Darkness at Noon by Hungarian-born Arthur Koestler (who settled in the UK in 1940) was first published 80 years ago, in 1940. It later became one of the most famous books of the Cold War, if not of the twentieth century. Perhaps more than any other novel it caught the atmosphere of the Stalinist purges and show trials in the 1930s. Why did so many of the old Bolsheviks confess that they had betrayed the Revolution? Because they were tortured? Or were there other reasons? And why did Koestler's novel become so important in the Cold War?
On 2 December 2020 Insiders/Outsiders, in partnership with Jewish Book Week, hosted this online discussion about Koestler's famous novel and its enduring legacy. The speakers were Koestler's niece, Ariane Bankes, Deputy Chair of the trustees of Koestler Arts, Koestler's biographer Michael Scammell and Polish-born writer Eva Hoffman, author of Lost in Translation. The discussion was chaired by David Herman.
