Synopses & Reviews
The bestselling inspiration for the chilling movie starring Patty McCormack and Nancy Kelly.
What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This spine-tingling tale investigates a mother's concerned suspicion surrounding several mysterious accidental deaths that all connect back to her eight-year-old daughter, Rhoda. Tremendously impacting the thriller genre, this masterpiece of suspense generated a whole crop of creepy kids, and it's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.
Originally published in 1954, this National Book Award-nominated classic was adapted into film in 1956.
With a new foreword.
Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on which they were based.
Synopsis
William March (1893-1954) was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, and studied law at the University of Alabama. He served in the Marine Corps during World War I and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. After the war, he took a job with the Waterman Steamship Corporation, and worked there for eighteen years before giving up his position to devote himself to writing. March published three volumes of stories and six novels, including The Bad Seed, his final book.
Synopsis
William March (1893–1954), born William Edward March Campbell in Mobile, Alabama, was an American novelist and short-story writer. He served in the Marines during World War I, and was recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Croix de Guerre. His first novel, Company K, was based largely on his wartime experiences. A prolific writer of short stories, he was a four-time winner of the O. Henry Prize. The Bad Seed was an immediate critical and commercial success, the source for a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a finalist for the National Book Award. Sadly, March died of a heart attack just weeks after publication.