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The Black Dahlia (novel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | James Ellroy |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jacket design by Paul Gamarello Jacket illustration by Stephen Peringer Art direction by Barbara Buck |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | L.A. Quartet |
| Genre(s) | Novel, crime fiction |
| Publisher | The Mysterious Press |
| Publication date | September 1987 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback), audio cassette, audio CD, and audio download |
| Pages | 325 pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-89296-206-2 (first edition, hardcover) |
| Followed by | The Big Nowhere |
The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre writer status and with which he started to garner critical attention as a serious writer of literature. The Black Dahlia is the first book in Ellroy's L.A. Quartet, a cycle of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Hollywood, which is portrayed as a hotbed of corruption and depravity. The Quartet continues with The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz.
Contents |
The novel's protagonist, ex-boxer Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert, is promoted to Warrants Officer and partnered with Lee Blanchard. Bucky meets Kay Lake, who lives with Lee, and the two form a relationship. Although Bucky loves Kay, he doesn't tell her because of his friendship with Lee, who isn't interested in Kay romantically.
Shortly after joining Warrants, Bucky and Lee discover the mutilated body of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, dubbed "The Black Dahlia" by the press. Lee wants to solve her murder because the victim reminds him of his sister. Meanwhile, Bucky feels that the large number of policemen on the case are adequate, and he wants to be relocated back to Warrants. Lee, increasingly close to the case, eventually disappears, and Bucky tries to find him.
All the while, Bucky is drawn closer to an obsession with the murder victim and eventually discovers that Lee was murdered. Bucky marries Kay soon after. A short time after the marriage, Bucky begins dwelling on the murder of Elizabeth Short, and his marriage ends up in jeopardy. He finally discovers who is responsible for the murder, and the novel ends with possible hope for Bucky's future with Kay.
The Black Dahlia was adapted for a film by director Brian DePalma in 2005 and released in 2006.
See Main Article The Black Dahlia (film).
- Black Dahlia - Details of the murder.
| James Ellroy |
|---|
| Bibliography |
| Stand-alone: Brown's Requiem | Clandestine | Killer on the Road |
| Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy: Blood on the Moon | Because the Night | Suicide Hill |
| L.A. Quartet: The Black Dahlia | The Big Nowhere | L.A. Confidential | White Jazz |
| American Underworld Trilogy: American Tabloid | The Cold Six Thousand | [untitled third book] |
| Short story collections: Hollywood Nocturnes | Crime Wave | Destination: Morgue! |
| Non-Fiction: My Dark Places |
| Films |
| Adaptations: Cop | L.A. Confidential | Brown's Requiem | Stay Clean | The Black Dahlia | White Jazz |
| Original Screenplays: Dark Blue | The Night Watchman |
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