THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

And the ineptitude that authors do.


Why did we read Evil Desire? Because the cover femme fatale is obviously copied from Ursula Andress (in her 1965 role in What’s New Pussycat?) and sometimes that’s all it takes to attract our interest. The artist is credited only as Ellison, and though we wouldn’t say he/she is greatly skilled, they at least chose a good model. The book was written by Carl DeMarco, author or pseudonym behind other sleaze efforts such as The Body Beautiful, Suzanne, and Woman on a String, and is exactly as its cover describes, as a stepfather gets sexually involved with his wife’s eighteen year-old daughter. It all begins when he attempts to punish the daughter with a spanking, and finds not only that he likes it—so does she. In the end the two end up living together in Brazil and the spurned wife finds love at home, leaving everyone horny and happy by the final sentence. It wasn’t competent in terms of writing skill, but in its favor it was—despite its title—light in tone, making for an easy and fast read. Is that a recommendation? Not even remotely. 

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1918—Wilson Goes to Europe

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sails to Europe for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, France, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.

1921—Arbuckle Manslaughter Trial Ends

In the U.S., a manslaughter trial against actor/director Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle ends with the jury deadlocked as to whether he had killed aspiring actress Virginia Rappe during rape and sodomy. Arbuckle was finally cleared of all wrongdoing after two more trials, but the scandal ruined his career and personal life.

1964—Mass Student Arrests in U.S.

In California, Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest at the UC Regents’ decision to forbid protests on university property.

1968—U.S. Unemployment Hits Low

Unemployment figures are released revealing that the U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to 3.3 percent, the lowest rate for almost fifteen years. Going forward all the way to the current day, the figure never reaches this low level again.

1954—Joseph McCarthy Disciplined by Senate

In the United States, after standing idly by during years of communist witch hunts in Hollywood and beyond, the U.S. Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for conduct bringing the Senate into dishonor and disrepute. The vote ruined McCarthy’s career.

1955—Rosa Parks Sparks Bus Boycott

In the U.S., in Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, because the city’s African-American population were the bulk of the system’s ridership.

Cover art by the great Sandro Symeoni for Peter Cheyney's mystery He Walked in her Sleep, from Ace Books in 1949.
The mysterious artist who signed his or her work as F. Harf produced this beautiful cover in 1956 for the French publisher S.E.P.I.A.
Aslan art was borrowed for many covers by Dutch publisher Uitgeverij A.B.C. for its Collection Vamp. The piece used on Mike Splane's Nachtkatje is a good example.

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