''No Way to Treat a Lady'' is a 1964 novel by

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...

Writing

Goldman wrote the original novel while experiencing

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

, when writing ''

Boys and Girls Together ''Boys and Girls Together'' is a 1964 novel by William Goldman. The title is taken from lyrics in the song, "The Sidewalks of New York". Background Goldman says his creative impulse behind the book was his desire to write a long novel: At the tim ...

'' (published in 1964). He was inspired by an article about the

Boston Strangler The Boston Strangler is the name given to the murderer of 13 women in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the early 1960s. The crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo based on his confession, details revealed in court during a separate case, ...

which suggested there might be two stranglers operating, and Goldman wondered what would happen if that were the case and they got jealous of each other. (In the film adaptation, there is only one strangler; Goldman hated this change.) He says as he walked to his office, "the book simply jumped into my head. Start to finish. The whole thing... And I remember getting to my office and frantically scribbling down an enormous number of chapters." Goldman was worried about never finishing ''Boys and Girls Together'', so he gave himself two weeks to write the new novel.

Publication

He published the novel under a pseudonym, Harry Longbaugh, the real name of the Sundance Kid, but the book was eventually republished under Goldman's real name in 1968. Goldman:

Hiram Hayden, my editor, didn't know what to do with he novel He didn't know, like, or read mysteries. There was a great feeling that ''Boys and Girls Together'' was going to establish me as a critical figure, which of course was the reverse of what happened, and Hiram kept saying, "I think you'll damage yourself if you bring this out first. Why don't you try and get it published under a pseudonym?" We went to one or two houses and we went to the paperback original place and they said, "Sure". It came out, and got the best reviews of anything I've ever been connected with.

The novel led to Goldman's being hired by

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...

to adapt ''

Flowers for Algernon ''Flowers for Algernon'' is a short story by American author Daniel Keyes, later expanded by him into a novel and subsequently adapted for film and other media. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of '' ...

'' to the feature film ''

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

'' (1968), which launched Goldman's screenwriting career.

In other media

Film

In 1968 the novel was filmed as a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

thriller directed by

Jack Smight John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include ''Harper'' (1966), '' No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968), '' Airport 1975'' (1974), '' Midway'' (1976), and '' Fast Break ...

, with a screenplay by John Gay. The film starred Rod Steiger,

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

, George Segal and

Eileen Heckart Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years. Early life Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...

. Segal was nominated for a BAFTA for his role as Detective Moe Brummel.

References

{{reflist 1964 American novels Novels by William Goldman American thriller novels American novels adapted into films