---
product_id: 5885744
title: "Sanctuary"
price: "€ 36.79"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/5885744-sanctuary
store_origin: GR
region: Greece
---

# Sanctuary

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## Description

desertcart.com: Sanctuary: 9780679748144: Faulkner, William: Books

Review: Complex moral tale about the nature of evil - Among Faulkner's works, Sanctuary is a bit unusual and has a certain notoriety. Faulkner himself called it a "potboiler" that he wrote mainly for the income. At first rejected by the publisher for its violent and sexual content, Faulkner later did a revision that led to its publication. Faulkner's comments have been questioned by some critics because the novel is complex and addresses serious moral themes. I found it to be a substantial work. The plot of Sanctuary is fairly complicated and I will indicate only a brief summary here. The main characters are: Horace Benbow, an idealistic lawyer who is unhappy with his family life; Temple Drake, a young female student at Ole Miss who is a bit wild and likes to party; Popeye, a gangster in the bootleg whiskey business who is also a murderer and rapist; and Lee Goodwin, another bootlegger associated with Popeye. The story unfolds as Temple and her intoxicated date wreck their car and find themselves stranded among a gang of bootleggers at an old dilapidated house. She immediately becomes an object of sexual interest to the men, and is eventually raped by Popeye. One man trying to protect Temple is murdered by Popeye, who then takes Temple away and deposits her at a brothel in Memphis. Meanwhile, Lee Goodwin is accused of the murder but refuses to implicate Popeye out of fear. A trial is set to take place for Goodwin and Horace Benbow is his defense lawyer. Horace is convinced of Goodwin's innocence, and later learns of Temple's presence at the scene and of her rape. There follows a series of behind-the-scene manipulations by Popeye and by Horace's sister Narcissa to influence the prosecuting attorney and fix the blame on Goodwin. A critical incident is when Temple suddenly appears at the trial and perjures herself by testifying that Goodwin was the murderer. Her motivation for doing this is not explained and may involve her developing feelings for Popeye or pressure from her father who is a judge to protect Temple's reputation. The trial concludes with a rapid conviction of Goodwin for rape and murder. Shortly afterwards, the aroused citizens lynch Goodwin and set his body on fire. Horace is shattered by this miscarriage of justice and returns to his family a broken man. Temple is returned to her father who takes her away to Europe with her reputation severely compromised. Popeye is eventually arrested in another state and hung for a crime he didn't commit. So what is the moral of this tragic story? One critic (Cleanth Brooks) has argued that Sanctuary is all about the discovery of evil by the innocent. Neither Horace or Temple are very acquainted with the evil side of life exhibited by murderous men like Popeye and manipulating women like Narcissa. Horace's ideals and his belief in justice and the rule of law are shattered. Due to her brutal rape and treatment at the brothel, Temple has lost any innocence she may initially have had and in fact has developed a taste for the steamier side of life. All in all, Sanctuary is a complex novel that investigates how the influence of evil people can corrupt even the most moral of individuals. I highly recommend the book.
Review: Sanctuary by William Faulkner - For some reason desertcart is including reviews for, I think, a Nora Roberts book under Faulkner's title, so to be clear I named my review for the novel I am actually reviewing. Faulkner described his writing this wanting to write a "potboiler" but I suspect he either had something else in mind or he, like some other artists I am familiar with, can't help but be creative. There's so much more here than just that. Temple Drake moves from a life of college and parties, under the protection of her father (a judge, whose existence she seems to think protects her even out of his presence) and four brothers, to slumming it with Gowan Stevens (he learned to drink like a gentleman in college) and found herself in another world where she didn't belong. Ruby, mostly referred to as 'the woman' because she willingly lost her identity for a man who seems to own her without loving her, sees this clearly right away. Temple finds herself in beyond over her head and isolated from the rest of the world, her old world, and even when she has chances to escape (just leaving, or later in a car stop) it's convincing why this doesn't happen. Ultimately, though, Temple is a survivor. Horace Benbow, from Flags in the Dust, figures prominently (which is what lead me to read Sanctuary after The Unvanquished and Flags) as does his sister (who we see more of the controlling negative side). Horace's interest in Temple is fueled by his concern for the similarity of Little Belle, who is also in college. In the end everyone gets what they have coming to them, which was a little more satisfying than some of Faulkner's other novels. In what tends to be typical Faulkner doesn't always make it clear who is who (it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the "Lee" and "Goodwin" were the same person) and things happen so suddenly that it takes a while to get it clear, but this has come to be part of the enjoyment of reading this author. On my journey in reading the (so-called non-major) novels I've missed I'm moving on to the sequel Requiem for a Nun. Solid novel, much underrated in my opinion.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | 0679748148 |
| Best Sellers Rank | #63,210 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #838 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books) #1,325 in Classic Literature & Fiction #3,123 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (564) |
| Dimensions  | 5.2 x 0.71 x 7.99 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 9780679748144 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0679748144 |
| Item Weight  | 9.6 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 336 pages |
| Publication date  | December 6, 1993 |
| Publisher  | Vintage |

