''The White Cockatoo'' is a murder mystery novel written by

Mignon G. Eberhart Mignon Good Eberhart (July 6, 1899, Lincoln, Nebraska – October 8, 1996, Greenwich, Connecticut) was an American author of mystery novels. She had one of the longest careers (from the 1920s to the 1980s) among major American mystery writers. Ear ...

. It was published by Doubleday, Doran & Co. in 1933. It was later released in December, 1993, by Thorndike Press. The novel served as the basis of the 1935 film of the same name directed by

Alan Crosland Alan Crosland (August 10, 1894 – July 16, 1936) was an American stage actor and film director. He is noted for having directed the first feature film using spoken dialogue, ''The Jazz Singer'' (1927). Early life and career Born in New York Ci ...

Plot Summary

Americans Sue Talley and Jim Sundean find themselves at the same large, off-season hotel in the south of France. Amidst a constant spooky, atmospheric wind, a series of murders occur; Sue begins to suspect that the deaths are connected to her arrival.

Composition

Eberhart drew on her experiences traveling in the

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...

and staying in just such a hotel in the winter of 1931–32. The name of the town in the book is left intentionally obscure by Eberhart, with the implication that it may be

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

Reception

''The White Cockatoo'' received mixed-to-positive reviews. It was called "a thoroughly excellent thriller" by the '' Aberdeen Times'', and similarly described as above "the ordinary blood and thunder class" by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described ''The White Cockatoo'' as overly convoluted. The reviewer lamented the fact that

Sarah Keate Sarah Keate is a fictional character, the protagonist in a series of medical mystery novels by American author Mignon G. Eberhart. Overview Keate, a nurse with a talent for solving crimes, was introduced in Eberhart's debut novel, ''The Patien ...

, the primary character of Eberhart's previous few books, did not make an appearance: "It might have been better if she had." Among Eberhart's literary contemporaries, the novel was well received. In a private letter to Fanny Butcher, author

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

reported that she was reading ''The White Cockatoo'' and was impressed by Eberhart's "xtraordinary" writing skill. Crime novelist

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

publicly praised the novel. A 1937 UK edition, published by

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

, carried a positive quote from Jefferson Farjeon, praising ''The White Cockatoo'' for its "most intriguing" cast of characters and its "genuinely thrilling atmosphere."Eberhart, Mignon G. The White Cockatoo. The Bodley Head, 1937 (reprint, dust jacket front flap).

References

External links

*
The White Cockatoo
' at

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

1933 American novels American mystery novels Doubleday, Doran books Novels set in Provence American novels adapted into films Novels by Mignon G. Eberhart {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub