The Story of Ivy
What is The Story of Ivy about?
The Story of Ivy (1927) is Marie Belloc Lowndes’s psychological crime novel about Ivy Lexton, a beautiful, amoral woman trapped in an unhappy marriage. When Ivy falls for a wealthy man, she devises a scheme to rid herself of her husband using arsenic. The novel is an inverted mystery—the reader knows the killer from the start—focusing on Ivy’s cold calculation and the tension of whether she will be caught. Lowndes creates a chilling portrait of a psychopath in respectable society, anticipating the domestic noir genre.
Main themes in The Story of Ivy
Inverted mystery
In The Story of Ivy, inverted mystery provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Domestic noir
Domestic noir emerges as a defining element in The Story of Ivy, shaping character development.
Poisoning
The theme of poisoning weaves through The Story of Ivy, adding depth to its narrative.
Femme fatale
The Story of Ivy thoughtfully explores femme fatale through its central conflicts.
Why The Story of Ivy is still relevant today
The Story of Ivy is a masterful inverted mystery and early domestic noir. Its cold-blooded female protagonist anticipated the modern gone-girl genre by decades.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Story of Ivy about?
A beautiful, amoral woman plans to poison her husband to be free for a wealthy lover, in this chilling inverted mystery.
Is it a whodunit?
No—the reader knows the killer. The tension comes from whether Ivy will be caught and how far she’ll go.
Is it similar to The Lodger?
Both are psychological crime novels, but Ivy focuses on the criminal’s mind rather than a detective’s investigation.
Can I read it free online?
Yes, the complete novel is available free on TextStack.