The Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Volume 1

Description

Twenty ghostly tales from the supernatural masters of the Victorian age. Wimbourne Books presents the first in a series of rare or out-of-print ghost stories from Victorian authors. With an introduction by author Alastair Gunn, Volume 1 in the series spans the years 1852 to 1901 and includes stories from a wide range of female authors; English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and American. Includes tales by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Charlotte Riddell, Isabella Banks and Vernon Lee. Readers new to this genre will discover its pleasures; the Victorian quaintness, the sometimes shocking difference in social norms, the almost comical politeness and structured etiquette, the archaic and precise language, but mostly the Victorians’ skill at stoking our fears and trepidations, our insecurities and doubts. Even if you are already an aficionado of the ghostly tale there is much within these pages to interest you. Wait until the dark of the stormy night arrives, lock the doors, shutter the windows, light the fire, sit with your back to the wall and bury yourself in the Victorian macabre. Try not to let the creaking floorboards, the distant howl of a dog, the chill breeze that caresses the candle, the shadows in the far recesses of your room, disturb your concentration. Includes the stories; The Old Nurse’s Story (1852) – Elizabeth Gaskell; The Last House in C- Street (1856) – Dinah Maria Craik; My Friend’s Story (1859) – Catherine Ann Crowe; The Cold Embrace (1860) – Mary Elizabeth Braddon; How The Third Floor Knew The Potteries (1863) – Amelia B. Edwards; The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly (1866) – Rosa Mulholland; Wraith-Haunted (1869) – Isabella Banks; The Ghost in the Cap’n Brown House (1870) – Harriet Beecher Stowe; The Man With the Nose (1872) – Rhoda Broughton; Seen In The Moonlight (1875) – Ellen Wood; The Secret Chamber (1876) – Margaret Oliphant; The Open Door (1882) – Charlotte Riddell; In The Dark (1885) – Mary E. Penn; The Story of the Rippling Train (1887) – Mary Louisa Molesworth; A Wicked Voice (1890) – Vernon Lee; The Trainer’s Ghost (1893) – Lettice Galbraith; How He Left The Hotel (1894) – Louisa Baldwin; The Picture On The Wall (1895) – Katharine Tynan; The Woodley Lane Ghost (1899) – Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren; The Ghost of the Belle-Alliance Plantation (1901) – Lilian Giffen. Contains detailed biographies of all authors Contains stories not previously anthologized Includes a scholarly introduction by author Alastair Gunn