Benighted (released in the United States as The Old Dark House) is a 1927 novel by the British writer J.B. Priestley.[1][2] Priestley's second published novel, the story explores the post-First World War disillusionment that Britain felt during the time period.[3] A number of travellers are forced to take shelter at an old Welsh country house during a storm. The book was released in the United States in 1928.[4][5]
The book has been described as a study of British feeling following the First World War. Priestley himself described the book's characters as "forms of postwar pessimism pretending to be people".[7] As an author, Priestley tended to pit characters against people and environments that took place outside their regular circumstances.[8] Within the book, three travellers are taken in by a family, and they discover hidden dark secrets. The book draws on gothic literature elements.[7] In particular, the book draws inspiration from the 1847 novel Jane Eyre.[9]
References
^Watson, George; Willison, Ian (1972). The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. p. 713. ISBN978-0521085359.
^Kabatchnik, Amnon (2010). Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950 - Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. Scarecrow Press. p. 339. ISBN9780810869639.