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Ballantine Books Peanuts #1
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Snoopy
It’s the writer’s life for Snoopy!
The world’s most talented beagle has found a new career—as a writer, of course! The Literary Ace works feverishly on his typewriter, day and night, atop his doghouse. And while Snoopy is busy writing the next great American novel, you can be sure that the rest of the Peanuts gang will try to get in on the action—especially that “round-headed kid,” Charlie Brown. ’Cause it just wouldn’t be a story without some great characters—the ones right under our favorite doggy virtuoso’s nose!
The world’s most talented beagle has found a new career—as a writer, of course! The Literary Ace works feverishly on his typewriter, day and night, atop his doghouse. And while Snoopy is busy writing the next great American novel, you can be sure that the rest of the Peanuts gang will try to get in on the action—especially that “round-headed kid,” Charlie Brown. ’Cause it just wouldn’t be a story without some great characters—the ones right under our favorite doggy virtuoso’s nose!
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,213 books1,539 followersCharles Monroe Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 28, 2019
You know, I'm amazed I never read this whole book before. I've seen a lot of the individual cartoons in newspaper comic sections over the years, but it never occurred to me to get the collection. It was going used for a penny so how could I resist when I saw the category for a Dark and Stormy Night on Halloween Bingo!
I think this should be required reading for all wannabe writers. Not only is it a great collection of classic Snoopy cartoons, but it highlights some of the inner thoughts of the writer within many of us.
Highly recommended!
I think this should be required reading for all wannabe writers. Not only is it a great collection of classic Snoopy cartoons, but it highlights some of the inner thoughts of the writer within many of us.
Highly recommended!
April 3, 2017
This review is for the stand alone novel by Snoopy. The epitome of concise literature.
August 6, 2015
I'm still trying to figure out why comics are non-fiction, how many dogs do you know that become World War I flying aces, vultures and aspire to become a novelist?
My love for Peanuts continues unabated, I was hoping this would be my dream book---where it's all about Snoopy's writing efforts. I love his typewritten novels. This is not that book, but I'm an Indian's fan so hope springs eternal, maybe it's still out there.
This is a delightful collection though that includes Snoopy as a golfer, Charlie Brown as a marble hustling avenger and Rerun Van Pelt trying to find his place in the world. Any moment spent with the Peanuts gang enjoying the genius of the late Charles M. Schulz is a good one.
My love for Peanuts continues unabated, I was hoping this would be my dream book---where it's all about Snoopy's writing efforts. I love his typewritten novels. This is not that book, but I'm an Indian's fan so hope springs eternal, maybe it's still out there.
This is a delightful collection though that includes Snoopy as a golfer, Charlie Brown as a marble hustling avenger and Rerun Van Pelt trying to find his place in the world. Any moment spent with the Peanuts gang enjoying the genius of the late Charles M. Schulz is a good one.
November 18, 2021
Possibly, One of the all time greatest novels ever penned by a Beagle. A definite short read but what suspense and the climax is truly an all time nail biter. Shultzs comics always impress and this volume is no exception but the highlight of this collection is the definitive work by Snoopy. An all time must read.
Read
March 9, 2009super fantastic.
March 22, 2010
very interesting~
December 1, 2017
Clever and hilarious.
June 19, 2015
Snoopy love is eternal ^^
September 28, 2023
It was a dark and stormy night is such a classic opener, please don't tell those so called writing instructors, they will insist on it being made active; and such redundancy, I mean, come on now dark, stormy, and night all pretty much equating; likewise ism't this merely a demonstration of the commutative property, you might just as well say A dark and stormy night, was it? but then that sounds rather questionable as well; but why are we leading off with an unspecified pronoun to begin with; wait, what, was this written by a beagle or something, back to English 101 prison for you, to be forevermore chastised by tired proffs whose own attempts at writing never took off
October 21, 2022
So many nostalgia flashbacks…! I grew up on Peanuts omg.
I don’t find it as amusing now, though… It’s just nostalgia. I also which there were more comics surrounding Snoopy’s superior writing skills. I really wish that this book actually included his entire “Dark and Stormy Night” script, that is peak comedy and a great parody on literary epics…
I don’t find it as amusing now, though… It’s just nostalgia. I also which there were more comics surrounding Snoopy’s superior writing skills. I really wish that this book actually included his entire “Dark and Stormy Night” script, that is peak comedy and a great parody on literary epics…
May 30, 2020
Twisted story of Snoopy writing a twisted story. Amusing.
October 28, 2014
I'm reading all of Peanuts through the volumes that collect two years at a time, so it is unusual for me to take out any other anthologies because there will be duplicates. I took this one out specifically because William asked for a Snoopy book after watching our first Peanuts disc (Christmas, All Stars, and Great Pumpkin) many times the last couple days. These are the first strips I've ever read with Rerun.
September 3, 2018
Sometimes you just want a comfort read and you don't get much more comforting than Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang! A book you can always count on to cheer you up.
January 26, 2008
An absolute "must read!"
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews