Whispering City

Mary Roberts, a crime reporter in Old Quebec, receives a tip that a woman has been killed in the city center. The victim is Renée Brancourt, a former pin-up who was institutionalized after her lover's death. Renée tells Mary that Roberts' death was no accident and points an accusing finger at Albert Frédéric, the most respected lawyer in the city. Whispering City is a 1947 Canadian feature film noir that predates Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess by six years, and Horace Brown's novelization improves upon the film, bringing tension and a darker tone.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 220 pages
Publication date: 01 March 2024
Publisher: Vehicule Press

Quebec City crime reporter Mary Roberts is about to leave her desk for the day when she receives word that a woman has been struck down in the center of town. The victim is Renée Brancourt, a former pin-up who had once been a big star, treading the boards at the Coméie-Française, until her lover, Robert Marchand, plunged over Montmorency Falls. Renée's inability to accept his death led her to be institutionalized. Now on her deathbed at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, the faded vedette tells Mary that Roberts's death was no accident. She points an accusing finger at Albert Frédéric, the most respected lawyer in the city, thus setting the young reporter on a trail that will ultimately imperil her own life.

Whispering City began as a 1947 Canadian feature shot in both English and French (La Forteresse). Predating Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess by six years, it is the earliest film noir set in Canada. In his novelization, Horace Brown improves upon the film, altering the dialogue, shedding its weaknesses, providing backstory, and giving flesh to its characters. The result brings tension and is a much darker noir.

Renée Brancourt, a former pin-up who had once been a big star, treading the boards at the Coméie-Française, until her lover, Robert Marchand, plunged over Montmorency Falls. Renée's inability to accept his death led her to be institutionalized. Now on her deathbed at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, the faded vedette tells Mary that Roberts's death was no accident. She points an accusing finger at Albert Frédéric, the most respected lawyer in the city, thus setting the young reporter on a trail that will ultimately imperil her own life.

Whispering City began as a 1947 Canadian feature shot in both English and French (La Forteresse). Predating Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess by six years, it is the earliest film noir set in Canada. In his novelization, Horace Brown improves upon the film, altering the dialogue, shedding its weaknesses, providing backstory, and giving flesh to its characters. The result brings tension and is a much darker noir.

Renée Brancourt, a former pin-up who had once been a big star, treading the boards at the Coméie-Française, until her lover, Robert Marchand, plunged over Montmorency Falls. Renée's inability to accept his death led her to be institutionalized. Now on her deathbed at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, the faded vedette tells Mary that Roberts's death was no accident. She points an accusing finger at Albert Frédéric, the most respected lawyer in the city, thus setting the young reporter on a trail that will ultimately imperil her own life.

Whispering City began as a 1947 Canadian feature shot in both English and French (La Forteresse). Predating Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess by six years, it is the earliest film noir set in Canada. In his novelization, Horace Brown improves upon the film, altering the dialogue, shedding its weaknesses, providing backstory, and giving flesh to its characters. The result brings tension and is a much darker noir.

Dimension: 177 x 107 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781550656381