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The Scarf
First Published: 1947 Publisher: Dial Press Format: Hardcover |
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Summary: Dan Morley, eighteen years of age, hands tied by a maroon scarf, nearly dies from asphyxiation after a lonely older woman’s murder/suicide attempt. Ten years later, pursuing a career as a writer, Dan has become a misogynistic killer, strangling with his maroon scarf the women who come into his life, whom he views as little more than characters in another story to be written.
Bloch: “One afternoon in the summer of 1946, as I strolled beside the Milwaukee River, the entire plot of a novel channeled into my stream of consciousness. Not to write at home was a rule of long standing, but I returned to sit down and do an outline for the book which became The Scarf.”
Notes:
Bloch: “One afternoon in the summer of 1946, as I strolled beside the Milwaukee River, the entire plot of a novel channeled into my stream of consciousness. Not to write at home was a rule of long standing, but I returned to sit down and do an outline for the book which became The Scarf.”
Notes:
- In its first paperback appearance (1948), Avon Books retitled to The Scarf of Passion. Subsequent printings revert the title back to original (The Scarf). Bloch revised his text (switched chapter sequences in the beginning, did a bit of editing out of 1946 references and slang, and rewrote the ending) for a 1966 Fawcett Gold Medal (paperback) printing.
- In 1951, the motion picture The Scarf was released. Its premise of a suspected psychological strangler who uses a scarf to dispatch his victims hits a little too close to home to be dismissed as coincidence. But, as Bloch’s editor at Dial had quit, and the agency which handled his book went out of business, Bloch had no one to support him in his efforts. Upon receiving a letter of protest from Bloch, the film’s producer told Bloch to “Drop dead.” And that, according to Bloch, “Ended the matter.”
Bibliography
US: Dial Press; hc 1947
US: Avon (as The Scarf of Passion); pb 1948
US: Avon (as The Scarf of Passion); pb 1949 (reissue)
US: Avon; pb 1952
US: Fawcett/Gold Medal; pb 1966 (revised edition)
Germany: Heyne ("Der Seidene Schal"); pb 1967
Finland: Gummerus ("Huivi"); hc & pb 1969
UK: New English Library; pb 1972
Brazil: Distribudora Record; 1975; nfd
France: Éditions Pac ("L'echarpe"); pb 1977
France: NEO ("L'echarpe"); pb 1984
US: Scream Press (Unholy Trinity omnibus - contains the 1966 revised edition); hc 1986
Italy: Mondadori ("La Sciarpa"); pb 1989
Germany: Diogenes ("Der Schal"); pb 1990
France: Presses Pocket ("L'echarpe"); pb 1991
France: Presses Pocket ("L'écharpe"); pb 2006
US: Avon (as The Scarf of Passion); pb 1948
US: Avon (as The Scarf of Passion); pb 1949 (reissue)
US: Avon; pb 1952
US: Fawcett/Gold Medal; pb 1966 (revised edition)
Germany: Heyne ("Der Seidene Schal"); pb 1967
Finland: Gummerus ("Huivi"); hc & pb 1969
UK: New English Library; pb 1972
Brazil: Distribudora Record; 1975; nfd
France: Éditions Pac ("L'echarpe"); pb 1977
France: NEO ("L'echarpe"); pb 1984
US: Scream Press (Unholy Trinity omnibus - contains the 1966 revised edition); hc 1986
Italy: Mondadori ("La Sciarpa"); pb 1989
Germany: Diogenes ("Der Schal"); pb 1990
France: Presses Pocket ("L'echarpe"); pb 1991
France: Presses Pocket ("L'écharpe"); pb 2006