Let There Be Light (Clarke short story)

"Let There Be Light" is a science fiction short story by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1957[1] in a Scottish Sunday newspaper.

The tale is told through a narrator that Clarke often uses, Harry Purvis, one of the regulars at the White Hart pub.

Harry relates the tale of Edgar Burton, a stockbroker who retires to the Yorkshire moors with his younger wife, who quickly tires of country life.

However, he eventually feels that he is being made a fool, and is irritated that her midnight returns from her trysts are ruining his observing sessions as her car headlights shine on the house from a sharp bend in the road.

Edgar concocts a scheme to kill his wife by building a searchlight and blinding her with it as she makes the bend, which is next to a cliff.