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Post by dem bones on Nov 8, 2015 10:33:27 GMT
This particular Mammoth was the one that first got me interested in ghost stories of the Victorian/Edwardian eras, Dem. I must have first read it around 1996 I would guess and keep dipping into it again from time to time. I liked the Alice Perrin stories well enough, 'Caufield's Crime' being my favourite. The thing that I like about the collection is that there are a fair few tales and authors that don't often get anthologised and the introductions to each story that Dalby provides are informative and point the reader to where he can find more by that author. I probably have 5 or 6 other anthologies of Victorian/Edwardian ghost stories, but this Mammoth edition is my favourite and I would recommend it to anyone who would like a fine selection of tales from those eras. It was Hugh Lamb's anthologies got into the Victorian/Edwardian eras, which led me to Richard Dalby's work, pretty much the natural progression (I'm sure it works in reverse as they have several [then] largely forgotten authors in common). I really must give Mr. Dalby the Vault 'bibliography in progress' treatment one of these days (unless somebody else wants to give it a go?). Long overdue.
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Post by ripper on Nov 9, 2015 9:55:43 GMT
Hugh Lamb is another good source for neglected tales from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, as you say, Dem. I also get the impression that despite Dalby, Lamb etc's sterling work, the surface has only been scratched in bringing to public attention neglected stories. There must still be many fine tales languishing in obscurity in some yellowing and brittle magazine pages and forgotten collections.
'The Trainer's Ghost' by Lettice Galbraith is another story with an unusual setting, far removed from what might be called the norm for supernatural fiction of the time. It's very setting makes it stand out from the crowd and it is well worth a read imo.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Mar 13, 2017 9:00:26 GMT
Frank Cowper – Christmas Eve On A Haunted Hulk Richard Marsh – A Set of Chessmen I picked up The Giant Book Of Classic Ghost Stories which seems to include most if not all of these. Really enjoyed the Cowper tale. As other correspondents have remarked it's full of atmosphere (especially the descriptions of the environment surrounding the area into which our narrator goes). The lack of explanation also works in it's favour. A Set Of Chessmen is also a ghoulish delight, with a rather unfair ending. It reminded me of that set of thrillers Steve flagged up on the old Vault (?) that tried to make chess exciting.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 14, 2017 10:33:36 GMT
A Set Of Chessmen is also a ghoulish delight, with a rather unfair ending. It reminded me of that set of thrillers Steve flagged up on the old Vault (?) that tried to make chess exciting. Sort of: he actually introduced a few chess items to exciting Most Boring Covers thread. No surprise that Peter Haining compiled at least one macabre chess theme anthology (cover photo: dull). 'Richard Peyton' [ed.] Sinister Gambits: Murder & Mystery at the Chessboard (Souvenir Press, 1992) I. Grandplayer's Nightmare
Fritz Leiber - The Dreams of Albert Moreland Lord Dunsany - The Three Sailors' Gambit Gerald Kersh - The Devil that Troubled the Chessboard Stephen Leacock - Pawn to King's Four Stefan Zweig - The Royal Game J. G. Ballard - End Game
II Bizarre Chessmen
Lucretia P. Hale - The Queen of the Red Chessmen Robert Barr - A Game of Chess Richard Marsh - A Set of Chessmen E.R. Punshon - The Haunted Chessmen August Derleth - Bishop's Gambit Poul Anderson - The Immortal Game
III Blood Chess
Agatha Christie - A Chess Problem Alfred Noyes - Checkmate H. Russell Wakefield - Professor Pownall's Oversight Fredric Brown - The Cat from Siam Stanley Ellin - Fool's Mate Kenneth Gavrell - A Better Chess Player
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Post by fritzmaitland on Oct 18, 2020 22:03:13 GMT
Alice Perrin - Caulfield’s Crime: Caulfield, the finest shot in the Punjab, is as unpopular for his misanthrope as he's admired for bagging game, so the narrator is suitably flattered when he's invited to join him on one of his forays into the jungle. It's all going to plan .... until an emaciated old fakir deliberately scares off the wild geese in retaliation for Caulfield throwing a stone at him. Caulfield, true to form, shoots him down. The fakir's hideously repulsive face is even worse in death - neither man likes the look of it at all. Dragging the dead man into the trees, they head off for a bite in the village as though nothings happened. But when they return to bury the poor devil, a jackal is feasting on his corpse. You can bet the fakir is not going to forgive and forget Caulfield in a hurry! October 17th - Caulfield's Crime, Alice Perrin. I really meant to go for a few of the female written stories, but fate allowed me the one. I believe Ms Perrin was resident in Injah at the time of Empire (according to Mr Dalby's intro), so the story has a great feeling of reality. Caulfield harks back to Zaroff as the hunter's hunter, but, like Zaroff, the story brings him down. The fakir is sinister, and, as a mendicant priest when he holds out his bowl for alms and Caulfield merely hurls a pebble at him, you know the Englishman is on borrowed time.The one-eared jackal is a great character in his own right - supernatural?- both the harbinger and means of Caulfield (and the British Empire?)'s decline and fall. Mind you, the hunter's outrageous line about killing a native being not on "in these days" perhaps points out it's just as well. Another good slow burner, that gradually builds.
