Barnabas Collins - the 6th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

And we finally reach the introduction of Barnabas Collins in the Paperback Library Gothic book series.  Published in November 1968, well over a year after Jonathan Frid first appeared as the vampire on the television show back in April 1967.  I'm not really sure why it took the book series so long to catch up to the television show, character-wise; perhaps because the character was never intended to be long-lasting (originally he was intended only for a 13-week stint, and then he was to be killed off), or maybe it was simply that the books were more Gothic than supernatural.  Whatever the reason, it was clear the character of Barnabas Collins was a huge hit on the TV show, so thus, it would only make sense the publisher would want the best-selling character to appear in the books.  Of course, this meant reducing the role that Victoria Winters plays in the books, and to me, that was a major loss...

 

(It should be noted that the month this book was published was the same month that Alexandra Moltke, the actress who originated the role of Victoria Winters in the television show, left Dark Shadows, being replaced briefly by Betsy Durkin anJod then Carolyn Groves, before the character was completely written out in January 1969.)

 

Barnabas Collins is the sixth book in this series, and it introduces readers to the Barnabas Collins of this book series, which I have come to believe is simply another of the many parallel times that exist within that room deep within Collinwood's haunted halls.  Rather than introducing Barnabas by having Willie Loomis try to rob his gave, only to get an unexpected surprise, we get instead a story told by the ghost of Elizabeth and Roger's grandmother of events that took place at the turn of the 20th century.  In the book universe, there is no Willie Loomis, there is no Mrs. Johnson, and we barely see David Collins and Carolyn Stoddard.  Victoria Winters, who has been the main focus of the first five books, now takes a back seat, as she appears only in the prologue and epilogue, as she sits with Elizabeth to listen to the story of "Barnabas Collins," a name she happens to see while reading a journal of one Jonas Collins.  Elizabeth knows scant details, only what her grandmother told her. With the first chapter, we get a brief introduction of Margaret Collins, whose spirit speaks from beyond the grave to tell the full story of what happened back in 1902 and the ensuing years...

 

Jonas Collins is the head of the family, and his wife Margaret is the mistress of Collinwood.  Their grown son is off on his own, and the only other member of the family on the estate is their invalid daughter, Greta.  Ross never actually states what disease the poor girl has, but she is confined to a wheelchair and said repeatedly to be in poor health.  While not a happy household, there is no real unhappiness - merely melancholy and acceptance.  An elderly housekeeper remains on the property (Granny Entwhistle), as do the sister maids, Ada and Patience Griffin.  The family retains a houseboy, Luke Sinnot, who is mentally handicapped, as well as an unnamed groom.  All is normal and routine on the estate until the day he appears.  While standing at Widow's Hill, looking out over the ocean, she feels his presence, before she sees him.  Barnabas Collins.  An enigmatic man who claims to be the descendant of the original Barnabas Collins, who has come home to the family estate for some peace and quite to conduct "experiments" without interruption (this is the excuse he gives why they will never see him during the day, and why he cannot be disturbed in the Old House).  As you might suspect, once Barnabas arrives, everything changes.

 

Greta is instantly drawn to her cousin, particularly when he shows her special attention, remarking on her resemblance to Josette Collins (gee, can you see where this is going?).  Jonas is just happy to have someone renting the Old House.  Margaret, on the other hand, cannot make up her mind about their new found family member.  He is cordial enough, but there is something about him that unsettles her.  And his servant, Hare, is an ogre of a man, said to be both deaf and mute and rather rough when it comes to strangers.  Then there is Granny Entwhistle.  She is old enough to just barely remember stories of the original Barnabas Collins.  She knows the rumors.  She knows the stories.  And she knows evil when she sees it.  She tries to warn them.  She tries to help them.  But in the end, it does her no good - especially when she ends up dead at the bottom of the stairs to the third floor!

 

This book definitely has a body count.  The Barnabas Collins of this book is similar in nature to the Barnabas Collins as he was originally introduced on the television show.  He has a welcoming, cordial facade that hides a determined, sinister nature that is willing to do anything necessary to achieves his goals.  What did surprise me was how Ross integrated Barnabas' origin into the book, providing just a few scattered details here and there about Angelique being a witch, tricking Josette into believing she loved Jeremiah, and ultimately cursing Barnabas with eternal life as a vampire after he shoots her and she believes she is dying.  Ross even references the duel between Barnabas and Jeremiah - but in this parallel universe, Ross reveals that Jeremiah did not die, and neither he nor Barnabas were severely wounded (p. 73).  And that's it.  While the show spent weeks in 1795, giving viewers a detailed look at how Barnabas came to be the man he is, the book spends only a few sentences.  Clearly, Ross (and likely the publishers, as well) believed those who read these books would already be familiar enough with the television drama that they did not need to repeat what was already.

 

There are some things in the story that are worth mentioning.  When Barnabas first arrives at Collinwood, he talks about how little the estate has changed, saying "Still the sad setting for the widow's wail and the appearance of the Phantom Mariner" (p. 15).  The legend of the phantom mariner was used as a plot device in the fourth book in this series, The Mystery of Collinwood.  It is actually pretty great to see that Ross manages to keep some continuity in his books.  There is also the moment when Margaret discovers the truth about Barnabas' real nature, when she sees him and Greta go past "the great mirror by the door" and is shocked to see that "there had been no reflection of Barnabas Collins at all!" (p. 39).  This is obviously a nod to the television series, in which Dr. Julia Hoffman uncovers Barnabas' secret when she finds he has no reflection in the mirror of her compact she is using (Episode 288).

 

One aspect of the story that really bothered me while reading this was the introduction of young Judith, a child who Barnabas decides he is going to adopt, mostly because of her strong resemblance to a young Josette DuPres Collins.  This was extremely uncomfortable, because Ross has Barnabas inform Margaret of his reason for adopting her:  "In ten years, little Judith could become my bride.  In the interim I'll see she has the life of a rich man's daughter.  Every luxury and advantage will be given to her.  So in the end she will be the same great lady Josette was" (p. 77).  I don't know about you, but the fact that a grown man is looking at a little girl (no more than 8 or 9 years old!) and envisioning this child as his future wife bothers me considerably.  I am surprised not only that Ross would incorporate such a thing into his story, but that the publisher / editor would allow it be stand as written!  It almost makes Barnabas come across as a sexual predator, and I think the story would have been better without this aspect in it.

 

The story was a definitely different take on the introduction of television's greatest vampire, and aside from that one uncomfortable plot element, it was a fairly good read.

 

RATING:  7 sapphire star pendants out of 10 for providing readers an entirely new tale of Barnabas Collins' arrival at the great house of Collinwood, riddled with vampire attacks and coffins in the basement! 

The Evils of Peyton Place - the fifth Peyton Place novel by Roger Fuller

As I've been watching more and more episodes from the Peyton Place television show (the first couple of years, in the mid-60s), it reminded me that I still had more Peyton Place novels by Roger Fuller to read.  The books definitely follow the story as originally penned by Grace Metalious, and are not at all related to the television show, which deviated so far from the books - changing so many elements of Metalious' original, scandalous tale.  Fuller, on the other hand, not only builds on the original scandals in Metalious two-book story, but he goes well beyond what was considered morally and ethically acceptable back in those days!  This particular book, published in January 1969, contains probably some of the most "shocking" content of any of the prior four books in this series!

 

The Evils of Peyton Place introduces readers to yet more newcomers to the small New England community.   Willie Higginbotham is a filthy rich man who has never really had to work a day in his life.  He married Anne Higginbotham, known as "Higgie," who is anything but a usual housewife.  In fact, when it comes to being filthy rich, Higgie enjoys the filthy part more than the rich part.  Rarely sober, dependent on drugs prescribed by her questionable doctor, and in total reliance on her husband's support - physical, emotional, and psychological - Higgie is always looking for something new to satiate her depraved desires.  Never in a million years did Willie think all those kinks would find kindred spirits in a small community like Peyton Place ... but little did he know!

 

Fuller doesn't hold back any punches with this story, as he delves into the sexual escapades of Higgie and her way-too-permissive husband, Willie.  Thankfully, he does not involve any of the mainstay characters in Peyton Place (such as Mike Rossi, Michael Swain, Constance MacKenzie-Rossi, or even the gruff Sheriff Buck McCracken), and while Leslie Harrington is mentioned (as is his deceased son, Rodney), he is never actually seen in the story.  Rather, Fuller introduces other members of the small town who participate in Higgie's "Charades and Anagram Circle" (which is the cover-name for the orgies held at the Higginbotham home).  In fact, the book actually goes into a bit of detail about each of the town's families that secretly participate in these clandestine gatherings, expanding the known residents in Peyton Place.

