Category: Bad Dad Tales

Culla Holme, the father in Cormac McCarthy’s novel Outer Dark, impregnates his sister Rinthy. After she gives birth, he leaves the infant in the woods to die, lying to Rinthy that the baby died of natural causes and was buried. Then Culla skips town. Bad dad. Bad bro. Bad guy. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

In Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Humbert Humbert can’t be anything but a terrible stepfather with a name that suggests humbug and fake humility. Although books about pedophiles are now common, Nabokov’s 1955 novel broke new ground by exposing how Humbert justified his vile acts by blaming his twelve-year-old victim for seducing him. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

Ivan the Terrible, who ruled Russia from 1533 to 1584, beat his pregnant daughter-in-law for wearing revealing clothes. She miscarried. When her husband (also named Ivan) protested, the czar beat his heir on the head with a scepter. His son died a few days later, while Ivan the Terrible prayed at his bedside for a miracle. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

In 1533, Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, coerced his daughter to marry King Henry VIII to improve his own standing in court. Three years later, having failed to produce a male heir, Anne was beheaded for high treason. Thomas, despite his influence, did nothing to save her. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.

Reams have been written about horrendous mothers, but what about terrible fathers? In conjunction with the publication of my novel The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, must learn the true meaning of fatherhood, I’m collecting “bad dad” stories about real and fictional characters who fall short of the ideal. From ancient times (the Old Testament; Greek mythology) to the present (true crime podcasts; graphic novels and memoirs), there’s no shortage of cringe-worthy candidates. No doubt you have your own favorites drawn from personal experience, lurid news accounts, and imaginary demons. Enjoy my series of bad dad posts, and read The Great Stork Derby. Read more about the book in NOVELS.