The critics received Lie Down in Darkness (1951) as an auspicious first novel, perhaps the best to appear since World War II. Its style, if reminiscent of Faulkner, was distinctly the author's own; its psychological insights, accurate; and its moral...

The critics received Lie Down in Darkness (1951) as an auspicious first novel, perhaps the best to appear since World War II. If reminiscent of Faulkner, its style was distinctly the author's own; its psychological insights, accurate; and its moral...

William Styron 's first novel, Lie Down in Darkness (1951), placed him in the vanguard of promising young American authors of the post-World War II era, along with such writers as J. D. Salinger, Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow, John Updike, Joseph Heller,...

William Styron is a major American novelist who has won wide critical acclaim and stirred controversy by addressing culturally and historically contentious issues. Though not a prolific writer, he has won a national and international readership. His...

William Styron (born 1925) was a Southern writer of novels and articles. His major works were Lie Down in Darkness,The Long March, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Sophie's Choice. His major theme was the response of basically decent people to such...