''Les Mains d'Orlac'' ( en, italic=yes, The Hands of Orlac) is a French fantasy/horror novel written by

Maurice Renard Maurice Renard (28 February 1875, Châlons-en-Champagne – 18 November 1939, Rochefort-Sur-Mer) was a French writer. Career Renard authored the archetypal mad scientist novel '' Le Docteur Lerne, sous-dieu'' r. Lerne - Undergod(1908), wh ...

, first published in 1920. It is an early example of the

body horror Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, ...

theme in fiction.

Plot

The pianist Stephen Orlac suffers a railway accident that gives him serious head injuries and deprives him of his hands. The famous and controversial transplant doctor Cerral gives him new hands, transplanted from a freshly guillotined assassin. Afterward, Orlac begins to wonder if he has become a

Mr. Hyde Dr. Henry Jekyll, nicknamed in some copies of the story as Harry Jekyll, and his alternative personality, Mr. Edward Hyde, is the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. In the story, ...

who has inherited the criminal proclivities of his donor via his hands. He seems to suffer from hallucinations and sinks into depression. His wife attempts to save him, but the couple are caught in a spiral of conspiracy, mystery and crime.

Origins

The character of Dr. Cerral was inspired by real-life French surgeon and

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Alexis Carrel Alexis Carrel (; 28 June 1873 – 5 November 1944) was a French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques. He invented the first perfusion pump with Charl ...

(1873–1944), and his experiments with biological transplants and grafting procedures.

Adaptations

The story has been adapted into film and television many times, including the following: * '' Orlacs Hände'' (''The Hands of Orlac''), a 1924 Austrian silent horror film * '' Mad Love'', a 1935 American horror film * ''

The Hands of Orlac ''The Hands of Orlac'' may refer to: * ''Les Mains d'Orlac'', a novel by Maurice Renard and several adaptations of that novel: * The Hands of Orlac (1924 film), ''The Hands of Orlac'' (1924 film), an Austrian film * The Hands of Orlac (1935 film) ...

'', a 1960 French-British film * ''

Hands of a Stranger ''Hands of a Stranger'' is a 1962 American horror film directed by Newt Arnold and is unofficially the fourth film adaptation of '' The Hands of Orlac''. Plot When the hands of pianist Vernon Paris are destroyed in a taxicab accident, he recei ...

'', a 1962 American horror film The story was also an inspiration for the 1976 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial ''

The Hand of Fear ''The Hand of Fear'' is the second serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 October 1976. The serial was the last regular appe ...

''.

References

External links

Les Mains d'Orlac at ebooksgratuits.com
1920 French novels French crime novels French fantasy novels French-language novels French horror novels Organ transplantation in fiction French novels adapted into films Novels first published in serial form Psychological horror Psychological novels {{1920s-crime-novel-stub