon here

 It's also a reasonably priced paperback!

Believe in ghosts

In recent years interest in paranormal fiction has burgeoned, though of course the genre is by no means new.

Many young readers who have discovered vampires through Twilight and its successors probably never heard of Bram Stoker’s Dracula when they first gained an interest in the saga of Bella Swan.

Ghost stories are one sub-genre of the paranormal and these have a long and respectable tradition, penned by a good number of great authors, among them Charles Dickens, M.R. James, Henry James, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Wharton, Fritz Leiber, Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Susan Hill.

Medieval ghost - wikipedia commons

There are two types of ghost stories. In the first, it is obvious from the outset that the story relates to ghosts – usually to be found in an anthology. There, the author is striving for effect, the crawl of chilled fingers up the spine, the anticipation of incipient doom, the tragedy of history repeating itself, etc. The second type is not defined as ghost story, and may be a romance, a mystery, or a suspense tale and its ending is often the twist that reveals the ghost aspect; naturally, these stories cannot be contained in a ghost anthology, or the plot ultimate device is destroyed.

In my time I’ve written both kinds, and enjoyed writing them.

Interestingly, a 2014 YouGov poll reveals the findings concerning British people and their belief in things that go bump in the night.

Apparently, only 23% of British people say they are religious. I think that despite the low percentage who consider them religious, a higher percentage actually believes in God (in one form or another).

According to the poll, 1 in 3 holds the belief that ghosts exist; that is 34%. And of that number, 9% state they have communicated with a ghost.

39% believe a house can be haunted.

28% have felt the presence of a supernatural being.

The poll states that women are 10% more likely than men to believe in ghosts.

And, finally, 17% are likely to believe in life after death.

Touch wood, like all poll results, these figures may need to be taken with a pinch of salt (thrown over the shoulder if spilled), since we all know that statistics can prove anything.