 

What I think pushes the boundaries a bit too far with the story is when Fuller not only has Higgie engaging in sexual acts with their housekeeper's daughter (who is barely old enough to be out of high school!), but she also makes overtures towards the daughter of her husband's business partner - a girl that IS still in high school!  Thankfully, nothing every actually happens - it is merely threats made by Higgie; but Willie does finally put an end to the shenanigans and the marriage when he catches her in bed with his business partner's wife - a decision that has devastating consequences for not only Higgie, but for Willie as well.  This book has an extremely sad ending, moreso than any book that has come before in this series.  Of course, that does ground it somewhat in reality, as actions do have consequences, and the moral of this story definitely plays out - engaging in reckless, careless behavior, living a life of lies and secrets, will eventually catch up to you!

 

One thing I did like about this book - when characters or situations from previous books are mentioned, there is a footnote on that particular page that provides the reader with the title of the book wherein that particular character appeared or story took place (p. 21 references The Pleasure of Peyton Place and p. 125 references Again Peyton Place).  That's a nice way to refresh the memories of those who have read all the books, and a great reference for those who pick up and read this book before any of the others.

 

Of all the books, I would say this is probably the one I liked the least.  It is a bit difficult to get through because of the subject matter and because of the constant switch in point of view to the various characters introduced.  I still have several more books in the series to read, so we will see how they play out...

 

RATING:  6 scantily-clad fire-dancers out of 10 for pulling back the curtains on the sordid lives of the rich and bored behind closed doors in a small-town USA. 

The Curse of Collinwood - the 5th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

And with this book, the tone and direction of the Dark Shadows series by W.E.D. Ross (writing under one of his many pseudonyms, Marilyn Ross) changes to include the supernatural.  By the time this book was published in May 1968, the television show had long been dealing with supernatural themes:  from the ghost of Josette, to the phoenix Laura Collins, to the ghost of Sarah, to the introduction of the vampire Barnabas Collins, to the trip in time back to 1795, to the witch Angelique, and was just reaching the point with the evil Dr. Lang and his Frankenstein-type creation, Adam.  Thus, it was only natural that the book series would begin to introduce supernatural elements, which would go beyond the standard Gothic tropes and enter the realm of full-on horror in its stories.  But the addition of the supernatural was not the only change Ross brought into the series, as we will quickly discover...

 

The Curse of Collinwood is the story of Derek Collins and his wife, Esther Collins, who died over a hundred years ago under strange circumstances. Derek had engaged in slave trade in order to make his fortune, and his wife was horrified to learn this about her own husband.  With the help of a voodoo / witch doctor, she had her husband killed and embalmed, as well as orchestrated her own death, with the idea that her husband could never be rid of her.  Their bodies were returned to Collinsport and locked away in the Collins' family masoleum, forever to remain sealed.  Only a shaft of moonlight could unlock the curse placed upon their dead bodies, giving them new life as part of the living dead!  For a century, their coffins remained in darkness inside the cold, cement crypt, never seeing daylight nor moonlight, trapped in an eternal sleep.  But events are about to transpire that will change all of that!

 

Just as Victoria's love interest in the television show, Burke Devlin, was killed (allegedly) in a plane crash while on a business trip to Brazil, suddenly in this book we learn that Victoria's love interest, Ernest Collins, has died in a plane crash en route to Rio de Janeiro (p. 7) for a concert he was to perform (and for those who do not know, Rio de Janeiro is located in Brazil - meaning Ernest was killed in identical fashion and in the same location as Burke!).  Readers also learn that Elizabeth is no longer locking herself away in Collinwood, as she has learned the husband she thought dead for so many years has actually been alive and is pursuing a career on the high seas (p. 6).  David, who had been sent away to a boarding school as revealed in the last book, is back home; and Carolyn, who had been attending school in nearby Ellsworth, had a nervous breakdown and has returned home to recuperate (p. 6).  It seems quite a bit has happened in the Collins' household between books 4 and 5, and readers are brought up to date within just a few pages in the first chapter.  Surprisingly, there is no mention of Victoria searching for the truth about her past and her own identity - Ross apparently dropped that entire plot thread, much as the television show did as it moved further and further into the realm of the supernatural.  (And this is a true shame, as I always hoped it would have been revealed that Victoria was really Elizabeth's daughter - although, Ross did have an outline planned for a book that would have revealed Victoria's parentage and reunite her with her love, Ernest; but, sadly, that book never got written, as Ross was required to write Victoria out of the books, just as she had been written out of the television show - a brief version of that unwritten novel can be found on Craig Hamrick's website: The Secret of Victoria Winters)

 

Ross manages to keep the reader guessing for a good portion of the book as to whether the "large man" and "young woman" who seem to be terrorizing Collinsport are the escaped criminal Big Tim Mooney and his girlfriend, Nora or whether they are Derek and Esther Collins, brought back from the dead to roam the area as zombies.  Victoria, who at first discounts the stories of "Mad Man" Martin, an elderly spiritualist who warns her and Burke about Derek and Esther, soon believes that she and Burke accidentally released  the Collins' ancestors when they went into the mausoleum to satisfy Burke's curiosity regarding the two long-dead members of the family.  When Victoria, Carolyn, and Elizabeth are all terrorized by the large man and the woman with him, Burke and Vicki go back to the crypt and find both coffins destroyed - and the bodies are gone!  Burke insists it was Mooney looking for the treasures supposedly buried with Derek Collins, but Victoria thinks the supernatural is at work and zombies are now walking in the night.  In true Gothic fashion, Ross builds the suspense with disembodied hands, shadowy figures attacking, chases up the steep cliffs in the middle of the night, and plenty of appearances of these two horrors of the night.  Even I was curious as to whether they were actually zombies, or would it all be explained away by the end (as had been done in the four previous books).

 

I enjoyed seeing David and Carolyn back in this book, and I rather liked the fact that Victoria was paired more with Burke Devlin in this story (as I always loved the two of them together in the television show).  Even Roger was back to his nearly-always drunk, belligerent self in this story.  Matthew Morgan is mentioned but never actually appears (and he is referred to as "Matt" Morgan, which I found weird).  And, I know I will probably get some flack for this, but I was actually happy Ross got rid of Ernest Collins.  I never liked the character, and I certainly did not like the romance between him and Victoria.  Yes, his abrupt death and the myriad of changes that took place "off screen" between books 4 and 5 definitely tells the reader that the series is headed in a completely different direction now.  At the time it was published, Alexandre Moltke was still playing Victoria Winters on the television show, so there was no reason for anyone to think Vicki would not continue to play a major role in the books; however, this was actually the last full-length novel written by Ross to feature Victoria Winters as a major protagonist.  Beginning with the next book, Victoria becomes a supporting character, with Barnabas Collins becoming the lead character (much as he did in the television show).

 

The family history truly deviates from that established in the show with this book, as Ross introduces Derek and Esther Collins, who are both said to have died in 1859, which would have made them both contemporaries of sorts with Daniel Collins, a cousin of the Collins family who inherited Collinwood after the events of 1795 (when most of the immediate family was killed).  There is no mention of Derek or Esther in the television show, making them both original creations of Ross.  I am aware that the books play very loose with the family lineage, and from what I can remember, the stories that are told in later books in various time periods do not match up between themselves as to the names of family members living at various points in time.  While I realize the television show played a bit loose with the family tree, particularly once Barnabas came into the picture, the books (from what I have been told) do not even bother with a coherent timeline (which, technically, could be explained by the fact that Barnabas' frequent trips through time messes with the timeline, creating multiple alternate realities with different family trees!).

 

This is the first book to feature only one cover, and it is a hodge-podge to say the least!  The background takes the same painted image of Victoria Winters that was used for the first book of this series, and superimposed over that is a very recognizable photo of Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, baring his fans and holding that wolf's head cane of his.  Obviously, the use of Barnabas' image is to cash in on the success he was having in the television show, because his character does not yet appear in the books - although, the idea that his character was a vampire could hint at the supernatural part of the story within.  But the re-use of the first book cover art is questionable - perhaps it was done merely to save the expense of hiring an artist to paint an entirely new cover.  This is the last book to feature any painted artwork on the cover - all of the books hereafter feature photo covers, with images of the actors from the television show. 

 

Overall, I would say I liked this book far more than I did the previous one.  The story was refreshingly different from the previous four, and Victoria was a bit stronger of a character than Ross has portrayed her in the last couple of stories.  Plus, the actual supernatural elements were an added bonus!

 

RATING:   8 ornate silver snuffboxes from the 1800s out of 10 for increasing the Gothic terror with the reality of the walking dead!

