The Dennis Wheatley Novels Discussion Thread

Dragonpol

Here is a place to discuss the thrillers and supernatural stories of Dennis Wheatley. It is for reviews and recommendations and just generally everything to do with Dennis Wheatley!

I just recently got a Arrow Books vintage copy of The Haunting of Toby Jugg (1948) and I'd love to hear some views on this classic psychological thriller by Wheatley as a conversation starter for this thread. I recall a series of letters in the Daily Mail back in 2004 or so that were referring to The Haunting of Toby Jugg and how some readers were left violently ill, having to go to the bathroom to vomit after reading certain passages in the novel! The writing must've really had an effect like none other!

Dragonpol

So are there any Dennis Wheatley fans here in this community then?

Gerard

Like many in France, I discovered Wheatley thanks to his "case files" novels, such as "Murder Off Miami". It was later on that I read some of his "Duc de Richleau" novels ("The Devil Rides Out", "Forbidden Territory" and "Strange Conflict"). Being a big fan of Hammer movies, of course I was interested in reading more, but they have been barely translated in french. Still, he knew how to tell a good tale.

Dragonpol

Gerard wrote:

Like many in France, I discovered Wheatley thanks to his "case files" novels, such as "Murder Off Miami". It was later on that I read some of his "Duc de Richleau" novels ("The Devil Rides Out", "Forbidden Territory" and "Strange Conflict"). Being a big fan of Hammer movies, of course I was interested in reading more, but they have been barely translated in french. Still, he knew how to tell a good tale.

Thank you, though I'm surprised a bit that his books are not mostly translated into French as he sold books by the million in English-speaking markets at least. It just goes to show how wrong one can be.

Ludovico

I watched The Devil Rides Out last year, during my Halloween season marathon. Very entertaining, but I never read the original novel or any other from Wheatley. Strange that he wrote a series of novels with the same characters, switching genres from novel to novel.

Dragonpol

Ludovico wrote:

I watched The Devil Rides Out last year, during my Halloween season marathon. Very entertaining, but I never read the original novel or any other from Wheatley. Strange that he wrote a series of novels with the same characters, switching genres from novel to novel.

Yes, I guess that that is what makes Wheatley rather unique.

Dragonpol

Gerard wrote:

Like many in France, I discovered Wheatley thanks to his "case files" novels, such as "Murder Off Miami". It was later on that I read some of his "Duc de Richleau" novels ("The Devil Rides Out", "Forbidden Territory" and "Strange Conflict"). Being a big fan of Hammer movies, of course I was interested in reading more, but they have been barely translated in french. Still, he knew how to tell a good tale.

Funny I was looking at the back of Wheatley's autobiography Drink and Ink and it said that (on the last printed page) that he was printed in France...how odd.

Gerard

Dragonpol wrote:

Funny I was looking at the back of Wheatley's autobiography Drink and Ink and it said that (on the last printed page) that hew was printed in France...how odd.

"hew" or "few" ? Anyway, here's the list of those I know have been translated (mostly because I bought them).

The first three "case files" : "The Murder of Roger Prentice ("L'Affaire Prentice"), "Murder Off Miami" ("Meurtre à Miami)") and "The Malinsay Massacre" ("Le Massacre de Malinsay") (the fourth one was not, to the best of my knowledge, published).

"Forbidden Territory" ("Territoire Interdit")
"The Devil Rides Out" ("Les Vierges de Satan")
"Strange Conflict" ("Étrange Conflit")

"The Found Atlantis" ("La Découverte de l'Atlantide")

"The Haunting of Toby Jugg" ("Toby Jugg le Possédé")

There might have been others, but these are the only ones I know off, and they were all published during the 80s, the "case files" by Ramsay, and the rest by NEO (Nouvelles Éditions Oswald) which did a great job at making people discover the words of so many british and american writers of the "Lovecraft Circle", such as Robert E. Howard.

Dragonpol

Sorry, a typo - I meant "he".

Dragonpol

I thought I'd try to revive this thread again and try to make it a success this time! :)

I've just ordered Dennis Wheatley's Saturdays with Bricks (1961) which I've been trying to track down for a while at a reasonable price. I got it for £23 from AbeBooks.

Dragonpol

Dennis Wheatley's Saturdays with Bricks (1961) is rare in that it was never published in a paperback edition and so the first edition or hardback editions are consequently worth a lot nowadays. I'd agree that it is a lesser-known Wheatley title. I've been collecting his books for a few years now and there was at least one Wheatley novel in my late father's bookcase. Here's a picture of the dust jacket of Saturdays with Bricks:



And here's a YouTube British Pathe short film on Wheatley presumably issued to promote Saturday with Bricks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxaV8m78HSI

Dragonpol

A Scary Encounter With Dennis Wheatley's Book Collection: