Night of the Triffids

Hodder & Stoughton, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-340-76600-X hardback
New English Library, UK, 2001, ISBN 0-340-76601-8 paperback
Simon looks back at writing this book in [They're Big, They're Green, They're Baa-aack...]
See our [Cover Gallery] for the Chivers audio book cover, a more detailed view of the Hodder cover, and covers from non-English-language editions

Simon Clark writes:

I was twelve years old when I discovered John Wyndham's awe-inspiring Day of the Triffids. For me, standing between the world of childhood and the mysterious new world of adulthood, it was a revelation.
The Day of the Triffids wasn't merely a good story; it was such a powerful transforming experience that the hero's struggle for survival has stayed with me ever since.
And yet always, always, when I re-read this great book, I feel an aching sense of loss as I reach the end. The characters were leaving me. But deep down I knew their stories continued. For years I dreamed about their future adventures.
Now, at long last, I can slip into the hero's shoes to explore the ruins of a great civilisation which died just a few years before the birth of rock and roll, moon landings and colour TV. I can face the menace of the murderous triffid again and learn that the battle for humankind's survival is far from over.
Writing this book was a real labour of love, and I dedicate it with true respect and admiration to John Wyndham, 1903-1969.

At the end of The Day of the Triffids, the hero, Bill Masen, his wife and baby son join a new colony on the Isle of Wight. Temporarily safe in its island fortress, this tiny community begins its work to eradicate the triffid menace and lay the foundations of a new civilisation. Throughout the world similar colonies struggle for survival, while the implacable triffid plant continues its march, seemingly intent on wiping out humankind.

The Night of the Triffids takes up the story twenty-five years later. David Masen, the grown-up son of Bill, is a pilot who eventually manages to reach New York where a very different colony has been set up, a colony whose members seem to be immune to the triffid sting and where David comes face to face with an old enemy from his father's past...

2001 is the 50th anniversary of the first publication of John Wyndham's classic novel, which is fittingly celebrated by the publication of The Night of the Triffids, and a new edition of the Penguin Press original.