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Post by ripper on Oct 25, 2020 13:09:19 GMT
Alice Perrin - Caulfield’s Crime: Caulfield, the finest shot in the Punjab, is as unpopular for his misanthrope as he's admired for bagging game, so the narrator is suitably flattered when he's invited to join him on one of his forays into the jungle. It's all going to plan .... until an emaciated old fakir deliberately scares off the wild geese in retaliation for Caulfield throwing a stone at him. Caulfield, true to form, shoots him down. The fakir's hideously repulsive face is even worse in death - neither man likes the look of it at all. Dragging the dead man into the trees, they head off for a bite in the village as though nothings happened. But when they return to bury the poor devil, a jackal is feasting on his corpse. You can bet the fakir is not going to forgive and forget Caulfield in a hurry! October 17th - Caulfield's Crime, Alice Perrin. I really meant to go for a few of the female written stories, but fate allowed me the one. I believe Ms Perrin was resident in Injah at the time of Empire (according to Mr Dalby's intro), so the story has a great feeling of reality. Caulfield harks back to Zaroff as the hunter's hunter, but, like Zaroff, the story brings him down. The fakir is sinister, and, as a mendicant priest when he holds out his bowl for alms and Caulfield merely hurls a pebble at him, you know the Englishman is on borrowed time.The one-eared jackal is a great character in his own right - supernatural?- both the harbinger and means of Caulfield (and the British Empire?)'s decline and fall. Mind you, the hunter's outrageous line about killing a native being not on "in these days" perhaps points out it's just as well. Another good slow burner, that gradually builds. Caulfield's Crime did remind me somewhat of the supernatural tales written by Rudyard Kipling that were set in India. Perrin's The Bead Necklace is also very good imo. The drunken lecher whom the heroine's father wants her to marry for money reasons is such a memorable character, and the story is well worth a read. I would also recommend Edith Nesbit's The Shadow. The characters are drawn so well. It is also an unusual ghost story for the time--or is it a ghost? Actually, it isn't entirely clear what it is that is 'haunting' the family.
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Post by Dr Strange on Oct 25, 2020 16:32:44 GMT
I would also recommend Edith Nesbit's The Shadow. The characters are drawn so well. It is also an unusual ghost story for the time--or is it a ghost? Actually, it isn't entirely clear what it is that is 'haunting' the family. Yes, excellent story. And quite miserable, of course. There is a theory that "The Shadow" is {Spoiler}syphillis, passed from the weak-willed husband to his wife, and then congenitally to their child.
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Post by ripper on Oct 25, 2020 19:58:41 GMT
I would also recommend Edith Nesbit's The Shadow. The characters are drawn so well. It is also an unusual ghost story for the time--or is it a ghost? Actually, it isn't entirely clear what it is that is 'haunting' the family. Yes, excellent story. And quite miserable, of course. There is a theory that "The Shadow" is {Spoiler}syphillis, passed from the weak-willed husband to his wife, and then congenitally to their child. That's a really interesting theory and I had not heard of it before. I can see how it makes sense and at that time direct reference to it would have been a no-no. Thanks for bringing it up, Dr S.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Oct 26, 2020 12:28:36 GMT
Yes, excellent story. And quite miserable, of course. There is a theory that "The Shadow" is {Spoiler}{Spoiler}syphillis, passed from the weak-willed husband to his wife, and then congenitally to their child. That's a really interesting theory and I had not heard of it before. I can see how it makes sense and at that time direct reference to it would have been a no-no. Thanks for bringing it up, Dr S. To spoil the spoiler, how could that happen if the husband had a weak will?
