Kleur van duisternis

A collection of eleven short stories plus a novella first published in the USA under the title "Color of Darkness" in 1957. This Penguin Book edition includes a foreword by Edward Albee, who adapted Purdy's novel "Malcolm" for the stage. An excerpt of Albee's foreword: "The things which appeal to me most about Purdy's work - which make me most grateful - are four: its wit, its eroticism, its quirky, pungent prose, and its compassion".

When Purdy had difficulty publishing his first short stories in American magazines, he privately published his first two books, Don't Call Me by My Right Name and Other Stories and 63: Dream Palace, in 1956. Purdy sent copies of these first two books to writers he thought highly of, including the English poet Dame Edith Sitwell. She enthusiastically recommended Purdy's work to an English publisher, Gollancz, who published and distributed Purdy's books in England. Purdy's works were then published in the United States in 1957 in one volume, Color of Darkness: Eleven Stories and a Novella which also included two new stories as the first offerings in the book.

In 1981 Color of Darkness was published by Penguin Books under the title 63: Dream Palace and Other Stories.

The stories included are:
    Color of Darkness
    You May Safely Gaze
    Don't Call Me by My Right Name
    Eventide
    Why Can't They Tell You Why?
    Man and Wife
    You Reach for Your Hat
    A Good Woman
    Plan Now to Attend
    Sound of Talking
    Cutting Edge
    63: Dream Palace