Product Description

Now reissued – William March's 1954 classic thriller that's as chilling, intelligent and timely as ever before. This paperback reissue includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested reading and more.

What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This is the question at the center of William march's classic thriller. After its initial publication in 1954, the book went on to become a million–copy bestseller, a wildly successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. The spine–tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109295 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Ingram
From The Omen to The Good Son, American pop culture has produced a legion of "bad seed" spinoffs. For his novel, William March draws on actual case histories to explore a serious question: What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a criminal is born? Featuring a cast of memorable characters, The Bad Seed is a solid suspense story that's more chilling, more intelligent, and far more absorbing that its Hollywood namesake.

About the Author

William March (1893-1954) was born in Mobile, Alabama, attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, and studied law at the University of Alabama. He served in the Marine Corps during World War I and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. After the war, he took a job with the Waterman Steamship Corporation, and worked there for eighteen years before giving up his position to devote himself to writing. March published three volumes of stories and six novels, including The Bad Seed, his final book.

Customer Reviews

The Prototype For All That Followed
Shudder and shake when you saw "The Exorcist" or "The Omen"? This novella written in 1954 was the first that delved into the psyche of a totally evil child. For sheer chill, few of the followers have matched it. Little 10-year old Rhoda Penmark is flawless perfection without a soul. She is a pretty, tidy, obedient child who worms her way to adults' affection. Her peers avoid her. Her teachers are puzzled. And her mother is about to lose her mind.

Rhoda only has two buttons to push: Greed and Personal Safety. If she wants something, she will go to any lengths to get it. If she fears for her own well-being, she is willing to do anything to safeguard herself. Other than these two flaws, she is flawless. True, she has a short attention span and gets bored easily, but if you keep her satisfied, she's absolutely fine.

The novella gets its power from the strain of "I'm watching you watching me" until it is heightened to unbearable intensity. You begin to believe Rhoda is a force of nature, and she can no more be circumvented than the West Wind. The book shows it age in some of the almost caricature characterizations of supporting characters. From our hurried-up 21st Century viewpoint, you can't help but think everybody has a little too much time on their hands. Nevertheless, "The Bad Seed" still packs quite a wallop.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Congenital Predestination for Evil!
Young Rhoda Penmark (the author chooses names which offer clues as to his characters' agendas) is not a typical elementary schoolgirl: too well behaved, fastidious in her habits, and outwardly obedient, she covets the penmanship award--and her privacy. When a boy dies on a school picnic, some folks begin to be suspicious of the perfect but cold little lady. This dark tale of transmitted evil and intergenerational guilt gradually reveals Rhoda's callous activities when younger, as well as her amoral attitude. Harried by the nasty janitor who proves too smart for his own good, this child can be driven too far, as she experiences the only human emotion in her repertoire: Terror of discovery.

On another level this novella-noir is also the story of Rhoda's gentle, naive mother. Unaware of her own tragic past (foster-parented), Christine's memory returns in disjointed but terrifying dreams, as her repressed childhood painfully forces itself into the light of adult cognizance. She begins to study True Crime, but the book she claims to be writing is merely a smokescreen to hide her shocking research. How will she end her "novel"--in ink and in blood? Will March choose criminal Irony or pathetic Justice? This gripping thriller is definitely not for elementary children. This horror classic is one chilling mystery, probing the dark recesses of human aberration. Must the children pay for the crimes of the parents--or grandparents? Should one generation play the scapegoat for familial guilt? Is there any way to end the spread of the bad seed?

A classic, and rightly so
Wonderfully conceived, chillingly realistic. I won't give away the plot in case you've never read the book. By today's standards the approach is subtle, not for those looking for fast-paced thrills. There is no sex and no violence; at least not of the athletic, face-to-face type. At the same time, the story is thoroughly fascinating, sinister and appalling. A thinking person's horror tale and a must read for anyone taken by the genre.