A garish black pearl ring and a blizzard are among Caspary's deftly handled symbols of deceit and growing uneasiness. Bedelia focuses on the changes suspicion works in Charlie Horst when he learns that his almost perfect wife may be a murderer. The device is largely responsible for the novel's success.īedelia (1945 film adaptation, 1947), False Face (1954), and Evvie (1960) are personality studies as well as mysteries. The Husband (1957) offers a variant of the multiple viewpoint technique by reporting events twice-first as interpreted by Jean McVeigh, a wealthy spinster who marries to assuage loneliness, and then by Stuart Howell, entrepreneur and fraud. The book is skillfully wrought, and its opening sentence, 'I was refused admittance to my father's funeral,' establishes an interest sustained throughout.

The posthumous use of the victim's own tape-recorded comments contributes to Caspary's most sensational multiple point of view. The novel is a blend of mystery and romance, and through Noble Barnes, the messiah of self-help psychology, Caspary castigates all simplistic reformers.įinal Portrait (1971) includes serious discussion of painters' ethics as it describes the search for the killer of Henry Leveret. As a result, all the narrators are rounded characters despite Caspary's use of stereotypes. Stranger Than Truth (1946) employs multiple points of view. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, and the musical theme was an instant success that is still heard today. Mankiewicz's movie adaptation starred Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, and Clifton Webb. A unique treatment of the Pygmalion myth, the novel is especially satisfying in its adroit blending of clue and symbol. Laura (1943) established Caspary's reputation for suspenseful psychological studies and introduced one of her strongest fictional devices: multiple points of view.

She later drew from these experiences as well as from her Chicago background in her writings. Vera Caspary began her career by writing promotional booklets for an advertising agency, operating her own mail order ballet school, and editing trade magazines. Born 13 November 1904, Chicago, Illinois died 13 June 1987ĭaughter of Paul and Julia Cohen Caspary married I.

Vera caspary