The City of Unspeakable Fear

The City of Unspeakable Fear
AuthorJean Ray
Original titleLa Cité de l'indicible peur
TranslatorScott Nicolay
LanguageFrench
PublisherLes Auteurs Associés
Publication date
1943
Publication placeBelgium
Published in English
2023
Pages188

The City of Unspeakable Fear (French: La Cité de l'indicible peur) is a 1943 novel by the Belgian writer Jean Ray. It is a murder mystery set in an English small town, with elements of detective story, horror and parody.[1]

It was first published in Belgium eight days after Ray's most famous work, the novel Malpertuis, in 1943. Both works were written while Ray was living in Ghent under Nazi occupation.[2] The book was the basis for the 1964 film The Big Scare [fr], directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky and starring Bourvil.[3] It was translated by Scott Nicolay in 2023 and published in English as The City of Unspeakable Fear.[1]

Synopsis

The story follows a retired Scotland Yard officer, Sidney Terence Trigger ("Triggs"), who moves to the fictional town of Ingersham in Southeast England. Expecting to settle down into a tranquil rural life, he instead finds that the residents of Ingersham anticipate a "great fear" striking the town. A series of deaths and apparent supernatural incidents draw Triggs into the role of detective, trying to identify what is real in an environment of paranoia.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Stone, Will (12 January 2024). "Trapped in the hall of mirrors". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Quietus, The (2023-09-16). "An England Of The Imagination: The Small Town Weirdness Of Jean Ray". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  3. ^ "The Big Scare". Unifrance. Retrieved 15 May 2024.