The Second Victory (novel)

The Second Victory

Author	Morris West
Language	English
Publisher	Heinemann
Publication date	1958
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print
Pages	281 pp.
Preceded by	The Big Story
Followed by	The Devil's Advocate

The Second Victory is a 1958 novel by Morris West. It was also known as Backlash.[1]

Premise

In post war Austria, Major Mark Hanlon, Occupation Commander of the alpine town of Bad Quellenberg, investigates the murder of his driver.

Reception

The Bulletin wrote "West is concerned here more with the nature of justice, mercy and moral responsibility in war and peace than with thriller-writing; which is a pity, because his very plain Catholicism, though impressively sincere, produces very little original insight into any of these things."[2]

Film Version

Universal Pictures bought the film rights and West wrote the script in the late 1950s. In November 1958 Henry Denker was hired to write the script, for producer Robert Arthur, by which time the title had changed to A Gathering of Eagles.[3] However no movie resulted until 1987.[4]

References

1. "BOOK REVIEWS". The Beverley Times. Western Australia. 7 August 1958. p. 7 (Supplement). Retrieved 8 April 2020 – via Trove.
2. "Reviewed Briefly". The Bulletin. August 27, 1958. p. 59.
3. FILMLAND EVENTS: Playwright Denker to Script for UI Los Angeles Times 28 Nov 1958: C12.
4. Heath, Jane (30–31 May 1987). "Why Morris West feels just a little nervous: he wants to succeed with an 'old fashioned' movie". Australian. p. supp. 11.