& Dining Literary H ill

by Michelle Lafrance

Gothic Mystery Becomes a Net ix Adaptation

If you have not already read Louis Bayard’s The Pale Blue Eye ( rst published in 2003), Net ix’s recent movie-adaptation may sway you to pick it up. Bayard’s fourth mystery is perhaps best known for its characterization of Edgar Allen Poe as an awkward and heartsick cadet at West Point. The story includes elements drawn from Poe’s historical life and histories of the Hudson Valley. Those familiar with Poe’s work will recognize the dappling of literary allusions throughout the story. “The pale blue eye,” for instance, is an intertextual reference to Poe’s, The Tell Tale Heart. And snippets of poetry and narrations akin to those in Poe’s short stories weave through chapters as the mystery unfolds.

Fans of historicals, as well as mysteries, will be pleased with the detail and occult grotesquery of this tale of murder, intrigue, family tragedy, mid-19th century medical-science, and military academy ritual—as well as ritual of a more sinister nature.

The newly released movie boasts a star-studded cast: Christian Bale as Landor, Harry Melling as Poe, as well as Gillian Anderson, Toby Jones, and Timothy Spall. The cinematography ampli es the unsettling nature of the crimes and brings the book to life—lofty shots of the Hudson Valley’s snow and mist-covered mountains are complemented by moody manors, candle-lit hallways, and the stone citadel of West Point at the edge of a shadowy wood. Well worth a watch—once you’ve read the book, of course, to sink more deeply into a nely-crafted story. www.louisbayard.com

Pulitzer Winning DC Journalist’ Account of 50-Year Career

In “To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent,” Lewis M. Simmons chronicles his storied Journalistic career. From the grit of backroom politicking to the mud of foxholes to the challenges of juggling family responsibilities while working overseas on news of global importance, this recollection simultaneously chronicles war, murder, the impact of poverty, and the careless cruelties and indulgences of the global elite. Readers will learn the behind-the-scenes details of investigations that led to the toppling of the Marcos dictatorial regime in the Philippines, the Tiananmen Square massacre, and other stories of genocide, violent con ict, and political corruption around the globe. Readers will nd his layering of family stories with his ability to explain the complex histories, political machinations, and egoistic demagoguery of the locales and regimes he covered a compelling combination.

Simmons is an awardwinning foreign correspondent. His work has investigated and chronicled civil unrest, economics, war and politics in Southeast Asia, Asia, and the Middle East. He has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Knight-Ridder newspapers, and many other national venues.

A Jewish Family’s WWII Life in Shanghai

Readers of World War II history and stories of the “kitchen table” variety will enjoy Shanghai Losses: A Young Jewish Girl’s Time in Shanghai Dur- ing World War II, a novel by local author Adrienne Tropp. In this new self-published release, Rachel Weiser and her family have ed Nazi Germany for Shanghai, the only place in the world to o er refuge to Jews during the rise of the Nazi-state. But when the occupying Japanese Empire creates the Shanghai Ghetto to contain “stateless refugees” in a one-mile area of Hongkew, the Weiser family and community nd themselves once more inevitably embroiled in the ongoing