A Name for Evil by Andrew Lytle

by Andrew Lytle

"Regeneration is far more difficult than generation," Andrew Lytle wrote to his friend and fellow writer Allen Tate. With this thought in mind, A Name for Evil examines the question of whether an individual can, through sheer force of will, recover the past. During World War II, Henry Brent and his wife Ellen buy a deteriorating Tennessee mansion named The Grove, intending to restore it and the land surrounding it to its former glory. The land, however, is imbued with the spirit of its former owner, Major Brent, a malevolent presence which hangs over The Grove, appearing to Henry as a ghostly shade throughout the run-down house. A psychological study of egotism, tradition, and progress, A Name For Evil is a tragic examination of man's consuming desire to overcome mortality by controlling the past -- and future.

Genres: Horror, Southern Gothic, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Andrew Nelson Lytle (December 26, 1902 – December 12, 1995) was an American novelist, dramatist, essayist and professor of literature. He was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and early in his life planned to be an actor and playwright. He studied acting at Yale University and performed on Broadway when he was in his 20s.
Unlike other Southern intellectuals who left the region never to return, Lytle went home after the death of a kinsman. Except for brief sojourns elsewhere, he remained in the South for the rest of his life.
(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just didn't care enough to finish it.

[David R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly awesome short psychological gothic horror novel of the South. Relate to "The House of Seven Gables" by Hawthorne, and "The Jolly Corner" by Henry James. Goes very well with John Jeremiah Sullivan's "Mr. Lytle, an Essay" about the last year of this author's life, and his death, where his eulogy was "The Confederacy at last came to its end". I loved the formality and ornateness of the language and thought and the evocation of a faded and doomed culture (except lately, as it seems to be having something of a revival)! As a seething cauldron full of vipers do the sentences twist and fold back upon one another in ways that both fascinate and transfix.

[Benjamin Glaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enthralling gothic read that leads to an epic ending. Very enjoyable.