- Midnight Whispers
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Midnight Whispers is the fourth novel in the Cutler series, written in 1992 by the ghost-writer of V. C. Andrews novels, Andrew Neiderman. The novel follows the traditional formula of Andrews novels, and by being the fourth in its series, it thereby centres around the child of the protagonist of the first three novels.
Midnight Whispers 
First edition cover of Midnight WhispersAuthor(s) V. C. Andrews Country United States Language English Series Cutler series Genre(s) Gothic horror
Family sagaPublisher Simon & Schuster Publication date November 1992 Media type Print Pages 440 ISBN 0-671-69516-9 Preceded by Twilight's Child 1991 Followed by Darkest Hour 1993 Plot summary
Christie Longchamp is the daughter of Dawn and her one time love Michael Sutton. Christie is a promising musician whose mother owns and operates the prestigious Cutler's Cove hotel. They live nearby with Christie's loving stepfather Jimmy and her younger half-brother Jefferson while her Uncle Phillip, his wife (whom she calls "Aunt Bet") and their twin children, Richard and Melanie, reside in the family section of Cutler's Cove.
The story commences on Christie's sixteenth birthday. A grand party is being held at the hotel for her extended family and school friends, but to Christie, the only person whose arrival matters is her stepfather's younger half-brother Gavin. Fern, Jimmy's younger sister and the problem child of the family, also arrives unexpectedly, mainly to upset Dawn and Jimmy (showing she has not changed since Twilight's Child). She presents Christie with a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover. Christie throws it into her closet, appalled by her aunt's insinuations and promiscuousness. Despite Fern's wild and drunken behaviour, the party is a great success, and the evening concludes with Gavin confessing his love for Christie.
Some weeks after the party, Christie and Jefferson return home from school to find that Cutler's Cove has burned to the ground and their parents were killed in the blaze. It is revealed that their Uncle Phillip and Aunt Bet are now their legal guardians, and they proceed to move into Christie's house to establish themselves as the new heads of the Cutler empire. Although Aunt Bet explains to Jefferson and Christie that they must all compromise and sacrifice, Christie notices that it is only she and Jefferson who are being asked to make sacrifices. Aunt Bet and Christie begin habitually quarrelling after Aunt Bet picks on Jefferson, and Richard frames him for naughty deeds. Christie pleads with her uncle to allow Jefferson and herself more freedom, but Phillip sides with his wife.
Gradually, Christie notices her uncle is lavishing her with affection and trying to have intimate, personal conversations with her. Christie grows increasingly disturbed and worried by her uncle's behaviour, especially after her gives her lingerie and she catches him watching her bathe, but it is not until her Aunt Bet finds the forgotten copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover and punishes her that her suspicions evolve into fear. Later that night, Uncle Phillip, overcome by desire and fury at never having been able to possess her mother, enters Christie's room and rapes her, mixing her up with her mother as he does so. Heartbroken and confused, Christie packs a bag for her and Jefferson in the middle of the night and buys them bus tickets to New York, in search of her mysterious biological father. But her father is now a rundown, drunken singer, and in no way fits the image Christie had of him. In her disappointment, she leaves and calls the only man she still believes in, Gavin. When Gavin arrives, Christie confesses what her uncle has done, and in his fury and disgust he refuses to allow her to return home. Together they decide to hide out at 'The Meadows', the mysterious, ancestral plantation where Christie was born. Her Aunt Charlotte, a simple but sweet woman, is now the owner with her husband, Luther, and gladly they take them in.
Gavin and Christie begin to explore the grounds, and gradually they learn many of the family's secrets that have remained buried inside the house, such as the fact Grandmother Cutler was raped by her father and the torture Dawn suffered at the hands of Emily when she was pregnant with Christie. Gradually the isolation pulls them closer together, until they finally consummate their relationship, with Christie asking Gavin to take away her shame by making her love for him feel right. Then Fern and her temporary boy-toy Monty arrive. Fern takes over the household and bullies the family, making Christie her slave as revenge for constantly being met with disapproval by Christie's parents. She has no interest in why Christie and Jefferson are hiding out at The Meadows, assuming that Christie finally got bored of being a good girl and ran away.
But when Jefferson becomes terribly ill with tetanus, Christie is forced to come out of hiding to save her brother's life, and in an instant her uncle comes to reclaim her. Christie is terrified of Phillip, but she is so afraid for Jefferson's life that she has no choice but to return with him. Gavin tries to stay with her, but Philip forces him out and takes his niece back to their house. Locked in her room by Aunt Bet and finding her beloved Sweet 16 party dress shredded by Richard, Christie is miserable and frightened. Although she has lived in this house for almost her whole life, she no longer feels safe or at home there. Enraged by how her relatives have intimidated her, Christie tips the twins' bowls of chowder onto their laps and tells Aunt Bet what Phillip did to her. This appears to drive Bet over the edge. On the brink of insanity, Phillip drives Christie out to a place where he took her mother years ago, and again tries to rape her. Christie manages to fight him off, and runs to her grandmother's husband, Bronson Alcott, who finally learns what Phillip has done. Phillip is found to be mentally ill, and is taken away, while Aunt Bet can't face the shame of the public, the cousins move out of Christie and Jefferson’s house and go to live on some land that Betty Ann's parent's own.
The novel concludes with Jefferson recovering and Christie and her brother live in Bronson's house, including Christie's intention to become a pianist. It appears that the Cutler 'curse' has finally been broken.
Characters
- Jefferson Longchamp: Son of Dawn and Jimmy, and younger half-brother of Christie. He is described as messy and hot-tempered.
- Richard Culter: Son of Philip and Betty Ann, and twin brother of Melanie. He is a tyrant and rude to his cousins.
- Melanie Culter: Daughter of Philip and Betty Ann, and twin sister of Richard. She is jealous of Christie and always defends Richard.
- Gavin Longchamp: Younger half-brother of Jimmy and Fern, and son of Ormand and Edwina. He has been in love with Christie since childhood and comes to her side when she runs away from the hotel.
- Edwina Longchamp: Second wife of Ormand and mother of Gavin.
- Homer: A neighbor of the Booth plantation. It is revealed that he is the son of Charlotte and Luther, and was given away by Emily. Like Charlotte, he is mentally retarded and almost never speaks.
External links
Dollanganger Series Flowers in the Attic (1979) · Petals on the Wind (1980) · If There Be Thorns (1981) · Seeds of Yesterday (1984) · Garden of Shadows (1986)
Casteel Series Heaven (1985) · Dark Angel (1986) · Fallen Hearts (1988) · Gates of Paradise (1989) · Web of Dreams (1990)
Cutler Series Dawn (1990) · Secrets of the Morning (1991) · Twilight's Child (1992) · Midnight Whispers (1992) · Darkest Hour (1993)
Landry Series Ruby (1994) · Pearl in the Mist (1994) · All That Glitters (1995) · Hidden Jewel (1995) · Tarnished Gold (1996)
Other novels My Sweet Audrina (1982) · The Orphans series
Film adaptations Flowers in the Attic (1987) · Rain (2006)
Categories:- 1992 novels
- Novels by V. C. Andrews
- American young adult novels
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