Thursday (Book) Report

[moon_custafer]

I forget how it came up, but I saw a reference to The Undying Monster: A Tale of the Fifth Dimension, by Jessie Douglas Kerruish, apparently adapted into a movie in the late 1940s, and found a copy online.

Comparing the novel with the wikipedia summary of the movie version, it sounds as though the latter simplifies the plot (which in the original involves 1920s archeology, Viking mythology and WWI trauma), and leaves out the occult-detective heroine, Miss Luna Bartendale, who is simultaneously glamorous and down-to-earth (she *really* doesn’t believe in seances, though hypnotizing people to unlock hereditary memories is ok) and lives with her aunt who is a classical pianist.

Pdf version here, for anyone interested. (Note— contains mention of swastikas in a pre-nazi “it’s an ancient mystical symbol” kind of way; also some of the characters being of Scandinavian descent is a major plot point, but as far as I can tell the narrative isn’t claiming racial superiority on those grounds)

ETA — Don’t look up the movie first as even cursory descriptions give a plot spoiler for the book.

ETA 2 — Recalled what directed me to this book: a tumblr about pulp fiction, https://maxwell-grant.tumblr.com/

Comments

[kore]

the occult-detective heroine, Miss Luna Bartendale, who is simultaneously glamorous and down-to-earth (she *really* doesn’t believe in seances, though hypnotizing people to unlock hereditary memories is ok) and lives with her aunt who is a classical pianist.

SOLD

[sabotabby]

Huh. This sounds fucked up and interesting.

[sovay]

I forget how it came up, but I saw a reference to The Undying Monster: A Tale of the Fifth Dimension, by Jessie Douglas Kerruish, apparently adapted into a movie in the late 1940s, and found a copy online.

I am familiar with the movie by reputation (which means I know what I assume to be the twist of the book), but the heroine sounds worth checking out the novel for.