“The Power of the Dog”: Thomas Savage’s “Classic” Novel Becomes a Classic Film

Kodi Smit-McPhee portrays a character based on the novelist Thomas Savage.

“Although the facts are not widely known, [Thomas] Savage, though he married and had children, was himself a closeted gay man who carried on a long adulterous gay affair that he kept secret from his family. In fact, Savage and his male lover were even ‘married’ in a ‘commitment ceremony’ performed in Massachusetts.” (Montana Standard, July 7, 2013)

Verifying the above, a close friend of Savage’s daughter recalled: “Yes, and [for] part of their childhood, his lover lived with the family. It was crazy. Then when his wife died, [Savage] went on his gay way, and found a blood sister who was a lesbian, living in a craggy west coast habitat, just like his in Maine!” (Email, November 20, 2021, 2:58PM)

So why should you care?

In 1967, a highly praised novel with a “sensitive” autobiographical core came out. It sold close to 1000 hardbound copies. That was The Power of the Dog by the same Thomas Savage. However, thanks to the book’s rerelease in 2003 with a celebratory afterword by Brokeback Mountain’s Annie Proulx, the book started winning its battle with neglect.