![]() His urge to dig back into the history of castle doctrine was partly political. A reader of medieval English chroniclers such as Thomas Malory and Geoffrey of Monmouth, Darnielle started with a character who has always been told he’s descended from kings and went from there. ![]() ![]() Once it was a statute that made it legal for kings to kill anyone in their castle. While the dark underbelly of the golden west chronicled by his foremost stylistic influence, Joan Didion, would appear to be front and centre in Devil House, Darnielle says he actually used gentler childhood memories – such as the bayside restaurant that housed a seal called Sam – for the book.ĭevil House skewers our current lust for true crime, but the idea for the novel emerged when Darnielle heard about “castle doctrine”, a “very old law that presently is being used by American gun enthusiasts to mean that I get to shoot you if you step on to my property and I’m scared of you”. Darnielle, who was born in Indiana but grew up in California, lived in Milpitas as a child. ![]() ![]() It follows Gage Chandler, a true-crime writer said to be descended from kings, as he immerses himself in a murder case that took place at the eponymous Devil House, in the California town of Milpitas. Darnielle’s third novel, Devil House, is published this month. ![]()
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