The Rainbird Pattern
by Victor Canningliterary work· published 1972
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The Rainbird Pattern is a thriller novel by Victor Canning, published by Heinemann in 1972. The novel has been described as Canning's best work in the thriller genre. Elderly spinster Julia Rainbird, under sessions by medium Blanche Tyler, or "Madame Blanche", promises her a large sum of money to locate her illegitimate nephew, Edward Shoebridge. Blanche and her boyfriend, George Lumley, begin making inquiries around their area about the Shoebridges, despite no one knowing where Edward is, or if he is alive. Meanwhile, Edward Shoebridge, alive and under the pseudonym of "the Trader", has been organising small kidnappings around the area, but is planning a larger score, the Archbishop of Canterbury, whom he will hold for a large ransom.
Adaptations (2)
The Rainbird Pattern has been adapted into 2 films (1976). The most recent is Family Plot (1976).
Family Plot1976 · film · 120 min · dir. Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb ↗Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
Plotting 'Family Plot'? · film · 48 min · dir. Laurent Bouzereau · IMDb ↗IMDb6.4Documentary about the making of Alfred Hitchcock's "Family Plot".
