Eve (Chase novel)


Eve is a 1945 psychological thriller novel by British writer James Hadley Chase. The novel was made into a film, titled Eva, by Joseph Losey, starring Stanley Baker as Clive Thurston and Jeanne Moreau as Eve. It was also made into a 2018 French film starring Isabelle Huppert.

Plot summary

Set against the background of the Hollywood film industry, the story revolves around Clive Thurston, who has swindled his way to fame, and Eve, an utterly worthless woman who is beautiful to look at but lethal to love. The narrator describes his own thoughts and emotions and his perceptions, in relation to those of the characters whom he encounters throughout the book and also in relation to life and the world.

Plot

The book begins with Clive reminiscing his past and his encounter with Eve and the impact it has had on his life and everything he ever had, as he writes a book.
Two years before, Shipping Clerk Clive Thurston is met with ailing writer John Coulson, who is given company at Clive's apartment. Coulson has written a play and wants to publish it, but dies of tuberculosis soon after, and Clive decides to claim the play as his own work with a different title Raincheck and gets it published. With the play being a success, Clive rises to fame as a celebrity script writer in Hollywood, with wealth and women at his beck and call, but eventually by misusing Coulson's work.
One stormy night, while visiting his vacation house Three Point away from the city, Clive finds it occupied by a vagabond named Barrow, and a glamorous lady by name Eve Marlow. Clive learns that Eve is a hooker and Barrow has paid her for her services and they have come to his unoccupied house for the same. Clive beats and drives a weeping Barrow out of the house into the storm, throwing at him 110 USD which Barrow had paid to Eve. Clive then proceeds to touch Eve but she hits him cold and vanishes.
Clive regains senses and returns to California. It is revealed that he is in a relationship with Carol, a pretty script writer in Hollywood who wants to marry him. However, he remembers Eve and decides to find her and win get over, much against the wishes of his Butler Russell, who warms him that Eve is up to no good and Clive will land in trouble. Russell admires Carol and says that Clive should marry her.
Clive finds Eve's house. He spends time with her, takes her out, but Eve openly tells him she is not interested in him, and that even though she meets men for money, her loyalty is only towards her 'husband' Jack who is always away at business. Clive is unconvinced and continues to debacle with himself on how to win Eve over, and Eve plays around with him. He also notes that Barrow still visits her.
Clive is introduced to prominent personalities in Hollywood, like Frank Ingram, Peter and film director R.Gold by Carol. Gold offers him a huge sum for a good script to be made into a film. Clive decides to make a script based on the personality of Eve. But he begins to fall in debt. The royalties of his play Raincheck start to decline, he is not able to come up with a new novel or play much to the dismay of his publishers, and people around get to know about his affair with Eve, including Carol who confronts him and is thereafter openly rejected by Clive.
Despite this, Clive continues to woo Eve. One night he realises that she is only after his money and has no feelings for anyone, and he abandons her at her house and leaves. He decides to turn over a new leaf, apologises to Carol and promises to marry her. Gold, who also wanted to marry carol, says he has no objection, but that Clive better avoid Eve, not hurt Carol, and hints that he believes Raincheck is not actually Clive's own work.
Clive and Carol are married, and they take a break at Three Point, with Russel tending to them. Soon after Clive begins to long for Eve again, and is one day telephoned by Eve, who curses him for abandoning her, saying she had mailed back all the money he paid for her services. Clive conceals this from Carol. To make matters worse, he is approached by a producer to make a new script, at which Carol is thrilled but Clive is shocked because he is actually not skilled at this work.
Soon after, back in California, Carol and the film makers decide to go out on official work for two days, and Clive uses this opportunity to meet Eve yet again. He does meet her, but Eve is just the same. He also learns that she never sent back any money as she claimed. To find more about her, he goes on a cruise to gamble, meets a redhead hooker who knows Eve and whom he takes home to Three Point. Clive learns that Eve was an illegitimate child and was brought up in cruelty because of which her personality is such. He also learns that she really has no husband, though she did have one whom she left long ago. Eve is only a wayward woman who plays around with men for fun and money. Carol comes in at that moment and sees Clive with the redhead. Shocked, she speeds off in her car away from Three Point recklessly, and crashes down the mountains and dies.
Clive's stardom ends thereafter. Gold gets evidence that Raincheck was never Clive's work, and the latter is asked to return all the royalties. He does not remain a scriptwriter in Hollywood anymore. He now begins to see visions of John Coulson watching and laughing at him.
Distraught Clive decides to kill Eve for all his misfortune. He sneaks into her house one night and attacks her, but is attacked back and beaten, and in comes Barrow, who throws Clive out for Eve, flicking the same money which Clive had thrown upon him at one time at Three Point. Fortunately Russell finds Clive outside and takes him home.
The book ends with Clive Thurston describing himself now working at a shipping site with Russell two years in the aftermath, as he writes his experiences in his book. Eve Marlow is nowhere to be heard of. He hopes someday somewhere she will read his book and become flabbergasted at how much he actually knew about her, which she was all the while trying to conceal from him. Russell purchases a ferry with his savings and makes Clive his partner for ferrying tourists across the harbour. The boat is named Carol by Russell.