The Mystery of Collinwood - the 4th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

We now come to the fourth novel in the Dark Shadows series by Marilyn Ross (a/k/a W.E.D. Ross) published by Paperback Library.  This particular novel was published in January 1968, which is when the television show was starting what I consider to be one of its best storylines (and by far my favorite one on the show) - when a seance was held at Collinwood ... a seance that transcended time and space and sent Victoria Winters on a journey back into the past ... back to the year 1795!  It was there that viewers learned the origin of how Barnabas Collins was cursed and became a vampire.  So, it seems rather odd that by this point in the novels, we have yet to see any sign of Barnabas Collins, and the stories continue to focus on Victoria Winters as the young Gothic heroine who constantly finds herself being threatened by some dark force (that, like in all the Scooby Doo mysteries, turns out to be a real person in disguise!).  Of course, I have no idea just how far in advance the stories were written, so there is the possibility that the book was written months before it was published...

 

The Mystery of Collinwood (and yes, they finally start calling it Collinwood at least, and have dropped the whole "Collins House" moniker) is more or less a repeat of the previous stories, which is a bit disappointing.  How many times can we have strangers / relatives show up at Collinwood, strange events start to happen that all seem to target Victoria, no one believes Victoria when she tells them what is happening, and Victoria is nearly killed before the villain is finally caught and unmasked?  Don't get me wrong - most of the Gothic novels from this period have many similar plot elements; but for a series of novels utilizing the same characters and setting to repeat the same basic story over and over again feels a bit redundant.  Now, I love Victoria Winters - always have since the very first episode of Dark Shadows that I ever watched - so I absolutely love reading more stories about her that take her beyond what we saw on the television show.  But after three books of her facing off against alleged ghosts/demons/phantoms and finding out they were actually one of the numerous strangers that were staying on the Collinwood estate, once would think that by this fourth book she would have wised up and not fallen from any more ghostly haunts.  I would like to think that at some point, her character would have grown, and she would not always play the helpless victim.  But, alas, Ross apparently did not see her that way.

 

With all that being said, the "mystery" of this book revolves around the rather odd Professor Mark Veno and his daughter, Linda, who have come to stay at Collinwood.  The Professor and his daughter travel the world, putting on show that highlight his mental abilities to supposedly read minds.  Roger Collins thinks it is a hoax, but Elizabeth Stoddard seems to think otherwise, so he is always welcome to stay at the great house when he is in the area.  Meanwhile, down at Ernest's cottage on the property, an ill woman, Margaret Lucas, and her deformed caretaker, Carlos, have been renting the cottage so she can be isolated in what Elizabeth and Victoria believe to be the final months of her life.  Margaret is a loner, but she does enjoy Victoria's company - in fact, Victoria is the only one she will allow to visit her.  Until she hears about Linda, at which point, she invites that girl to pay her visits as well.

 

Oh, did I mention that Linda bears a remarkable resemblance to Victoria?  And that Professor Mark Veno is actually Mark Collins, a previously never mentioned brother of Elizabeth and Roger (say what?!?!)?  And that Mark Collins was married before he met Linda's mother, but the first wife and her newborn baby both died?  Or did they?  Yes, it's another potential parentage for Victoria to fret about (she seems to have a new one in every book, doesn't she?).  While Victoria does not like the Professor - in fact, she can't stand him and is afraid of him! - she firmly believes his first child did not die, and she is that child.  Everyone she confides in tries to dissuade her of this theory, but she is persistent to the point of having Burke Devil hire a private detective to look into the matter.

 

And as far as the mystery - well, that involves the strange phantom mariner that the Professor tells the family about.  As the story goes, whenever the phantom mariner would appear to wives of sea-faring men back in the day, it meant the men would not be coming home, or that the women themselves would die!  To see the phantom mariner means death!  And, wouldn't you know it, the same night Victoria hears the story, she sees the phantom out on the grounds.  And again later in the house.  Again.  And again.  Poor Victoria is taken through the ringer in this story.  Knocked down the well outside (remember the one she almost fell into back in the first book, but Ernest saved her?).  Locked down in the dark cellar. Locked in an upper room with a bottle of gas thrown in for good measure.  Locked in the attic with something moving around.  Nearly hypnotized into jumping off Widow's Hill. Nearly hypnotized into jumping off the Captain's walk atop Collinwood.  And, finally, poor girl is nearly strangled to death before she gets the bead on that phantom mariner and shoots the villain with a gun provided her by Burke Devlin (good for you, Burke!).

 

One continuity error I caught while reading this book:  once again, David and Carolyn are out of the picture.  Even though summer is over (this book is explicitly said to take place in September), Ross writes off David by sending him to a boarding school, and he writes out Carolyn by having her return to Ellsworth to finish her final year of high school.  How convenient.  In any event, when Elizabeth plans a big party toward the end of the story, she mentions that Carolyn will be able to come home for that week to be there for the party.  Upon her return, she and Victoria and Linda go up into the attic to look for old dresses to wear for the costume party (p. 140), and Carolyn is the one who actually finds Victoria locked in the attic (p. 143).  That's all good and dandy.  But then the very next chapter begins by saying "Carolyn returned from school in Ellsworth on Friday evening and so was able to assist Linda with the last minute decorations (p. 147).  So, if Carolyn did not return until Friday, then how was she there earlier in the week to look for costumes for the party and to free Victoria from the attic?  Time travel, perhaps?  Parallel time?  Let's face it, stranger things than that have happened on the television show!

 

Just as the previous four books had two covers, so does this one.  The early printings had a painted cover that features Victoria in the forefront, looking over her shoulder (a very striking image of her, I must say!), with a mysterious man in the background - that could be Roger, Ernest, or even the Professor.  Collinwood looms in the background, menacing as ever.  The later printings feature yet another image of Alexandre Moltke and Jonathan Frid as Victoria and Barnabas, again working to cash in on the popularity of Barnabas Collins, even though he has not even been mentioned in the book series up to this point.

 

Read by itself, the story is a fairly well-written Gothic.  Read as a part of this series, however; well, it just feels like a repeat of the same plot with different characters.  

 

RATING:  6 new bottles of sherry out of 10 for keeping Victoria Winters alive and giving her considerably more spotlight than the TV show was doing at this time. 

Strangers at Collins House - the 3rd Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

This third novel in the series of Dark Shadows novels by Marilyn Ross (a/k/a W.E.D. Ross) takes the story even further away from the plots established in the television daytime drama and most firmly establishes this series as a completely alternate timeline.  While Ross maintains some elements (such as Victoria's search for her parentage, Elizabeth's self-imposed 18-year seclusion, Roger's drinking and sarcasm, and the animosity between Roger and Burke Devlin), Ross deviates in so many ways with the various cousins, uncles, and other family members that appear from book to book, as well as Victoria's romance with Ernest Collins and the lack of supporting cast (with very little mention or few appearances of Maggie Evans, Joe Haskell, and other various Collinsport denizens - even poor David and Carolyn are sent away and haven't appeared since the first book, I suppose to allow more of the focus to be on Victoria as the Gothic heroine).  It is like stepping into another parallel time, like those that appeared later in the television serial.

 

Strangers at Collins House (and I don't think I will ever get used to their constant reference to "Collins House" instead of "Collinwood" was first published in September 1967.  By this time in the TV show, Barnabas Collins had been introduced, the ghost of little Sarah had been appearing, Jason McGuire was on the scene and blackmailing Elizabeth, and Victoria was engaged to Burke Devlin.  Thus, it is surprising that the books continued to keep the focus solely on Victoria Winters, leading one to suspect that the books were actually written some time before they were published.  Not that I am complaining, as I loved the character of Victoria Winters, and I am overjoyed to be reading further adventures of the young ingenue among the dark and sometime dangers secrets surrounding the great house on Widow's Hill.  This book takes place during the same summer as the previous book, only Carolyn is now working in another town and David is at a boys' camp.  This leaves Victoria alone once again in the big house with only Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and her brother, Roger Collins, along with the gruff caretaker, Matthew Morgan.

 

In this book, Victoria believes she has finally found the answers she has been searching for with regard to her missing past when Elizabeth and Roger's uncle, Henry Collins, arrives at Collins House with his friend and confidante, Benjamin Willard, and Benjamin's son and daughter-in-law, Jack and Molly.  Before the elderly man even arrives, Elizabeth shows Victoria to the apartment in the closed off wing of the house where Henry stays whenever he visits - an apartment that has a secret room hidden away through the door in the back of a closet - a room that is quite literally a room from the Ritz Hampton hotel in New York City that was transported piece-by-piece and recreated in this closed off part of the house.  The room holds special meaning for Henry Collins, as it hearkens back to a time past, when he was young and in love with a woman - a woman who met a tragic end, and for whom Henry has been grieving every since.  In fact, he has returned to Collins House in very poor health and anticipates dying there.  And thus, the mystery and the terrors begin once again for poor Victoria Winters...

 

Ross does a bit of a repeat on this plots with this story - a family members comes to Collins House to stay ... a tragic story involving a past love ... a room in the closed off wing of the house is opened ... the "ghost" of a woman long-thought dead is seen by Victoria ... someone is stalking poor Victoria ... the climax reveals there was no ghost, and the real culprit is the one you would least expect.  It is almost as if there is a set pattern for his stories, and he just fills in the blanks with various new characters and situations.  Yet, despite the sameness of the plot, the story was still rather enjoyable.  I thoroughly enjoyed the possibility of Victoria being related to Henry Collins - Ross certainly established all of the right elements for that to have been revealed!  It would have made for a very nice twist to the television story (which was pretty much set up to reveal Victoria as Elizabeth's daughter), and it would have given Victoria's story some closure that fans never received from the TV show.  From my understanding, Ross had a definitely idea in mind for Victoria's parentage, that he would have eventually revealed had he been allowed to keep the character in the books; but, alas, once Victoria was gone from the show, Ross was told to remove her from the books.

 

The book does give some explanation about the current (for the time the book was published) Collins' family tree.  When Henry Collins is first introduced, Elizabeth informs Victoria that he is her "father's older brother and the only surviving member of all that family" (p. 9).  We know from the TV show that Jamison Collins was Elizabeth and Roger's father, and that he had one sister, Nora.  In the show, there was no brother named Henry, so this, in and of itself, sets this book series apart from the television drama.  He is referred to as the "older" brother, hinting that there were other aunts and uncles out there, which would account for Cousin Ernest, since Elizabeth plainly says Henry has no surviving members of his line of the family.  I do not recall the books ever mentioning the names of Ernest's parents, but since he bares the Collins' name, it would have to be a brother of Jamison's, other than Henry.  Thus, in this book parallel time world, Jamison Collins had at least two brothers - Henry was one, and Ernest's father was the other.  Whether there are other siblings, I suppose I will discover as I continue to read through the series.

 

This book also brings in (sort of) the famous artist Charles Dana Gibson, who is famous for his illustrations of tall, narrow waisted women who were independent and stylish.  Roger snidely refers to Victoria as a "Gibson Girl," an observation to which Uncle Henry wholeheartedly agrees (p. 24). Henry goes on to explain to Victoria that Gibson and his wife, Irene Langhorne (who was, indeed, the real-life wife of Charles Gibson).  While this book indicates Gibson and his wife met and fell in love in Bar Harbor, Maine (p. 24), there is no evidence of that being the case in the real world.

 

Another interesting tidbit in this book is the Collins' strawberry field.  Yes, you read that right.  Apparently, the Collins family has a field where they grow strawberries, located "about a mile from the estate grounds and off the road leading to the village" (p. 69).  It is here Victoria faces one of her many dangers, as Jack Willard nearly runs her over with his car, later apologizing, claiming the brakes did not work and he lost control.  Victoria, of course, has difficulty believing the man, who is known to drink quite a bit and who could, potentially, be involved in the plot to get rid of Victoria because of how close she is becoming to Henry Collins! 

 

Last, I would be remiss if I did not mention the character of Rupert Harvey, a friend of Roger Collins who comes to Collins House and stirs up quite a bit of activity.  Rupert claims to be a psychometrist, which he describes is someone who has "a natural sensitivity to objects and places" (p. 92).  He relates this ability to a form of psychic power that allows him to pick up on the history of a particular thing or past simply by touching it.  It is interesting that the term is used in the para-psychological sense for this book (which I suppose is not too surprising, considering the nature of these stories), as psychometry also refers to an actual field of study that is concerned with the psychological measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personal traits.  Honestly, until I saw this term used in this story, I had never actually heard of the word before!

 

As with the previous two books, this one also has two covers - the original, painted cover features Victoria fairly far from the great house, looking back in fear (perhaps a rendition of the scene where Jack's car is about to run her down?).  The photo cover, used in later printings, has Victoria standing with Barnabas Collins, who, once again, is not in the book series yet, so the only possible reason for having him on the cover was simply to cash in on his popularity in the television show at that time.

 

The further I get into the series, the closer I know I am getting to the last Victoria Winters story, as she is written out of the books, with her last appearance being in book six (and even that appearance is peripheral, as she does not actually appear as a character in the main story, which focuses solely on Barnabas Collins).  So, I must relish her stories while they last, no matter how formulaic they may be!

 

RATING:   8 emerald necklaces with matching earrings out of 10 for bringing Victoria (and readers!) to the brink of discovering her origins, within the confines of a terrifying tale of past love and murder!

Victoria Winters - the 2nd Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

I am having a thrilling time re-reading these Dark Shadows novels from the late '60s (which continued into the early '70s, well past the end of the television show).  It has been so many years since I originally read them, it is like I am reading them again for the first time.  And the author, W.E.D. Ross (writing under his most popular pseudonym, Marilyn Ross) does a pretty decent job with the characterization, capturing some of the nuances the actors instilled in the characters on TV.  I especially like the fact that these early books, like the early episodes of the TV show, focused on Victoria Winters, as she was by far my favorite character from the show.  Thankfully, Ross manages to instill her a bit more strength and awareness than she was given by the writers on the daytime soap.  It breathes a little more life into her, and definitely makes me love the character all the more!

 

Victoria Winters is the second book in the series, and the story picks up some months after the events in the first book (which depicted Victoria's arrival, her meeting the Collins' clan, her romance with Ernest Collins, and the terrifying events that led to Ernest leaving for an indefinite period of time).  Now, as summer has arrived, Carolyn and David are gone on a vacation, leaving Victoria behind to act as a personal assistant to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.  The Collins' attorney, Will Grant, is still around (still trying to woo Victoria), and we meet his sister, Nora, with whom Victoria has developed a close friendship.  Burke Devlin makes a few quick appearances in this novel, and Matthew Morgan is his usual grumpy self.  Roger Collins continues to be the ultimate spoiled playboy.  The new characters who are introduced in this book are Paul Caine, a visiting artist who takes an instant liking to Victoria, as well as Henry Francis and his two daughters - the gorgeous Rachel Francis (who becomes entangled with Roger) and the invalid Dorothy (who is recovering from major brain surgery and is confined to a wheelchair in a near catatonic state).  It turns out Henry was an old classmate of Elizabeth's back in the day, so she welcomes the man and his daughters into her home unlike she would anyone else.  And now, with all the characters in place, the mystery unfolds...

 

 One might recall in the first book, it turned out Ernest's first wife did not really die as everyone believed, but was being kept secreted away in the dark halls of Collins House, as she had gone mad. It was revealed that she had murdered a woman Ernest had later fallen in love with - Stella Hastings, and she would have killed Victoria as well, if fate had not intervened.  Well, it seems that story was not quite over, as Victoria begins to see the face and ghostly apparition of a woman who she eventually finds out is none other than Stella Hastings!  Did the woman not die, as everyone thought?  Or was her spirit haunting the house where she had been killed?  As Victoria tries to figure this mystery out, she must also fend off a would-be killer, someone who is following in the footsteps of the silk-scarf strangler who Henry Francis tells her killed several woman back in Pennsylvania.  Did the killer follow the Francis family to Collinsport, stalking Henry's daughter?  Is Victoria simply another in a long-line of victims?  Or is there something much more sinister going on in the Collins' great house?  

 

We spend a bit more time outside of Collinwood (or Collins House, as Ross repeatedly refers to it) in this book.  Victoria and Nora head into Collinsport on several occasions, frequenting the Blue Whale, as well as Will Grant's office and the general store and post office.  Victoria and Nora also spend some time on the beach - after all, it is summer.  These interludes are nice reminders that there is an entire world within the Dark Shadows mythos, and the characters are not limited to the great house. It is also nice to see that Burke Devlin continues to make his brief appearances.  This book has a first printing date of March 1967, and by that point in the television show, viewers were treated to the final revelations regarding the mystery surrounding Mr. Devlin and his animosity towards Roger Collins.  Fans were also in the middle of the story where BIll Malloy is murdered and the phoenix, Laura Collins (David's mother and Roger's ex-wife!) shows up to claim her son.  While there are passing references in the books to Roger's ex-wife, there are no details given, and from what I can recall, the books never actually address who she is or her supernatural essence.

 

Ross once again gives strong hints at the supernatural, with the ghostly appearances of Stella Hastings, but as with your standard Gothic tale from this period, the haunting is explained away with real-world circumstances (in this instance, a look-alike who is mistaken for Stella).  Each of the continuing characters (Elizabeth, Roger, Will) are still exhibiting odd quirks and mood shifts that hint at secrets being withheld from poor Victoria, leading one to understand that Ross was likely hedging his bets, keeping their actions mysterious, yet not direct, so that if anything major was revealed on the television show, he could incorporate it into his stories.  I do like that he keeps Victoria true to form, in that she is not a Nancy Drew-type mystery solver, but rather, someone who seems to fall into these situations and is forced to go along for the ride until they resolve themselves.  I laughed at one line in the book, where Victoria was overwhelmed, and she realizes "[s]he had reached the stage where things when on around her and she simply sat in a kind of daze and allowed them to happen" (p. 100).  Many fans would say that is a pretty accurate description of how Victoria was always written on the TV show.  Thankfully, Ross does give her a bit more fortitude, so that even as she is forced into these situations, she has the mental acuity to reason things out.

 

As with the first book, this novel featured two different covers.  The first, which appeared on the early printings, was a painted cover (above), showing Victoria, in her overcoat, running away from Collins House.  This scene is taken from early promotional photos for the show, which shows Alexandra Moltke in that same position (also above).  For later printings, Paperback Library reprinted the book using a still photo from the television show, once again with Alexandra Moltke as Victoria and Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.  As Barnabas did not make his first appearance on the show until April 18, 1967, a month after this book was initially released, and considering his character does not appear in the story at all, I find is somewhat misleading that the later printings used such a photo.  No doubt, Paperback was simply cashing in on Barnabas' popularity (since, by the time these books were reprinted, Barnabas had gained his success on the show, and the books were featuring Barnabas as their principal character).  Still, there were plenty of images of Victoria with other characters that do appear in the stories, which the publisher could have used.  Unless, of course, it was a mandate from Dan Curtis Productions, in which case, they would not have had much of a choice in the matter.

 

 This second book definitely takes the story of Victoria Winters further away from the direction she was written in the television show, and as such, it makes for some great reading.  These are new and unique stories, a "parallel time" of sorts, and it is a shame Ross was forced to write Victoria Winters out when she left the show.  This forum would have been the perfect place to reveal Victoria's true parentage, the one mystery that never got solved on any version of the television show (although, for the 1990's remake, that question was answered in Innovation Comics' Dark Shadows' comic book series, which picked up where the TV show ended and ultimately revealed Victoria really was Elizabeth's daughter...)

 

Only 30 books left to read in the ongoing saga of the Collins family!

 

RATING:  10 tiny silver earrings shaped like a leaf out of 10 for great Gothic suspense and ghoulish ghostly scares, with some well-written misdirects to keep the twist ending (somewhat) a surprise!

Dark Shadows - the 1st Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama

It has been so many years since I first read these Dark Shadows series of novels based on the television soap opera from the 1960s and '70s, that I decided it was time to go back and re-read them.  While I remember them being different from the show itself, I did not recall just how different.  The series was published by Paperback Library, with this first book being released in December 1966, nearly six months after the premier of the television show in June 1966.  The series continued for 32 books, not including the novelization of the House of Dark Shadows film, as well as the Barnabas Collins in a Funny Vein, Dark Shadows Cookbook, Book of Vampires and Werewolves and Jonathan Frid Photo Album.  The last five books in the series were published after the TV show went off the air.  While my favorite character, Victoria Winters, features heavily in the early books, when she was written out of the show, the book series followed suit (and, sadly, neither the television show, nor the book series, resolved the mystery surrounding Victoria's true parentage!).

 

Dark Shadows is the aptly titled first book in the series and provides readers with a very different version of Victoria Winters' arrival in Collinsport, Maine and her introduction to the Collins family.  The backstory remains the same - Victoria was raised in a foundling home, money was sent for years from Bangor from a mysterious, unnamed benefactor, and Victoria is offered a position at Collinwood (referred to as Collins House in the book) as governess for the young David Collins.  There is even a scene where Victoria meets Maggie Evans briefly, although in the book, Maggie is not quite as negative about the Collins family. Here, the story deviates, as Victoria takes a taxi up to Collinwood, but on the way, the taxi has a flat tire (in the show, Victoria is unable to get a taxi, because she is told the only taxi in town has a flat).  Along comes the Collins' family attorney, Will Grant, who helps get the tire fixed, and Victoria is soon brought to Collinwood, where the first person she encounters is an entirely new character, never mentioned in the television show!

 

Ernest Collins is Elizabeth and Roger's cousin (there is no definite explanation of how they are related; however, since he bears the name Collins, it can only be assumed his father and Roger and Elizabeth's father are brothers - unless the "cousin" is merely a casual reference, and they are actually more distantly related), and he surprises Victoria when he grabs her unexpectedly, only, as it turns out, to save her from stepping onto the rotting wood covering an old well.  Ernest is a concert violinist who has returned to live at the Collins' house after suffering some devastating losses - the death of his first wife, as well as the death of a young woman with whom he was becoming close in Collinsport.  Victoria has sympathy for him, but she soon learns Ernest has some dark secrets, and it's quite possible the death of the young woman was not an accident!  Is he mad, having had an emotional break after his wife died, or is there something else going on?

 

While Victoria tries to sort out her feelings for and thoughts about Ernest Collins, she must also deal with the secrets of the rest of the family.  She is warned that David is a "monster" and very difficult to handle, but she soon learns that his problem stems from his anger at being taken away from his mother.  When she broaches the issue with Roger and Elizabeth, she is told it is not her concern and to stay out of it.  As far as Roger is concerned, Victoria experiences his alcohol-induced womanizing first hand and must forcefully assert herself to him in order to avoid his advances.  With regard to Elizabeth, the woman is stern and secretive, clearly hiding something she had hidden in the basement of the great house (which,, I'm guessing, was taken from the whole mystery in the television show surrounding the disappearance of Paul Stoddard that left Elizabeth a recluse for eighteen years), and she is so quick to write off the mysterious happenings in the house, even going so far as to blame young David, even when Victoria knows the boy is innocent!  It seems Carolyn is the only "normal" person in the family, but even she has her moments, leaving Victoria to wonder.

 

The story throws in a number of nearly supernatural moments, when Victoria hears horrific scratching noises, sees moving shadows, and is frightened by a horrific mask in her room.  It all culminates in a dark, stormy night when the terrifying secret that has been haunting the house makes its presence known, and Victoria faces a life-and-death situation as everything (well, related to this story, anyhow) comes to light and a specter of the past comes back to seek revenge!  The author, W.E.D. Ross writing under the pseudonym of Marilyn Ross, does a fantastic job of building the suspense throughout the story, but as with most of his Gothic tales, the climax always happens a little too quickly, wrapping up usually in a few pages in the final chapter.  William Edward Daniel Ross (1912-1995) was known for the plethora of Gothic novels he wrote under various pseudonyms - Marilyn Ross, Clarissa Ross, Dana Ross, Leslie Ames, and others.  The Dark Shadows series was the longest series of Gothics that he wrote.

 

The book is thoroughly enjoyable in spite of (or maybe because of?) its deviation from the plotlines in the television show; yet, there are some glaring errors in the book that really stand out.  For instance, Elizabeth's daughter, Carolyn, is referred to as "Caroline" (p. 11), with even Carolyn referring to her name with that spelling (p. 34).  In addition, Victoria is told to stay away from the east wing, as it is closed off and in disrepair (p. 73); but, in the TV show, it as the west wing that was closed off and alleged to be haunted.  What I found even more surprising, however, is when Carolyn convinces Victoria to join her at The Blue Whale, Joe Haskell sits down at the table with them, placing three beers on the table - which they all drink (p. 88)!  Carolyn is only seventeen, and Victoria not much older - so Joe was basically serving alcohol to underage girls (as the drinking age in Maine at that time was 21 years old).  Some things did stay true to the show (at least, at that time), such as Elizabeth's reference to Jeremiah Collins as her great-grandfather (p. 23), which matches what she says in the second episode of the television show.  There is also a reference to Isaac Collins as being the one who founded Collinsport (p. 26), although the book indicates he arrived prior to the Mayflower, which is inaccurate - the Mayflower landed in 1620, and Isaac Collins did not arrive until 1690.

 

The book has two covers.  The first is a painted scene featuring Victoria Winters holding tight to her overcoat, with the wind blowing, while behind her is the stately house of Collinwood, the moon shining overheard.  The bare tree branches around Victoria give the scene a sense of loneliness and foreboding.  Later printings of the book featured a photo still from the television show, oddly enough showing Victoria (as portrayed by Alexendra Moltke) standing next to Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), who is not even in the book - in fact, at the time the book was first published, his character did not even exist!  Most likely, Paperback Library was simply trying to cash in on Barnabas' popularity in the later years, so covers were re-issued with his image on them to increase sales.

 

A good start to an alternate timeline for the series (and let's face it, the television show did plenty of altering its timelines - with trips to the past and the future, and even trips to parallel time!).

