If There Be Thorns
Paperback edition
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| Author | V. C. Andrews |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dollanganger series |
| Genre |
Gothic horror Family saga |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
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Publication date
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1981 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | (1990 reissues) |
| OCLC | 23719996 |
| Preceded by | Petals on the Wind (1980) |
| Followed by | Seeds of Yesterday (1984) |
If There Be Thorns is a novel by Virginia C. Andrews which was published in 1981. It is the third book in the Dollanganger series. The story takes place in the year 1982. There was a Lifetime movie of the same name that premiered on April 5, 2015 (Easter).
The book is narrated by two half-brothers, Jory and Bart Sheffield. Jory is a handsome, talented fourteen-year-old boy who wants to follow his mother Cathy in her career in the ballet, while nine-year old Bart, who sees himself as plain and clumsy, feels inferior to his brother. Bart spends his time in his own world of pretend—often covering bad things that he does with fantasies he creates. He also has congenital analgesia and cannot feel pain as a result, putting him at serious risk of injury or death by infection.
By now, Cathy and Chris live together as husband and wife. To hide their history, they tell the boys and other people they know that Chris was Paul's younger brother. Cathy and Chris have a passionate and very loving relationship, described by Bart who has accidentally witnessed encounters between them. Cathy is a loving mother to her sons, but shows some favoritism towards Jory. Unable to have more children, Cathy adopts Cindy, the two-year-old daughter of one of her former dance students who was killed in an accident. She longs to have a girl, as well as a child that is hers and Christopher's. Initially against it, Chris comes to accept Cindy, and Jory does as well, but Bart is very upset and resentful. Lonely from all the attention Jory and Cindy are receiving, Bart befriends the new elderly next door neighbor, who invites him over for cookies and ice cream and encourages him to call her "Grandmother." Jory eventually goes next door as well to see whom Bart keeps visiting, only to have the old lady tell him that she is actually his grandmother. Jory initially doesn't believe her, and avoids her at all costs. Bart, on the other hand, soon develops an affectionate friendship with the old woman, and she does her best to give Bart whatever he wants while making Bart promise to keep her gifts—and their relationship—a secret from his mother.
The old lady's butler, John Amos, also seems to befriend Bart, but soon John Amos begins to fill Bart's mind with stories about the sinful nature of women. John Amos reveals that the old woman is truly Bart's grandmother, Corrine Foxworth Dollanganger. He also gives Bart a diary that belonged to Bart's biological great-grandfather, Malcolm Foxworth, claiming that this journal will help Bart become as powerful and successful as Malcolm. Bart begins to pretend that he is his great-grandfather, who hated women and was obsessed with their degradation. He becomes destructive and violent towards his parents and siblings; he kicks Jory in the privates, and even tries to drown Cindy in her baby pool. Jory's dog, Clover, comes up missing and is later found dead with a piece of barbed wire twisted about his neck. Bart's family notice the changes but only Jory suspects that the mysterious woman next door is responsible. At the same time, Jory starts to become suspicious of his parents' relationship. Although amazed by their love, which he describes as intense and affectionate, he notices their family resemblance and wonders why his mother would marry Paul, who was much older than her, before Chris.
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