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A review by yashwwrites
Bedelia by Vera Caspary
4.0
It troubles me that Bedelia is out of print. If it weren’t for an indie publication called ‘The Feminist Press’, I wouldn’t have been able to get the Kindle copy. I’m also confused why Vera Caspary isn’t remembered. This is the second book I’ve read by her and I can confidently say she was a master of mystery, crime, suspense, and noir. Laura is probably one of the most well made novels I’ve ever read. And it’s follow up Bedelia doesn’t disappoint either.
It’s a shame. If it weren’t for the 1944 film adaptation of Laura that kicked off the film noir wave in Hollywood, no one living today would know who Vera Caspary was.
Let me tell you why you should read Bedelia.
Set in the early 20th century in a small Connecticut town, the story follows Charlie Horst. He’s is your standard nice guy who's residence is a comfortable but not lavish family home. He inherits this from his recently deceased mother. The grief of her loss takes him on a trip to Colorado Springs where he meets our heroine.
Bedelia is beautiful. When she smiles you can’t look away from her. And she’s infinitely affectionate. Imagine the perfect subservient woman who loves everything you do and thinks everything about you is wonderful. And coincidentally, she's a recent widow. She was at Colorado Springs grieving the loss of her first husband. So Charlie and Bedelia get married and he brings her back to his little winter town.
All of Charlie’s friends love Bedelia. She knows exactly what to cook for her guests at the Christmas party that starts the book. She knows exactly what to give as presents to this snobbish middle class cohort. All of Charlie’s friends are grateful indulgers of Bedelia’s charm. All except one.
Ben Cheney is an observant new neighbour. He’s an artist by profession. And he makes Bedelia very uncomfortable. Like at the Christmas party where he gives Charlie a box of cigars. The odor of the smoke turns Bedelia’s mask more pensive and panicked. Like when he gets unusually close and see's this black pearl ring she wears and hides from her own husband. And especially when Ben tells the couple that there’s a friend named Ken Barrett who’s coming into town and he’d like for them to meet him.
Charlie notices the impact Ben has on Bedelia. It’s hard not to. Because as soon as Ben informs them of this friend’s visit, Bedelia begs Charlie to take a vacation with her. They must go away to Europe. They must leave at once. And when Charlie refuses this impractical suggestion, she tries to run away from him. In the middle of the night Charlie gets up and notices his wife is gone. But the attempt fails. There’s a violent blizzard and Charlie has to fish his wife’s body from the snow. He gets her inside, just in time for all the town’s residences to be snowed in and cut off from each other.
Yet, Ben manages to get to Charlie’s door before the worst of it. Despite the climatic chaos around them, Ben says he he had to see his good friend and make sure he’s alright. Only, Charlie isn't stupid. Suspecting there may be something adulterous between him and Bedelia, he confronts Ben. While Charlie’s wife is recuperating upstairs from the cold she caught from her escape attempt, Ben comes clean.
Look pal, I’m not really an artist. I’m actually a private eye. Let me tell you about my latest case. Man meets girl on vacation. Girl and man get married. Girl is too good to be true. Man can’t believe his stars. Soon, man suddenly dies. There was a guy named Jacobs, a jeweler in black pearls, who just dropped dead because his wife fed him French toast but mixed up the pesticide and sugar. And there was another guy named Mckelvey. Loved Cigars like the kind I gave you. He ate some terrible fish his wife fed him and died from poisoning. And then there was this guy, Ken Barrett’s brother actually, who was great at boating but happened to go out drunk to sea and fell over board. Here’s the thing, the wife always disappears once the life insurance cheque comes in.
Seeing that Ben has been lying to him about his identity all this time and is now insinuating that his angel wife is a murderer, Charlie kicks him out. Only, now he’s snowed in. Trapped. With a woman who mixes up her stories. A woman who doesn’t have a single present relation from her past world. A woman who is possibly a serial killer.
Even though that summary reveals some of the plot, I highly recommend you read Bedelia. It’s written well but thankfully Vera wasn’t too far up her arse to weigh down the plot. The character’s are identifiable. Not for their surface characteristics like race, gender, social background. But for their deeper motivations, fears, and emotions. We all know what it feels like to be possibly lied to. We all know the suspicion and fear that comes with guessing whether we’re being cheated or our minds have lost their rational core.
