The Intruder (Valancourt 20th Century Classics) - Softcover

Beaumont, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941147852 ISBN 13: 9781941147856

Publisher: Valancourt Books, 2023

Synopsis

The Supreme Court has ordered an end to racially segregated schools, and folks in the predominantly white Southern town of Caxton are prepared grudgingly to comply with the ruling. But when Adam Cramer, a handsome and smooth-talking young man, arrives in town and begins to make incendiary speeches and stoke the flames of racial prejudice, the situation quickly turns deadly. Who is Cramer, and what is the sinister truth behind his real agenda? As tensions build and violence flares, it all leads to an explosive and surprising conclusion!

As compelling and relevant today as when first published, Charles Beaumont’s The Intruder (1959) has lost none of its power to shock, and modern readers will find Cramer’s bigoted rhetoric eerily familiar in light of today’s civil rights debates. Beaumont (1929-1967), better known for his Twilight Zone scripts and his weird and brilliant short fiction, earned widespread acclaim for this novel, which was adapted for a controversial 1962 film by director Roger Corman, who contributes a new introduction to this edition.

“Striking in its timeliness ... a swift and powerful novel ... compelling reading” – New York Herald Tribune

“[T]autly and even excitingly written … the situations do not develop so much as explode – the author is in deadly earnest.” – N. Y. Times Book Review

“An excellent novel that makes the skin crawl with fear and anticipation … Recommended.” – Library Journal

“Lean, muscular prose … a deftly written story with a plot that moves from crisis to crisis with ominous terror … memorably convincing.” – Saturday Review

“Recounted with suspense, drama, and conviction.” – Booklist

About this title

About the Author

Charles Beaumont (1929-1967) was a prolific American writer of speculative fiction, including the signature collection Night Ride, and Other Journeys, also available from Blackstone and Skyboat. His stories provided the source material for over twenty classic Twilight Zone episodes.

Review

''Striking in its timeliness . . . A swift and powerful novel . . . Compelling.'' --New York Herald Tribune

''The Intruder hits with the impact of a Magnum slug . . . From the beginning to the pounding climax, it carries the reader from chapter to chapter with the stinging shock of successive slaps in the face.'' --Los Angeles Herald Express

''Beaumont always knows exactly which information to provide to the reader, and what to withhold, in order to create maximum disquiet.'' --Bernice M. Murphy, author of The Rural Gothic in American Popular Culture

Edition details

• Publisher: Valancourt Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1941147852
• ISBN 13: 9781941147856
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 301