Language English Media type Print (Hardback) Followed by The Spirit Cabinet Publisher Random House of Canada Preceded by Logan in Overtime | Publication date 1994 Pages 309 pp Originally published 1994 Genre Novel Country Canada | |
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Civilization, and Its Part in My Downfall is a novel by Canadian writer Paul Quarrington, published in 1994 by Random House Canada.
Set during the early days of the film industry in Hollywood, the novel centres on Thom Moss, a onetime silent film star who is now in prison and is writing his personal account of his rise and fall. Characters who play a role in his story include J.D.D. Jensen, a Western fiction author who first introduces him to the film industry; Caspar Willison, a D. W. Griffith-like film director who first makes Moss a star but ultimately destroys him by refusing to give him a role in the planned epic film Civilization; Jefferson Foote, Willison's one-armed screenwriter and Moss's best friend in the industry; and Thespa Doone, Moss's frequent costar and love interest.
Although favourably reviewed by critics, the novel sold poorly, which pushed Quarrington to concentrate more actively on film and television writing.