Take A Deep Sip From "A Dram of Poison" by Charlotte Armstrong

A Dram of Poison won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1957, and after reading this novel, it's easy to see why. It's a complex tale of love, disappointment, jealousy, and carelessness that leads to catastrophe. Not your traditional whodunnit, but a story packed with so much suspense you had better read it on your day off, or consider calling in sick. Once you've reached a certain point, there is no stopping until the final page has been turned.

Trouble isn't long in coming when Ken Gibson, a middle-aged English professor suddenly decides to marry Rosemary, a 32 year old woman  who has been left homeless by the death of her invalid father. At first things go swimmingly, as they used to say. But the real trouble starts when Ken is injured in an auto accident (while his wife is driving...a mishap that will cause her much hand-wringing in the weeks to come) and Ken's strong willed sister Ethel comes to live with them and help care for Ken.

It doesn't take a psychologist to realize that most family dynamics only allow one woman to dominate a household (safely), and Charlotte Armstrong is a genius for milking the tensions that erupt when the dominant one is not the wife. Ken, caught between two women he loves, decides to end his life to escape what has become intolerable, especially after he observes Rosemary developing a close friendship with a man much closer to her own age. Convinced that his wife would be happier with their neighbor, Ken procures some odorless, tasteless, fast acting poison which he hides in a bottle labeled olive oil.

Then, disaster strikes. A bottle of poison can be a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.

In resolving his dilemma, Ken gets a strong assist by, of all people, a bus driver. This man's intimate knowledge of the city streets becomes crucial in the story as the suspense builds to an intolerable level. And he proves to be more than a stick figure character. He debates philosophy and the human condition with Rosemary, and more than holds his own.

It's typical of Armstrong to sculpt every character with such depth that they could easily substitute for the main character. Any baseball manager would envy such a deep bullpen.

A Dram of Poison is a real treat. Put the cell phone on silent...this story screams for your attention.

Writers Born Today - Charlotte Armstrong

It's the birthday of Charlotte Armstrong, born May 2nd 1905 in Vulcan, Michigan. She went to college in Wisconsin but earned her degree in New York City at Barnard College. Her writing career began as a playwright with some of them, including The Happiest Days, being produced on Broadway. But she made her lasting mark as a writer of mystery and suspense.

Charlotte wrote over two dozen novels and numerous stories. A prolific writer, she produced one to two novels a year during the height of her creative powers, and also wrote under the name Jo Valentine. Much of her best fiction revolved around middle class family life whose characters undergo a profound change or shock that leads to chaos. The New York Telegraph called her "the American Queen of suspense novelists".

She was nominated for six Edgar awards, and won in 1957 for her novel A Dram of Poison.

Several of her novels were produced for the big screen, of which two stand out as being notable. The Unsuspected came out as a movie in 1947 starring Claude Rains and was a big hit. In 1952 her novel Mischief was filmed as Don't Bother To Knock, with Anne Bancroft in her debut role and Marilyn Monroe as a demented babysitter. Anthony Boucher was a big fan of her writing, and called Mischief, "an extraordinary achievement, a short but sweet book full of tension".

She also wrote for television and her credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

One of her stories, The Splintered Monday, was included in the 2013 anthology Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, edited by Sarah Weinman.


To read an in-depth review of her novel Mischief, go to Kevin's Corner.