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Post by Dr Strange on Oct 26, 2020 13:58:03 GMT
Resist temptation and the devil will flee.
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Post by andydecker on Oct 26, 2020 19:30:46 GMT
I can resist everything except temptation.
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Post by fritzmaitland on Oct 7, 2021 11:22:05 GMT
E. Nesbit – The Mystery of the Semi-Detached Lettice Galbraith – The Trainer’s Ghost Lettice Galbraith – The Trainer’s Ghost: On the eve of the big race at Ebor, Slimmy the tout and his cronies from The Cat And Compass attempt to knobble the favourite to improve their own nag, The Ghoul's chances. They reckon without Ould Coulson, the trainer, fifteen years dead but still possessed of a competitive spirit. E. Nesbit - The Mystery of the Semi-Detached: A young man arranges to meet his intended wife at Crystal Palace. Having waited ages and, finding the door to her house open, he wanders in. There she is, sprawled on the bed, her throat slashed ear to ear! A policeman approaches just as he's throwing a fit on the pavement, takes him for a drunk and treats him to night in the cell. The following morning he tells his story at court and the kindly officer visits the house to check upon the young lady's health. She's fine. So who was horribly murdered? What can Mr Galbraith offer me for the 7th October? Edith Nesbit's The Mystery of The Semi-Detached. An atmospheric and sinister opening leads to a rather *spoiler* dull prediction ending. As this was only four pages or so, I moseyed off to the splendidly named Lettice Galbraith's The Trainer's Ghost. Most enjoyable Sport In Horror tale, especially as the parents and grandparents were students of the turf. A motley collection of shysters are holed up in a pub in a torrential downpour, when a local jockey (who they'd given up on ) arrives to tell them that the Captain and his trainer have a dead cert for an upcoming big race they'd hope to make a killing on. Poor old tout Slimmy goes out to spy on this horse and confirms it's prowess, unfortunately falling out of the tree he'd hidden in, so receiving a damn good thrashing from the Captain. He and the Landlord sneak up to the Captain's stables to put the fix in on this wonder nag, but hadn't reckoned on the Captain switching stalls - Rocket is now in a hardly used part of the stable where an unfortunate and bloody incident took place years ago. They drug a hapless on guard stable boy, but discover they're not alone in the stall....really enjoyed this!
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Post by dem bones on Oct 7, 2021 15:30:39 GMT
Great to hear from you, Fritz. Just in case you were unaware, Lettice Galbraith shares a Wordsworth budget price Mystery & Supernatural collection with Louisa Baldwin, The Shadow on the Blind, good fun as I recall.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 19, 2023 15:43:46 GMT
Robert W. Chambers - The Bridal Pair: (Harper's Monthly, Dec. 1902). "Love is stronger than all — stronger than death."
A twenty-five-year-old New York doctor is haunted by the vision of a beautiful young woman he's never met to the point where his work suffers and "I — I wonder whether I am — perfectly — well." His only previous experience of this malady was when, aged ten, he fell in love with eight-year-old Rosamund. At the time, he couldn't bring himself to tell her how he felt. She died three years ago. On a colleague's advice, he returns home to Wildwood to rest. His arrival coincides with the anniversary of Rosamund's death. She's waiting for him in the graveyard.
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Post by ripper on Aug 5, 2023 13:28:09 GMT
I want to put in a word for Rhoda Broughton's Poor Pretty Bobby. I just love the setting and characterisation of this tale. The dialogue between the young lady reading to the narrator at the beginning is wonderful imo, and quite funny at times. The romance between the old lady as a young girl and Bobby is nicely done, and the supernatural element is almost a bonus in that I could have happily just read it as a romance. It's one I have read many times and never tire of. Based on PPB, I can see why Mrs Broughton was so popular.
Allen Upward's The Story of the Green House, Wallington was first in a series of tales of an estate agent and his female assistant who deals with haunted houses. They appeared in The Royal magazine. Black Heath have collected the stories along with two other sets in a Kindle edition. Having read all of the Upward stories, the one in the Mammoth anthology is probably the best imo, but for 99p the ebook is well worth getting.
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