Lie Down in Darkness (novel)

Lie Down in Darkness
First edition
AuthorWilliam Styron
Original titleAn Inheritance of Night
LanguageEnglish
PublisherBobbs-Merrill
Publication date
1951
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages410 pp

Lie Down in Darkness is the first novel by American novelist William Styron, published in 1951. Written when he was 26 years old, the novel received a great deal of critical acclaim.

After graduating from Duke University in 1947, Styron took an editing position with McGraw-Hill in New York City. After provoking his employers into firing him, he set about writing his first novel in earnest. Three years later, he published the novel, Lie Down in Darkness. Styron had first written the book under the working title Inheritance of Night; he made two revisions of the draft before publishing it under its eventual title.[1]

Among the honors bestowed on Lie Down in Darkness was the prestigious Rome Prize, awarded by the American Academy in Rome and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.[2] Styron was unable to immediately accept the award because he was recalled into the military during the Korean War.

  1. ^ Styron, William (1993). Inheritance of Night: Early Drafts of Lie Down in Darkness. Duke University Press.
  2. ^ Allen, Bennett (March 8, 2011). "William Styron Reads from Lie Down in Darkness". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 7, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)