## Images

![Sanctuary - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8141cUqw7jL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Complex moral tale about the nature of evil
*by E***R on August 20, 2024*

Among Faulkner's works, Sanctuary is a bit unusual and has a certain notoriety. Faulkner himself called it a "potboiler" that he wrote mainly for the income. At first rejected by the publisher for its violent and sexual content, Faulkner later did a revision that led to its publication. Faulkner's comments have been questioned by some critics because the novel is complex and addresses serious moral themes. I found it to be a substantial work. The plot of Sanctuary is fairly complicated and I will indicate only a brief summary here. The main characters are: Horace Benbow, an idealistic lawyer who is unhappy with his family life; Temple Drake, a young female student at Ole Miss who is a bit wild and likes to party; Popeye, a gangster in the bootleg whiskey business who is also a murderer and rapist; and Lee Goodwin, another bootlegger associated with Popeye. The story unfolds as Temple and her intoxicated date wreck their car and find themselves stranded among a gang of bootleggers at an old dilapidated house. She immediately becomes an object of sexual interest to the men, and is eventually raped by Popeye. One man trying to protect Temple is murdered by Popeye, who then takes Temple away and deposits her at a brothel in Memphis. Meanwhile, Lee Goodwin is accused of the murder but refuses to implicate Popeye out of fear. A trial is set to take place for Goodwin and Horace Benbow is his defense lawyer. Horace is convinced of Goodwin's innocence, and later learns of Temple's presence at the scene and of her rape. There follows a series of behind-the-scene manipulations by Popeye and by Horace's sister Narcissa to influence the prosecuting attorney and fix the blame on Goodwin. A critical incident is when Temple suddenly appears at the trial and perjures herself by testifying that Goodwin was the murderer. Her motivation for doing this is not explained and may involve her developing feelings for Popeye or pressure from her father who is a judge to protect Temple's reputation. The trial concludes with a rapid conviction of Goodwin for rape and murder. Shortly afterwards, the aroused citizens lynch Goodwin and set his body on fire. Horace is shattered by this miscarriage of justice and returns to his family a broken man. Temple is returned to her father who takes her away to Europe with her reputation severely compromised. Popeye is eventually arrested in another state and hung for a crime he didn't commit. So what is the moral of this tragic story? One critic (Cleanth Brooks) has argued that Sanctuary is all about the discovery of evil by the innocent. Neither Horace or Temple are very acquainted with the evil side of life exhibited by murderous men like Popeye and manipulating women like Narcissa. Horace's ideals and his belief in justice and the rule of law are shattered. Due to her brutal rape and treatment at the brothel, Temple has lost any innocence she may initially have had and in fact has developed a taste for the steamier side of life. All in all, Sanctuary is a complex novel that investigates how the influence of evil people can corrupt even the most moral of individuals. I highly recommend the book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sanctuary by William Faulkner
*by K***N on May 30, 2019*

For some reason Amazon is including reviews for, I think, a Nora Roberts book under Faulkner's title, so to be clear I named my review for the novel I am actually reviewing. Faulkner described his writing this wanting to write a "potboiler" but I suspect he either had something else in mind or he, like some other artists I am familiar with, can't help but be creative. There's so much more here than just that. Temple Drake moves from a life of college and parties, under the protection of her father (a judge, whose existence she seems to think protects her even out of his presence) and four brothers, to slumming it with Gowan Stevens (he learned to drink like a gentleman in college) and found herself in another world where she didn't belong. Ruby, mostly referred to as 'the woman' because she willingly lost her identity for a man who seems to own her without loving her, sees this clearly right away. Temple finds herself in beyond over her head and isolated from the rest of the world, her old world, and even when she has chances to escape (just leaving, or later in a car stop) it's convincing why this doesn't happen. Ultimately, though, Temple is a survivor. Horace Benbow, from Flags in the Dust, figures prominently (which is what lead me to read Sanctuary after The Unvanquished and Flags) as does his sister (who we see more of the controlling negative side). Horace's interest in Temple is fueled by his concern for the similarity of Little Belle, who is also in college. In the end everyone gets what they have coming to them, which was a little more satisfying than some of Faulkner's other novels. In what tends to be typical Faulkner doesn't always make it clear who is who (it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the "Lee" and "Goodwin" were the same person) and things happen so suddenly that it takes a while to get it clear, but this has come to be part of the enjoyment of reading this author. On my journey in reading the (so-called non-major) novels I've missed I'm moving on to the sequel Requiem for a Nun. Solid novel, much underrated in my opinion.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Second best from Faulkner
*by S***H on March 7, 2010*

Sanctuary is a good starter for introducing people to Faulkner. My all time favorite from Faulkner is Absolom,Absolom but this seems very difficult for people to follow. I grew up in the South, the story in Sanctuary could have truly happened 40 years ago in any community in the South. The title is misleading, none of the characters ever find sanctuary, there is no place within the book that could be called a sanctuary.

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*Last updated: 2026-04-26*