''Donovan's Brain'' is a 1942 science fiction novel by American writer
Curt Siodmak.
The novel was an instant success and has been adapted to film three times. Since then the book has become something of a
cult classic
A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
, with fans including
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
, who discussed the novel in his 1981 book ''
Danse Macabre
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...
'' and mentions it in his
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
/
miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
''
It''. Siodmak later wrote a sequel in 1968 titled ''
Hauser's Memory'' and wrote a final sequel in 1991 titled ''Gabriel's Body''.
Plot
The novel is written in the form of diary entries by Dr. Patrick Cory, a middle-aged physician whose experiments at keeping a brain alive are subsidized by Cory's wealthy wife. Under investigation for tax evasion and criminal financial activities, millionaire megalomaniac W.H. Donovan crashes his private plane in the desert near the home of Dr. Cory. The physician is unable to save Donovan's life, but removes his brain on the chance that it might survive, placing the gray matter in an electrically charged, oxygenated saline solution within a glass tank. The brainwaves indicate that thought – and life – continue. Cory makes several futile attempts to communicate with it. Finally, one night Cory receives unconscious commands, jotting down a list of names in a handwriting not his own – it is Donovan's. Cory successfully attempts telepathic contact with Donovan's brain, much to the concern of Cory's occasional assistant, Dr. Schratt, an elderly alcoholic.
Gradually, the malignant intelligence takes over Cory's personality, leaving him in an amnesiac
fugue state
Dissociative fugue ( ), previously referred to as a fugue state or psychogenic fugue,Dissociative Fugue (formerly Psychogenic Fugue) 'DSM-IV 300.13, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition'' is a rare psychiatric con ...
when he awakes. The brain uses Cory to do his bidding, signing checks in Donovan's name, and continuing the magnate's illicit financial schemes. Cory becomes increasingly like the paranoid Donovan, his physique and manner morphing into the limping image of the departed criminal. Donovan's bidding culminates in an attempt to have Cory kill a young girl who stands in the way of his plans. Realizing he will soon have no control over his own body and mind, his assistant, Schratt, devises a plan to destroy the brain during its quiescent period. Schratt resists the brain's hypnotic power by repeating the rhyme, "Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts." Schratt destroys the housing tank with an axe and leaves the brain of Donovan to die, thus ending his reign of madness. During the encounter, however, the brain, attempting to defend itself, orders Schratt's heart to stop beating. Schratt dies, but bearing a look of fulfillment.
Publication history
The novel was initially published as a three-part
serial in the September–November 1942 issues of the pulp magazine ''
Black Mask''. The first complete edition was published by
Alfred A. Knopf in 1943, and it was provided to U.S. military personnel as an
Armed Services Edition during World War II. The work has since been translated into French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, and Dutch.
Adaptations
Radio adaptations starring, respectively,
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
and
John McIntire aired in 1944 and 1948 as part of the anthology series ''
Suspense
Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
''. In 1982, the LP album release of the 1944 version won the
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
The
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
has been adapted for the screen three times – in 1944 as ''
The Lady and the Monster'' (later re-issued as ''Tiger Man''), in 1953
under its original title, and in 1962 as ''
Vengeance'' (later reissued as ''The Brain''). There was also a television adaptation, which aired in 1955—also
under the original title—as part of the anthology series ''
Studio One''; it starred
Wendell Corey and
E. G. Marshall.
[Weaver, Tom (1993). ]
Poverty Row HORRORS!: Monogram, PRC and Republic Horror Films of the Forties
'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 161. .
See also
* ''
Hauser's Memory''
References
External links
Orson Welles on Suspensenbsp;–
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
hosts MP3 recordings of the 1944 radio version.
Radio adaptations of ''Donovan's Brain''on ''
Suspense
Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
''
{{Authority control
1942 American novels
1942 science fiction novels
American science fiction novels
Novels about human experimentation
American novels adapted into films
Science fiction novels adapted into films
American novels adapted into television shows
American novels adapted for radio
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
Alfred A. Knopf books