 

RATING:  10 bent steering rods out of 10 for offering fans of the television show some different takes on the same characters they had come to love! 

Curse of Dark Shadows - an original Dark Shadows Graphic Novel

Sixty years ago, a new soap opera premiered on daytime television, and while it only lasted five years for a total of 1,225 episodes, the show has had a legacy that has far surpassed that of pretty much any other soap that has ever aired.  Sure, General Hospital is still on the air; but let's face reality - despite being on the air for 63 years, that show did not spawn a series of books; it did not have board games and models; it did not see various comic book series published over the years; it did not generate enough fandom to warrant audio stories to continue the tales of its characters; it did not generate not one, not two, but three feature films based on the show; and it did not give rise to a fan base that 55 years after the show ended is not only still going strong, but getting stronger with every generation.  Dark Shadows has done that and so much more.  A Gothic soap opera that struggled its first year, it hit its stride when it introduced the reluctant vampire, Barnabas Collins - and from that moment on, history was made.  The show went off the air in April 1971, leaving viewers wondering just what happened to all of the characters on the show.  There have been various continuations, both in book and audio form, that have given fans a taste of what could have been and how the stories might have continued.  Sadly, neither the films nor the updated television shows continued the stories; rather, they simply retold or reimagined the tales already told in the original soap.  So, it is only fitting that with this 60th anniversary, fans should have a special treat - and it's my hope this is only the first of many to come out this year!

 

Curse of Dark Shadows is a graphic novel published by Hermes Press that brings the Collins family and their hometown into the present time.  It's been over 50 years since we last saw the Collins clan, and a lot has changed.  Roger Collins is dead, his ghost now haunting his son, David.  Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is also dead, having left her daughter, Carolyn, with a revelation and request - Victoria Winters, the former governess who was called back in time, truly was Elizabeth's daughter (and Carolyn's sister!), and Carolyn is given the task of finding her and bringing her back home.  Maggie Evans is a grandmother.  And Barnabas Collins ... our ill-fated vampire ... well, it seems he took off back to Europe with Dr. Julia Hoffman, where they finally married and lived out the remaining years of her life.  The only thing that remains the same is the dark shadows that always seem to linger over Collinwood, infecting its inhabitants with terrors that never seem to end.  But Carolyn is working on that.  She has spent half a century trying to find a way to bring Victoria Winters back from the past, and in so doing, putting an end to the curse that has held the family in its sway for centuries...

 

The graphic novel is written by Craig Hurd-McKenney, who has been writing comics since 2000, including a story in the first issue of the the recent revival of Gold Key comics' Boris Karloff Gold Key Mysteries.  This book appears to be his first foray into the world of Dark Shadows, and it is clear he has a love for the show, its characters, and its rich history.  While the story is set in the present, it definitely builds upon everything that has come before - Hurd-McKenney even makes a number of references to events in the television series, citing the actual episodes where they took place.  And the simple fact that he brings Victoria Winters back from the past - well, that puts him right on the top of my list of favorite writers!  Victoria, as portrayed by actress Alexandra Moltke, has always been my favorite character on the show, and it truly disappointed me that they wrote her out of the show the way they did.  Lara Parker (who portrayed Angelique in the show) wrote a Dark Shadows novel that brought Victoria back to the present; and while I enjoyed that story, I have to say, I love the way Hurd-McKenney did it so much better.  I can't say I'm overly thrilled with the characterization of Carolyn Stoddard-Hawkes in her old age; however, having spent the last half-century inside Collinwood, I can't begin to imagine what that would do to a person.  I did, however, like the fact that David was still being haunted by his father's presence - a man he never really got along with when he was alive, so it only makes sense that Roger would still haunt him after he died.  While Barnabas does come into the story, we see very little, if any, of the other supporting cast.  Hallie works in the Blue Whale with her son;  Maggie Evans is a grandmother, and she owns the Collinsport Inn.  But I would love to know what happened to Amy Jennings ... and Quentin Collins ... and Angelique ... and so many others ... perhaps Hurd-McKenney has some more stories rolling around in his head, and we'll get further graphic novels that continue the story (considering the number of sub-plots hinted at throughout the book, he darned-well better have more in the works!).

 

The interior art is provided by "Jok with Gervasio." This is a team of artists that I was completely unfamiliar with prior to buying this book.  It appears they have collaborated on a number of other graphic novels and illustrated books.  Jok is an Argentine artist who has had work published in a number of countries since 1993.  Gervasio is also an Argentine artist, who has worked with Jok in producing some of the "I Survived" graphic novels for Scholastic, as well as some other works.  Their art has a distinctive style to it, and while I can definitely see it as being conducive to darker stories, such as vampire, ghost, and supernatural tales, I must admit that I did not find myself enjoying it much for the Dark Shadows story.  None of the characters bore any resemblance whatsoever to their television counterparts, and perhaps that was their intention.  Thankfully, Hurd-McKenney's story was strong enough to carry me past the art, and it was ultimately still a thoroughly enjoyable read.

 

An added bonus to this book are the character profiles that appear after the story - seventeen pages detailing some of Dark Shadows' greatest characters over the years.  From Adam to Judah Zachary ... from Nicholas Blair to Count Petofi ... from Roxanne Drew to Janet Findley ... from Sarah Collins to Peter Bradford ... and so many more!  Each character is drawn by a different artist - including one by Luciano Vecchio, a wonderful artist that I have the pleasure of knowing through his work on Drumfish Productions' Sentinels books some years back.  And I love that the Victoria Winters depicted in these bios is a much stronger resemblance to the Alexandra Moltke that I so loved from the show.

 

There are a couple of things about the graphic novel that did leave me somewhat perplexed.  For unexplained reasons, page 3 of the story repeats itself (it appears on both pages 7 and 8 of the book).  Then, just a few pages later, page 10 of the story appears a second time, appearing first on page 15 (right after page 9 of the story), and that again on page 17 (right after page 11 of the story).  And if that were not confusing enough, after page 22 of the story, the page numbering reverts back to page 1, even though the story continues without any break (in fact, page 22 and page 1 thereafter contains a 2-page spread of Victoria Winters fighting the Leviathan on Widow's Hill in the past).  I can only assume there was some production issues when the book was put together, because I can't image the creators intended these mis-matched pages on purpose.  Finally, there's the curious misspelling of Quentin's name in the character bios - he is listed as Quentin "Collin," without the "s" at the end of his last name.  This was likely a simple editing snafu.

 

These gaffes, though, did not in any way spoil the story for me.  I still highly recommend the book for any Dark Shadows fan, as it not only brings the show and its characters and mythos into the 21st century, but it gives us fans a long-awaited continuation of the original series.  Big Finish Productions filled that void for a number of years with their audio dramas; now Hermes Press is picking up where Big Finish left off and giving us even more Gothic horror to fill our insatiable need for more Barnabas ... more Victoria ... more Carolyn and David ... more stories of those people who may at times be only shadows in our mind, but who continue to fill the days and nights of our every tomorrow!

 

RATING:  9 empty baby cribs out of 10 for taking the Dark Shadows' lore far beyond that of the original series and crafting a new tale of mystery, suspense, and horror in the tradition set by Dan Curtis some 60 years ago...

Secrets of Peyton Place - the fourth Peyton Place novel by Roger Fuller

I can't believe it has been more than a year since I read the last Peyton Place novel by author Roger Fuller!  It does not seem that long, but apparently time has just flown by.  So, it was with great relish that I pulled out the fourth book in this series, curious to see what scandals would rock the small New England town this time, and which of Grace Metalious' original characters would make appearances in the story.  Each book has dwelt on a different family in this anything-but-average community, and this book is no different - another new family moves to Peyton Place, and another female character is caught up in the sinful desires that seem to take hold of everyone in town at one point or another! 

 

Secrets of Peyton Place introduces readers to Phil and Nancy Merriman, a young couple from Sampson, South Carolina, who move to Peyton Place to pursue Phil's budding engineering career at Sono-trol, an up and rising company who has grown swiftly, taking on government contracts, as well as numerous private contracts.  Nancy is supportive of her husband's career, but this sudden move has left her feeling out of place.  The Merrimans move into a subdivision in which all of the Sono-trol families reside, and Nancy finds that she must do whatever it takes to fit in with the other housewives, as their actions have a direct reflection on their husbands' careers.  One wrong step could end a career. And the last thing she wants to do is hurt her husband's career - despite how badly she wants to return hom to Sampson!

 

Fuller once again delves into the depravity of these outwardly small-town people.  The "good" people of Peyton Place give the outward appearance of piety and purity, yet their devious and sexually deviant natures make the poor people of Shacktown look downright innocent!  Yes, Shacktown comes back into the forefront for this story - in fact, there are tons of moving parts that all eventually intersect to nearly turn the entire township upside down and nearly bring an end to Leslie Harrington's long-time reign as the one who pulls the strings of everything that happens in Peyton Place!  It seems Harrington finally has some competition in the form of Allen McCampbell, or "The Man" as he is known by all of the employees of Sono-trol.  It seems the outwardly handsome, smooth-talking Mr. Campbell is hiding plenty of secrets - from his political aspirations to his insatiable desire for women (particularly married ones!) - and he is a sly chess-player that knows exactly how to maneuver all those around him to get exactly what he wants.

 

And when a young college girl of Indian descent is nearly brutally raped in Shacktown, it becomes the catalyst for plenty of changes in a lot of lives in Peyton Place. Reverend Tibbs suddenly steps out of his role as the timid pansy and nearly beats the rapist to an inch of his life ... Nancy Merriman realizes she finally has a purpose in Peyton Place, and that is to help the people of Shacktown, what with the attempted rape and the swiftly spreading typhoid fever ... Doc Swain sees this as an opportunity to open the eyes of his fellow citizens of Peyton Place as to the poor conditions of those living in Shacktown ... and Allen McCampbell sees this as the perfect opportunity to remove the sheriff, take power away from Harrington, and take complete control of Peyton Place!  And all along the way, Nancy sees McCampbell as the savior this town needs, doubting all the stories of his liaisons with married women - until one fateful night he makes the mistake of making a move on Nancy.  Her husband has been away on work projects for so long (at the behest of McCampbell, of course!), and he is handsome and powerful and able to bring some hope to those people in Shacktown, but what good Christian woman would ever give in to that kind of temptation?

 

As the blurb on the back cover of the book says, "An innocent bride learns the ways of the world in a small New England town..."

 

Fuller brings in Doc Matt Swain and Sheriff Buck McCracken ... we get some brief moments with an aging Leslie Harrington ... we do get the brief mention of the farmhouse where the Fiske family tragedy took place in the last book ... so Fuller keeps the continuity strong and the story moving in a forward direction.  These books are not stand alone, even though the stories are somewhat self-contained.  The books continue the soap opera format of Metalious' original novels, and expands the cast and definitely darkens the stories.  While the last book shied away from explicit sexuality, despite its plot, this book brings back some pretty sexually explicit scenes, particularly for the decade in which the book was published.  I am actually surprised this was not censored, as I cannot imagine your standard publishers in 1968 were so open about explicit scenes like those in this book. Yet, Fuller managed to get away with it, and Fuller manages to include some very steamy scenes with Nancy and her husband, as well as with Allen and one of his mistresses.

One surprise I did find while reading this book was Fuller's reference to the Bible - which, I suppose, should not have surprised me so much, since Nancy Merriman from the get-go is described as a Christian woman.  When Nancy is first offered an opportunity to go help the less fortunate in Shacktown, she is hesitant - but then she recalls the admonition of the Lord:  "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto me" (p. 104).   This comes from the verse Matthew 25:40 from the New Testament.  For all of the sin and debauchery going on in this town, it was actually refreshing to find a character who actually wanted to serve others as she believes the Lord would have her do - and when ultimately tempted, she overcomes and actually makes the right choice!  Hurray for Fuller for not making everyone bad!

 

Interestingly, this book does not give a solid ending.  While we do have resolution for Nancy and her husband, Allen McCampbell's future is not necessarily a given, and Harrington's vow to regain his power in Peyton Place leaves me to wonder if these characters are not going to resurface in later books (as this was far from Fuller's last book in the world of this New England town).  After reading this book, the television series from the late '60s is extremely tame in comparison!

 

RATING:   7 games of high-stakes bridge out of 10 for keeping the drama in Peyton Place as high as it has ever been, but proving that some people are strong enough not to be pulled into the wicked ways of this town!

The World of General Hospital - Six Decades of Drama in Port Charles

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, I watched the daytime drama, General Hospital, with my mom each afternoon.  I remember the whole Cassadine island / Ice Princess story, the romance and wedding of Luke and Laura (and yes, I watched that episode when it aired!), the death and later resurrection of Laura Spencer, and so many other great stories of that era.  But I fell away from the show, and it was not until decades later, when ABC cancelled its other soaps (All My Children and One Life to Live), that I picked up on the show, as I loved the idea of Todd Manning, Starr Manning, and John McBain coming over from One Life to Live to continue their stories on General Hospital.  Thirteen years later, and I'm still watching the show, even though those three characters (and the actors who played them) have been long gone.  I've been very fortunate in recent years to meet in person a number of the actors who have been on the show, and so when I saw this book listed on Amazon, I picked it up, thinking it would offer up a great history about a television drama that has aired daily for more than 60 years!  Sadly, I could not have been more wrong...

The World of General Hospital offers very little when it comes to any specific history of the show.   Written by Jesse Shanks, whose biography on Amazon indicates he has "shown talents for writing, genealogy, programming, and research," this book reads like a fluff piece that provides general information about a show that has been on television for more than six decades.  While I was hoping for some decade by decade look at the various stories and characters, as well as, perhaps, some cast listings and character profiles, and maybe even some synopses of various major stories over the years, I instead got a book that repeats itself often about the importance of Steve Hardy and Jesse Brewer, the revitalization of the show with Luke and Laura, and the current emphasis on Sonny Corinthos.  We get some brief mentions of the different families that have appeared on the show (the Hardys, the Quartermaines, the Conrinthos, and the Spencers) and some quick references to some of the locations on the show; but there is very little in-depth look at either the characters or the locations.

 

This show has been on the air continuously for more than 60 years!  While I do realize a full, in-depth look at the show for that length of time could very well take up 600 pages or more, I do think Shanks could have spent some more time on some of the major highlights.  As he indicates in the book (more than one, I might add), the wedding of Luke and Laura was a major network event that garnered more viewers than the royal wedding around that same time!  One would think he would spend some time looking at the relationship of these characters, and how they evolved over the years - from Luke's vicious rape of Laura, to their unconventional love on the run story, to their magnificent wedding, to Luke's loss when Laura disappeared in the fog, to her shocking return (and with it the beginning of the life-long conflict with the Cassadine clan), to their children, their divorce and various other loves (Luke with Tracy and Laura with Kevin).  I mean, for years, "Luke and Laura" truly defined the show!  So, why was their story given only a few pages scattered throughout the book?

 

I have to wonder if the author even watched the show prior to the 2000s (or, possibly, the '90s).  Many of the more lengthy descriptions of stories (such as the text-message killer) are from the more modern era; however, there were plenty of great stories back in the day:  the murder of Diana Taylor; the Prometheus disc / Grant Putnam story (talk about a revelation when viewers found out he was really a Russian spy!); the murder of Phil Brewer; Heather Webber accidentally injecting herself with LSD; even the outrageously crazy Ice Princess story and the Cassadine weather-control device.  These, and so many more, deserved some attention and some details; instead, most do not even get mentioned, and when they do, it is only in one or two sentences before moving on to something else.

 

I do give Shanks credit for giving at least a brief look at the various changes the show has undergone over the years - from one-half hour to one hour in 1976 (I did not realize it had become an hour show only a couple of years before I started watching it!); from medical drama to adventure stories with the hiring of Gloria Monty in 1978; the inclusion of more social issues when head writer Claire Labine came on board in 1993; and even how the show has been filmed (from black and white to color, then to HD, and how those changes affected the way the sets were designed).  Shanks also takes a few pages to look at how the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Writer's Strike affected the show, and how these events affected the way the show was filmed and the stories written.  So, despite the overall "general" information provided for most things, the author does give readers a bit of technical history that can be appreciated.

 

But, other than that, there is absolutely no behind-the-scenes look at the show.  There is no discussion of the actors' interactions with one another and with writers and/or directors; no talk of how the actors dealt with certain stories or were affected by cast changes around them; no look at how long-term actors have grown with the show (such as Leslie Charleston, Genie Francis, Jane Elliott, Mauirce Bernard, Rebecca Herbst, Finola Hughes, or others who have been on the show for 20 years or more!);  no real list of famous actors who got their start on GH, such as John Stamos, Amber Tamblyn, Demi Moore, Mark Hamill, and others); and no mention of the various actors who made a real impact on the show and who have passed on in real life (such as Anna Lee, John Ingle, Peter Hansen, John Reilly, Tyler Christopher, Billy Miller, Susan Brown, Shell Kepler, and the list goes on).  

