The Dark House

"The Dark House" by I. A. R. Wylie is a novel written in the early 20th century. The book introduces us to Robert Stonehouse, a sensitive boy entangled in a turbulent family life marked by the absence of his deceased mother and the difficulties with his father, Dr. James Stonehouse, and his father's new wife, Edith. The story unfolds as Robert navigates his feelings of disappointment and sorrow surrounding his neglected birthday and the challenges of growing up in a harsh and chaotic environment. At the start of the narrative, we find Robert grappling with complex emotions on his eighth birthday, feeling forgotten and alone. His memories of his mother linger while he is stuck in a disintegrating household where his father's erratic behavior exacerbates the tension. As Robert’s frustrations with his father’s temper and his stepmother's disdain grow, so does his bond with Christine, the housekeeper, who becomes a source of comfort amid chaos. The opening segment establishes the bleak emotional landscape of Robert's life, marked by childhood innocence mingled with early experiences of grief and alienation, setting the stage for the deeper explorations of his character and relationships to come. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Ida Alexa Ross Wylie, known by her pen name I.A.R. Wylie, was an Australian-British-American novelist, screenwriter, short story writer, poet, and suffragette sympathiser who was honoured by the journalistic and literary establishments of her time, and received international recognition for her works. Between 1915 and 1953, more than thirty of her novels and stories were adapted into films, including Keeper of the Flame (1942), which was directed by George Cukor and starred Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.