An excellent suspense novel published in 1961 by the much loved author of the “Poldark” series, told as a first person account by a beautiful, clever thief named Marnie Elmer who is trapped into marriage by one of her victims, Mark Rutland. It’s clear that Mark’s motives are purely from the heart; he fell in love with Marnie before she stole from him and now he wants to help her go straight. But the psychological damage she suffered as a child, which has led her to a life of crime, among other things, is so far reaching and buried so deeply, not even Marnie herself is aware of them.The book was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1964, which remains controversial to this day on a couple of different levels: some think it’s a masterpiece, some a failure; and the film’s sexual politics feel suspicious to some modern viewers who are sensitive to the stereotypes of female hysteria in old school psychiatry. But neither the film nor the book traffics in much Freud (who in any case was not wrong about everything). The novel’s psychological dimension is well researched and frankly up to the minute (for 1961). And we still believe fifty years later that unacknowledged trauma can lead to all kinds of acting out in depressed people, from soldiers in a war zone to abused children, so Marnie’s career of stealing has plenty of documented case histories to back it up. So does her extreme sexual dysfunction (she’s terrified of any kind of contact or intimacy), which is exacerbated by the experiences of her poverty stricken childhood. What is brilliantly handled by Winston Graham in the novel is the reader’s slowly dawning awareness that Marnie, the person telling the story, thinks she’s coping just fine and that the world is simply full of meddlers, such as her husband and the therapist he forces her to see. It’s a canny portrait of the mind of a con artist, and the lengths she’ll go to keep herself in the dark.Fans of the film may be disappointed to find that Hitchcock took several liberties in making the story his own, but that was nearly always true with the Master of Suspense. Sometime he greatly improved the material in the name of cinematic storytelling, other times he fell short. This book is a case where he did not particularly improve upon the source; Winston Graham’s “Marnie” stands on its own as a unique page turner.
I was already a great fan of Winston Graham based solely on my enjoyment of his Poldark series (now re-released and which I highly recommend! Ariel, I'm talking to you!). I decided it was time to dabble in his non-Poldark oeuvre, and began with Marnie - likely his most popular as it was made into an Alfred Hitchcock movie (that is now in my queue). It's not a psychological "thriller" in the sense of bodies in the library or stalkers in the hall. But it is definitely a psychological thriller in that you delve into the mind and motivations of a con artist and began to feel the suspense of waiting to get caught. I really enjoyed the read, and made Jonas listen to an hour-long plot summary and analysis of the book. I love Graham's ability to help his audience get into the mind of his characters. Perhaps that is why I enjoyed the Poldark books so much. I'm looking for more Graham to add to my reading list.
What do You think about Marnie (2005)?
the novel that became the classic hitchcock film marnie is not who she appears to be she adopts different names and works for different firms before stealing money from them and disappearing. most of this money is for her mother then she starts working for a small family firm and mark rutland forces his way into her life and becomes desperate to understand he does not tutn her in after she has stolen money from them and tracks her down, forcing her into marriage why is she so cyncical and uncaring? why is she a thief and a liar? who is the real marnie? ending is left very open to make of it what u will bev
—Bev Taylor
The 1964 Hitchcock film of the same name was based on this novel. The book is more of a psychological study, told from first-person point-of-view, so the reader gets a better understanding of Marnie's character. She is a compulsive liar and thief, cold and aloof and incapable of conveying emotion and sexually frigid. Her feelings stem from suppressed memories of her childhood and relationship with her mother, a mystery that is slowly unraveled as the novel progresses. The major portion of the book deals with her marriage to Mark Rutland, who tries to cure Marnie by sending her to a psychiatrist. The novel is written in a compelling style. The movie retains the major elements of the book although many plot elements are presented differently and a few characters are not found in the book. The book's ending is different from the film, but probably more realistic.
—Phillip Oliver
Marnie the book is darker and more complex than Marnie the movie, and so is Marnie the character. Hitchcock's depiction of the traumatized Marnie always seemed icky to me, and Sean Connery as her husband is the most loathsome Hitchcock character ever. Really, I'd rather date Norman Bates. The basic premise is the same in the book as in movie: pretty con artist Marnie is caught stealing from her employer by a widower who has fallen in love with her. He blackmails her into marrying him, but alas, to his horror she turns out to be frigid. Surprisingly, raping her doesn't help, so he starts investigating her past. Winston Graham's book, while dated, tells the story from Marnie's point of view, creating a more sympathetic character. She may be a liar and a thief, but somehow that doesn't seem so bad compared to her blackmailing rapist husband. The ending is much better than in the movie.
—Bibliophile
