''Vanity Dies Hard'' is a novel by British writer
Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
, published in 1966 by
in the UK and in the same year as ''In Sickness and in Health'' by
Doubleday
Doubleday may refer to:
* Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name
Publishing imprints
* Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House
* Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...
in the US. In a later interview, the author said that it was at the very bottom of the list of "my worst books". In 1995 the novel was adapted for the ITV series of
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broa ...
.
Synopsis
Ruth Rendell has said that her non-series novels are meant to be “stories of psychological suspense”.
[Elizabeth Haynes, ''Crime Writers: a research guide'', ABC-CLIO, 2011]
p. 143
/ref> In this case, wealthy Alice Whittaker has married the much younger teacher Andrew Fielding at the age of 37 and has arranged for him to be given a job in the family firm. When she goes to visit her more glamorous friend Nesta Drage in the nearby town to which she has moved, Alice discovers that she has given a false address. Although the local postman has a forwarding address, all that Alice can learn in the run-down area of Paddington that she visits is that a "Mr Drage" comes to pick up Nesta's mail, but that Nesta has never lived there.
Alice is now hampered in her search by illness. Her brother Hugo mentions that Nesta had once made a pass at him and Alice begins to suspect that her own father is paying hush money to Nesta and that at the same time she is being poisoned. Her husband Andrew remains loving but has become remote and preoccupied. As her illness worsens and Alice grows more and more fearful, Harry Blunden, the doctor who has always loved her, turns reticent and withdrawn.
The eventual solution to her suspense is two-fold. Alice's symptoms are only those of pregnancy. Nesta had had a degenerative disease which vanity had made her try to hide from those who knew her. In the end, Harry had persuaded her to go to a clinic secretly until she was cured.
References
{{Ruth Rendell stand-alone novels
1965 British novels
Novels by Ruth Rendell
John Long Ltd books