''Malpertuis'' (1943) is a gothic horror

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by the Belgian author Jean Ray (1887–1964).

Premise

Malpertuis is a crumbling, ancient house where a dying warlock has trapped the aging gods of

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

inside the "skins" of ordinary

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

citizens.

Structure

The novel is divided into four narratives: #The modern-day narrator (who remains unnamed) explains in a prologue that he stole the manuscripts that comprise the rest of the novel from the Convent of the White Penitents. In the epilogue, he locates Malpertuis, sees Eisengott and Old Mother Groulle in a tavern, enters the house, has a brief encounter with Euryale then flees. #Doucedame the Elder's story of the capture of the Olympians; it has presumably been assembled by Doucedame the Younger. #The diary of Jean-Jacques Grandsire (also broken into two parts) that ends when he and Bets leave Malpertuis. #Father Euchere (aka Dom Misseron) of the Convent of the White Penitents, and reveals the final fates of both Jean-Jacques Grandsire and Doucedame the Younger.

Film adaptation

During 1971 the Belgian director

Harry Kümel Harry Kümel (born 27 January 1940) is a Belgian film director. His 1971 vampire feature ''Daughters of Darkness'' (''Les lèvres rouges''; Fr, "The Red Lips"), starring Delphine Seyrig became a cult hit in Europe and the United States. He als ...

made a film adaptation of the novel, starring

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, Susan Hampshire and

Mathieu Carrière Mathieu Carrière (; born 2 August 1950) is a German actor. Life Carrière grew up in Berlin and Lübeck; he attended the Jesuit boarding school in Vannes, France, a school which had previously been attended by the director of Carrière's firs ...

In popular culture

''Malpertuis'' is quoted in

Ross J. Anderson Ross John Anderson (born 15 September 1956) is a researcher, author, and industry consultant in security engineering. He is Professor of Security Engineering at the Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge where ...

's paper "Do you believe in Tinker Bell? The social externalities of trust", quoting (translated): "Men are not born of the whim or will of the gods, on the contrary, gods owe their existence to the belief of men. Should this belief wither, the gods will die." A copy of the novel is prominently displayed on the coffee table of Haydée (

Haydée Politoff Haydée Politoff is a Russian-French actress born on in Paris. Politoff moved to the United States in the late 1970s, retired from acting, and resided in California. "''La Collectionneuse'' ended in Saint-Tropez. Just then the actress (Hayd� ...

) in

Eric Rohmer The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

's 1967 film ''

La Collectionneuse ''La Collectionneuse'' (''The Collector'') is a 1967 French comedy-drama film directed by Éric Rohmer. The third entry in his ''Six Moral Tales'' series, it is his first film in colour. Set on the south coast of France in August, it portrays the ...

''.

References

External links

A study of the novel

On the Dutch version
1943 novels Belgian Gothic novels Belgian horror fiction Belgian speculative fiction novels category:Belgian novels adapted into films {{1940s-gothic-novel-stub