Going to second-hand stores and finding battered and dusty novels is something I had been doing since childhood - well, before the global pandemic. I can talk about the many unusual finds that I have in the library that is my room - but one author in particular kept me going into those stores, hunting for their books. V.C. Andrews or better known as Virginia Andrews in the UK.
Andrews's novels combine Gothic horror and family saga, revolving around family secrets and forbidden love (frequently involving themes of consensual incest, most often between siblings), and sometimes include a rags-to-riches story. Her best-known novel is the bestseller Flowers in the Attic (1979), a tale of four children smuggled into the attic of their wealthy estranged pious grandmother, and held prisoner there by their mother. Her novels were successful enough that following Andrews's death, her estate hired a ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman, to continue to write novels to be published under her name.
Combining both Andrews and Neiderman's work, I have nearly 100 books from both authors - they even have their own bookcase. After reading the original Flowers, I immediately become engrossed in the V.C. Andrews fandom. Looking at all of my books would make this a very long article, so I will be focusing on V.C. originals or the ghostwritten novels based on her own series.
The Dollanganger series
Andrews's first series of novels was originally published between 1979 and 1986.
Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind focus on the children: Chris, Cathy, Cory, and Carrie, who, after losing their father in an accident, are imprisoned in an attic by their mother and grandmother; Flowers in the Attic tells of their incarceration, the death of one child, and subsequent escape of the other three, with Petals on the Wind picking up directly after. With If There Be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday, the story also includes Cathy's children, Jory and Bart, after a mysterious woman and her butler move in next door, gradually turning Bart against his parents. Garden of Shadows is a prequel which tells the grandparents' story, and also how the parents became involved.
- Flowers in the Attic (1979)
- Petals on the Wind (1980)
- If There Be Thorns (1981)
- Seeds of Yesterday (1984)
- Garden of Shadows (1986) (by V. C. Andrews and Andrew Neiderman)
I own three physical copies of Flowers in the Attic. Yep, three - four if you count the one on my Kindle version. As well as owning my first copy of the book - which I found in a local store along with Petals by chance - I have the 40th anniversary edition and even the first UK publication edition. This book in particular made an appearance in my last short film Womanhood - which mirrored themes seen in Flowers.
This really was a find when I needed one, because initially my character is gifted with a first edition of Jane Eyre - which was quickly rewritten due to its impracticality of finding said book. While in a thrift store, I was amazed and relieved to find the original hardcover of the book and with that in mind, rewrote the scene to include it.
My completed series is a real mixed bag of paperbacks and hardcovers - thanks to my many trips to different stores throughout the years, but I personally like that each book has its own look and style.
Audrina standalone
My Sweet Audrina was the only stand-alone novel published during Andrews' lifetime and was a number-one best-selling novel in North America. The story takes place in the Mid-Atlantic United States during the 1960s and 1970s. The story features diverse subjects, such as brittle bone disease, rape, posttraumatic stress disorder and diabetes, in the haunting setting of a Victorian-era mansion near the fictitious River Lyle.
I had two copies of these one was a pretty battered and bruised paperback that I sadly lost a few years back. Although I wasn't a fan of the Pocket Books - mainly for the font size in these small books, I tore through this book - loving the twisted and dark themes weaved through the Adare family.
However, I did want to find another edition to physically have after losing my first one. So I decided to go with this hardcover edition I found through an indie bookstore. It was cheap and cheerful. But I did prefer the other cover.
The Casteel series
The five novels making up the last known series started by Andrews were published between 1985 and 1990. Only the first two appeared before her death. This series traces the lives of a troubled West Virginia family, originally from the viewpoint of Heaven, a young girl whose mother died during childbirth and the love/hate relationship with her father during the first three novels, and later, to Heaven's daughter Annie in the fourth book, with the fifth and final novel centred on Leigh, Heaven's mother.
- Heaven (1985)
- Dark Angel (1986)
- Fallen Hearts (1988) (started by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)
- Gates of Paradise (1989) ("inspired" by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)
- Web of Dreams (1990) ("inspired" by Andrews, finished by Neiderman)
This may be hard to believe due to the pristine condition of these books, these books took awhile to get together. Through lucky finds and terrific indie online bookstores, I was able to have a perfect collection of the Casteel Saga - all hardcovers and with the same cover design. Which was even more perfect as this was my favourite series next to Audrina.
For me, having these in my book collection is more sentimental as V.C. Andrews original tales of family secrets and dramas. But lets just say, this fandom has given me plenty of reading material.
The Poisoner
Assassins have existed since the dawn of time, higher ups in society across the world desire to see those who wronged them dead! So killers are hired to eliminate the targets for wealth, typically money is the reward they seek. Most assassins use hidden blades, carried under their sleeves, quickly slashing their victims before blending in with the crowd again. Others use sniper rifles or other long range guns, shooting from afar or up close. The best assassins are subtle and sneaky, the greatest ones of all have never been caught! There are a disturbing number of ways you can kill a human, I obviously won't share any, not in this story so use your imagination. The point of this tale is to explore the most bizarre assassin to ever walk the planet, a killer who is still unknown but has committed a countless amount of murders across the globe. All of which include spiking or tampering with the victims food or drink. This would poison the target to the point of fatal illness, it happened to the most unlikely of people, as though this assassin had no true targets but simply killed for sport. Perhaps there were reasons he chose to kill these people, but it is a mystery that has been left unanswered for decades. Many believe there to be multiple Poisoner assassins throughout the years, the theory that is it no single man or woman makes a lot of sense. It is a theory many subscribe to. The targets killed range from cute couples, families or lone travellers, who visit exotic restaurants whilst on their holidays around the world. It is always detected to be either rat or ricin poisoning, that kills the victims. There have been numerous cases investigated, where CCTV has spotted strange chefs in kitchens, those who were never officially hired had slipped in a disguise and tampered with the food. They always wear the chef's scarf over their face, to hide their identity. The figure has been described as male, standing tall and athletic. To presume the killer is male, he has been spotted in bars too, a hooded figure with a balaclava, spiking drinks of people who later end up dead. Usually the police don't investigate until the killer has already committed his murder, so it seems they have long vanished before any trail can be found. Not to mention the amount of people who were at first presumed to have been food poisoned, where it was the restaurant or cafe found responsible for not properly serving well cooked food. Only for forensics to later discover the truth, which was far more sinister and purposeful. Nobody knows who this assassin is, or why they do the terrible things they do. They are presumed to be male, but even that is uncertain. The race or gender of the killer is not yet confirmed. No face has ever been identified. A pattern has not been detected either. The Poisoner is a ghost, an assassin so good, they always manage to slip through the cracks, what with their many disguises and hiding spots. One can only assume the assassin seeks out those with bounties upon their heads, do if you've angered the wrong person, someone high up in society, be sure to eat food from the supermarket instead. You'll never know if The Poisoner is after you or not, until it is too late! If you eat or drink anything that tastes off, you should probably bin that item and wash out your mouth, there's a good chance it may be dangerous to consume. Then you'd become another death, on a list of thousands.
By Joseph Roy Wright4 days ago in Horror
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