Cornell Woolrich Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

George Cornell Woolrich was an American short story writer and novelist who may at times wrote his stories under the pen names of George Hopley and William Irish. Francis Navins, his biographer, rated George as one of the best crime writers of his time. George was born in New York City. His parents separated when he was still young. After the separation, George lived with his father in Mexico for a short time before he eventually returned to New York to live with the mother. Gorge attended the University of Colombia, but in the year 1926, he left the University without his degree. During this period, his very first novel was published.

Later on, he eventually turned to detective and pulp fiction, which were mostly published under his pseudonyms. Apart from being a homo sexual, he was sexually active in his youth years. In the year 1930, while working in Los Angeles as a screenwriter, he married Violet Blackton, the daughter of Stuart Blackton, a film producer. After three months, they eventually separated. After the separation, he returned to New York where together with his mother, they moved in into a hotel. Woolrich lived with the mother until she met her eventual death in the year 1957. The death prompted him to move to another hotel, Hotel Francoia.

In the years, which followed, he used to socialize in the Manhattan bars with the Mystery Writers of America coworkers. However, an amputated leg and alcoholism left him a recluse. Woolrich was not able to attend the premiere of the film, which was based on his novel though it was held in New York City.

Beyond the Night

According to one Art Borgeue, reading beyond the night is taking a walk to the dark side. This book is a collection of six stories with most of them being supernatural stories. Three of the stories in this book had previously appeared in the daily magazines. They include Somebody’s Clothe’s, Music from the Dark and Moon of Montezuma. The other remaining books appeared in the book collection. Most of these books are memorable, most likely due to the style used in them. One of the stories is the form of play, while the other has been written in present tense. The other is written in a flamboyant, nourish and driving style. Additionally, in all these books, the author does an excellent job describing the vividness of the setting.

The author is also a genius when it comes to capturing the doom-laden characters; a countess who has constantly been losing at table games, a young aristocrat who carries the worshiping of the ancestors exceedingly far and a seductive vampire.

Night and Fear

As one of the most successful authors, Cornel Woolrich ranks with some of the best authors in the business such as James. M Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Nonetheless, a huge proportion of his stories remains out of print. The great thing is that Woolrich’s biographer is in agreement and this is the main reason why he compiled all these short stories. It is important to note that the Night of Fear does not contain any of his best performing stories such as I married a Black Man or Rendezvous in Black. Nonetheless, you are going to discover stories that are going to crackle up your despondency, crocked cops and murders with suspense all drawn out. This book also contains one of the most insightful and enthusiastic introduction that you will ever find in a fiction collection. The foreword from Nevin puts the author’s life into an exceedingly clear focus from some of earliest novels to the novels that he published later on in his career.

Cornell not only worshiped his mother but also drank excessively and also kept his sexuality hidden. The foreword is an overriding fear of his mortality that was fueled by desolate visions. Nonetheless, the author’s miseries have in some way given the readers something to read about. The cigarette is the first story in this collection, and it sets the tone of the entire story, from the first page to the last. The book also contains another tale, the Noir Cop. Woolrich’s police stories have numerous themes in them like the police hold godlike powers. Whenever a police officer commits a crime; all the other police officer protects him. Additionally, police officers are never afraid of torturing or a person who is a suspect or commits murder.

Another story is this collection is blue for bravery and just like the other book it’s a police procedural story. This story talks about a police officer who is out for pure vengeance after a crime lord kidnaps his family. With very few stories, Woolrich’s effort in this book achieves a very high suspense level. The tension-filled stories are undoubtedly going to fill your consciousness. Nonetheless, the central tension of all these tales can still constitute a central weakness. With that being said, all the stories in this novel have a certain noirish quality. In these novels, the antiheroes not only move slowly but also inevitably towards doom. However, most of the stories in this collection are action packed. The emphasis has been laid on self-destruction and the characters. Furthermore, for all the stories in this collection, the noir element are violence and corruption and also the dark urban environments.

It is important to note that Woolrich is an exceedingly great short story writer. This is evidently clear in all the stories in this collection, which have been filled with pure suspense while all the characters are exceedingly deep. There are also those characters who completely stand out, like the workhorse cop who was constantly outshined by the boyhood friend. Another outstanding character is the detective who has devised a highly elaborate form of revenge for a killer cop who had another person successfully executed because of his crime. Nonetheless, every story in this collection is an exercise in tension; a guy together with his girlfriend are watching a movie when the guy suddenly notices that the person sitting next to them is a most wanted killer. There is also another story about a young child who is more than determined on finding a killer to assist his father in retaining his job as a police officer. This collection will undoubtedly be a great revelation for you.