 

On top of all of this, there are glaring errors in the content of the book.  The book indicates Aurora Media was founded by Drew Cain and Jason Morgan (p. 116) - which is wholly incorrect, as the company was established by Drew Cain and Sam McCall after they acquired it from Derek Wells Media back in 2017.  Jason was never involved.  The book also references the revenge porn story, indicating it took place from 2017- 2018 and it involved Oscar Nero (p. 116). I have no idea where this came from as Oscar was never involved in any revenge porn story, which did not occur until 2022 (four years after his character on the show died!) and involved Joss and Cam, with Esme Prince setting up Trina to take the blame. In addition to that, the book states that Port Charles' newspaper, The Invader was run by Julian Jerome, "and later Martin Grey..." (p. 116).  While The Invadeer has been run by a number of people on the show (Shawn Butler, Valentin Cassadine, Nina Reeves, Adrian DeWitt, and Alexis Davis), Martin Grey was never the head of that paper.

 

With the huge reliance on AI for so much these days, I'm left wondering if this book was not a product of AI.  It is lacking in any real depth, and it glosses over so much that has taken place in the 60-plus years of General Hospital's history, plus it contains some very glaring mistakes, that I find it hard to believe that Shanks put a whole lot of time into researching and writing this book.  With so many rich storylines, so many great characters, and so many years of amazing history to draw upon, this book is a disappointment in its lack of specifics and detail.  Longtime fans of the show will be extremely let down by this book, particularly with the $15.99 hardcover / $8.99 softcover prices (I bought the hardcover).  I would not recommend this book at all, unless you are someone who simply must have ever book out there about General Hospital - in that case, it might be worth it to you.  As for me, this will go on a shelf and likely never looked at again.

 

RATING:  3  hospital corridors echoing with hurried footsteps out of 10 for at the very least mentioning one of my favorite characters, Nelle Benson (although not at all mentioning my other favorite, Sabrina Santiago, even though she was instrumental in bringing the Nurse's Ball back to GH!).

 

 

Love in the Afternoon - the wild novel of a soap opera superstar!

Sometimes you come across some of the best books when you are not really looking for them.  Such is the case with this book.  I was combing through the paperbacks at the Family Bookstore in DeLand, when, as I reached the end of the section, my eyes glanced over the title to this book and had to take a second look.  The slogan "Love in the Afternoon" was used by ABC to market its soap operas for a decade, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s - advertisements with a catchy theme, giving clips of the various soap operas in ABC's line-up - Ryan's Hope, Edge of Night, All My Children, One Life to Life, and General Hospital.  (It should be noted that NBC had used that same slogan to market their soaps in 1974, but gave up on it rather quickly, which is when ABC decided to take the banner for their channel.)  Because of this, the phrase "Love in the Afternoon" pretty much became synonymous with soap operas.  So, when I caught the title to this book, I figured it would have to be about soaps - and sure enough, it was!  Therefore, I shelled out the couple of bucks and bought it.

 

Love in the Afternoon gives two taglines on its cover: "Daytime TV will never be the same!" and "The wild, brilliantly hilarious novel of the on- and off-camera lives and loves of a soap-opera superstar."  Written by Ed Zimmermann, the book was originally published in hardcover in 1971, and the Pocket Books paperback came out two years later - and both came out before either NBC or ABC ever began their ad campaigns using that slogan!  Leads one to wonder if this book may have prompted the use of the phrase by NBC and ABC.  In any event, it turns out Ed Zimmermann, the author, was actually a soap opera actor himself, having played the role of Dr. Joseph Werner (the second actor to play the role) on the CBS soap, Guiding Light from 1967 to 1972.  He was only 39 years old when he died of a heart attack on July 6, 1972 (just a year after this book was first published).  He was also a stage actor, and he was in Ogunquit, Maine auditioning for a part in "Who Killed Santa Claus?" when he died.  He only authored this one book.  A huge Guiding Light fan, on her blog, indicates this book is based upon the behind the scenes experiences of Zimmermann while working on the soap.

 

The book tells the story of actor Steven Prince (which, to me, feels like a cross between Steve Trevor and Diana Prince from the Wonder Woman comics!), who takes a role on a television daytime drama, playing Dr. Harlan Cross on a soap opera that centers around Pinewood Hospital.  After acting on Broadway, making the transition from stage to the small screen is quite an experience for Prince.  For an actor used to months of rehearsals to a show where you get only hours of rehearsals before filming live - one can't even begin to imagine; however, Zimmermann does his best to provide the reader with just how much stress that can cause an actor new to daytime TV.  From being handed the first script, to meeting his co-workers, to learning where everything is in the production building - it is basically like being thrown into the water and being told, "Go ahead, now, and swim!" He even provides a schedule that Prince is given his first day on the set (from page 24):

8:00 - 10:00 - Dry for Blocking (First Rehearsal)

8:00 - 10:00 - Makeuip and Costume

10:00 - 10:30 - No Fax (Blocking on Set with No Cameras)

10:30 - 11:00 - Camera Conference

11:00 -12:00 - Fax 1 (Blocking with Cameras and Boom)

12:00 - 1:00 - Break

1:00 - 1:30 - Fax 2 (Run Through)

1:30 - 2:00 - Break and Film Check

2:00 - 2:30 - Dress

2:30 - 3:00 - Break

3:00 - AIR

I look at that schedule and realize just how tight it really is and how little time the actors have to get it right.  I've heard actors from Dark Shadows talk about how fast-paced daytime television is, and their experiences pretty much line up with what Zimmermann shares here.  It's evident he took his own experiences on the set of Guiding Light and integrated them into this story.  With frazzled nerves, Prince manages to make it through his first day, and as the days turn into weeks, he begins to enjoy playing the villain everyone loves to hate.  And his interaction with the cast is bound to have come from his real-life interactions - some actors who are laid back; others who demand attention; still others who rarely know their lines to those who make everyone else's life a disaster.   There is even the behind the scene attempts to seduce co-stars - thankfully, though, Zimmermann keeps his main character faithful to his real-life wife, for which I was happy to see.

 

One of the interesting tidbits I enjoyed in the book was how fans of Prince's on-screen character, Harlan Cross, could not see to separate the actor from his role.  Even his own mother was questioning his motives on the show, and Prince eventually gives up trying to convince her that he is not the character.  I have heard actors talk about these types of scenarios before (at General Hospital fan fests, several actors have talked about being berated by fans for the actions of their characters, as if they were the actual character), so reading about it in this book was not really much of a surprise. It makes me wonder if Zimmermann faced this same problem with his role on Guiding Light.  

 

Then there is the change in writers, which brings about major changes in the show - and for Prince, this results in his bad-boy doctor being redeemed and turned into a caring man searching for a real relationship, rather than breaking up all those around him.  Prince is not happy about the shift, but since it is his job, he must work with it.  Oh, and I loved the way the production had to accommodate Prince when he accidentally fractures his ankle - so they have to create work-arounds for all of his scenes.  The operating table is lowered so he can film the scene sitting down (but the cameras are angled to make it appear everyone is standing), and a body double is used when "Harlan" has to break down a door and rush into a room.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen actors in soaps with casts or crutches because they have injured themselves in real life, so the writers have to write that injury into the show somehow.  So, again, reading about this scenario feels like par for the course for a soap opera.

 

From what I have been able to gather online, the book apparently has a number of parallels with the Guiding Light, when it comes to characters and situations.  Having never watched that show, I cannot confirm such likenesses; however, I can say that much of what takes place behind the scenes in this story lines up with many stories I have heard from soap opera actors over the years.  I think it great that Zimmermann took his experiences and turned it into a comical story for fans to read.

 

One final observation is the opening paragraph to Chapter Eight.  Zimmermann discusses how soap opera writers have fun with time - "moulding it and stretching it and playing with it as if it were so much silly putty" (p. 156).  An entire season can pass by in just a few days, or weeks can be stretched out into months.  And yet, despite this stretching and contracting of time, all of the holidays still manage to show up at the correct time!  My friends and I have all made this observation about soap operas for years!  Passions, which ran on NBC from 1999 to 2007, was very bad about this.  One day on that show would sometimes last more than a month!  Thus, it was definitely appropriate for Zimmermann to make mention of this in the book, since any real soap fan would recognize this as a reality of daytime television!

 

Interestingly, the copyright page actually gives credit to the cover artist (which so few books from this era ever did!).  Lou Marchetti was well-known for his cover art for paperback books, but he also provided art for movie posters and magazines, such as Galaxy and Reader's Digest.  The cover gives us a scene with Prince and a fellow actress on what appears to be a crimson bedspread, with plenty of cameras and lights surrounding them.  More information can be found about Marchetti at the website run by his daughter, Louise (The Life and Art of Lou Marchetti).

 

While not exactly "brilliantly hilarious" as advertised on the cover, I would say the book does have some laughs and is a pretty good read - especially for anyone who enjoys soap operas!

 

RATING: 8 ankle-crunching slides into home plate out of 10 for a somewhat satirical look into what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite daytime drama!