I highlighted so many passages from Bedelia that when I tried to export my notes, Amazon told me I’d reached the limit The Feminist Press had set to avoid illegal downloads.
Get Bedelia. Read Vera Caspary. This woman deserves to be important.
It’s a shame. If it weren’t for the 1944 film adaptation of Laura that kicked off the film noir wave in Hollywood, no one living today would know who Vera Caspary was.
Let me tell you why you should read Bedelia.
Set in the early 20th century in a small Connecticut town, the story follows Charlie Horst. He’s is your standard nice guy who's residence is a comfortable but not lavish family home. He inherits this from his recently deceased mother. The grief of her loss takes him on a trip to Colorado Springs where he meets our heroine.
Bedelia is beautiful. When she smiles you can’t look away from her. And she’s infinitely affectionate. Imagine the perfect subservient woman who loves everything you do and thinks everything about you is wonderful. And coincidentally, she's a recent widow. She was at Colorado Springs grieving the loss of her first husband. So Charlie and Bedelia get married and he brings her back to his little winter town.
All of Charlie’s friends love Bedelia. She knows exactly what to cook for her guests at the Christmas party that starts the book. She knows exactly what to give as presents to this snobbish middle class cohort. All of Charlie’s friends are grateful indulgers of Bedelia’s charm. All except one.
Ben Cheney is an observant new neighbour. He’s an artist by profession. And he makes Bedelia very uncomfortable. Like at the Christmas party where he gives Charlie a box of cigars. The odor of the smoke turns Bedelia’s mask more pensive and panicked. Like when he gets unusually close and see's this black pearl ring she wears and hides from her own husband. And especially when Ben tells the couple that there’s a friend named Ken Barrett who’s coming into town and he’d like for them to meet him.
Charlie notices the impact Ben has on Bedelia. It’s hard not to. Because as soon as Ben informs them of this friend’s visit, Bedelia begs Charlie to take a vacation with her. They must go away to Europe. They must leave at once. And when Charlie refuses this impractical suggestion, she tries to run away from him. In the middle of the night Charlie gets up and notices his wife is gone. But the attempt fails. There’s a violent blizzard and Charlie has to fish his wife’s body from the snow. He gets her inside, just in time for all the town’s residences to be snowed in and cut off from each other.
Yet, Ben manages to get to Charlie’s door before the worst of it. Despite the climatic chaos around them, Ben says he he had to see his good friend and make sure he’s alright. Only, Charlie isn't stupid. Suspecting there may be something adulterous between him and Bedelia, he confronts Ben. While Charlie’s wife is recuperating upstairs from the cold she caught from her escape attempt, Ben comes clean.
Look pal, I’m not really an artist. I’m actually a private eye. Let me tell you about my latest case. Man meets girl on vacation. Girl and man get married. Girl is too good to be true. Man can’t believe his stars. Soon, man suddenly dies. There was a guy named Jacobs, a jeweler in black pearls, who just dropped dead because his wife fed him French toast but mixed up the pesticide and sugar. And there was another guy named Mckelvey. Loved Cigars like the kind I gave you. He ate some terrible fish his wife fed him and died from poisoning. And then there was this guy, Ken Barrett’s brother actually, who was great at boating but happened to go out drunk to sea and fell over board. Here’s the thing, the wife always disappears once the life insurance cheque comes in.
Seeing that Ben has been lying to him about his identity all this time and is now insinuating that his angel wife is a murderer, Charlie kicks him out. Only, now he’s snowed in. Trapped. With a woman who mixes up her stories. A woman who doesn’t have a single present relation from her past world. A woman who is possibly a serial killer.
Even though that summary reveals some of the plot, I highly recommend you read Bedelia. It’s written well but thankfully Vera wasn’t too far up her arse to weigh down the plot. The character’s are identifiable. Not for their surface characteristics like race, gender, social background. But for their deeper motivations, fears, and emotions. We all know what it feels like to be possibly lied to. We all know the suspicion and fear that comes with guessing whether we’re being cheated or our minds have lost their rational core.
I highlighted so many passages from Bedelia that when I tried to export my notes, Amazon told me I’d reached the limit The Feminist Press had set to avoid illegal downloads.
Get Bedelia. Read Vera Caspary. This woman deserves to be important.