Author Genre(s) Science fiction Publication type anthology | Language English Published in Dangerous Visions Publisher Doubleday | |
"A Toy for Juliette" is a short story by American writer Robert Bloch, appearing for the first time in Harlan Ellison's anthology Dangerous Visions.
Contents
Plot
Jack the Ripper is pulled into a dystopic future by a sadistic femme fatale and her mysterious grandfather. There, she attempts to seduce him, only for Jack to find a knife underneath a pillow in her bed. The rest is left to the reader's imagination.
Sequel
Ellison wrote a sequel for the same anthology called "The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World".
Themes
Bloch incorporates themes of dystopic libertarianism—the title character, Juliette, is named after the Marquis de Sade's Juliette. Sade was the man for whom "sadism" is named, and Bloch often uses his works in connection with the mentally unstable, such as his character Norman Bates in Psycho.