Lie Down in Darkness (novel)

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Lie Down in Darkness

First edition
Author	William Styron
Original title	An Inheritance of Night
Language	English
Publisher	Bobbs-Merrill
Publication date	1951
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	410 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.