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Post by ropardoe on Sept 7, 2018 7:56:26 GMT
Well, that would be enough to put anyone off! If it was the Asbury 'Not At Night!' triggered MRJ's lamentable outburst, how heartless of him to deny us his thoughts on the likes of H. Thompson Rich's frankly, beguiling, quintessentially non-'Jamesian' The Purple Cincture, Bassett "Brain transplant" Morgan's Laocoon, Paul S. Powers' The Life Serum and Seabury Quinn's early Jules de Grandin adventures, The Horror On The Links and The House Of Horrors. Do you have an exact date for when Some Remarks on the Ghost Stories was written? There's the slimmest chance he was referring to the then most recent Not At Night volume, By Daylight Only (Oct. 1929), featuring The Rats In The Walls, though that seems unlikely. I don't know exactly. As we know, of course, the article appeared in the Christmas 1929 edition of The Bookman. In early November ("the other day", MRJ wrote on November 11th), a photographer came to take a picture to accompany his article, so the likelihood is that he'd written it before then. I think that would make the Oct '29 Not at Night volume a bit too late.
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Post by ropardoe on Sept 6, 2018 8:15:59 GMT
As far as I know MRJ never read any of Lovecraft's fiction...I'd love to know what he'd have thought of it if he had. The only American to compile - or, at least, introduce - a volume of Not At Night (retitled Not At Night! for the occasion) was Herbert "The Gangs of New York" Asbury, for Macy-Masius in 1928. Asbury recycles 25 stories from Christine Campbell Thomson's first three selections - among them Lovecraft's The Horror At Red Hook. Well, that would be enough to put anyone off!
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Post by ropardoe on Sept 5, 2018 16:46:54 GMT
I had no idea M. R. James ever read anything by Lovecraft, or was even aware of the latter's existence. Poor HPL. I have no idea what James would have thought of "Charles Dexter Ward." I re-read it a few months ago and found it to be one of HPL's best. cheers, Helrunar As far as I know MRJ never read any of Lovecraft's fiction...I'd love to know what he'd have thought of it if he had. I like to think he'd have enjoyed some of it (I don't like HPL's style but I love some of his stories!). When quoting MRJ's derogatory comment on the style of "Supernatural Horror in Literature", it's worth bearing in mind that he then went on to refer to the information in it throughout his letter so he must have found some merit in it!
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 20, 2018 8:07:52 GMT
THE BLACK PILGRIMAGE reviewed in THE WASHINGTON POST.
Rosemary Pardoe’s “The Black Pilgrimage & Other Explorations: Essays on Supernatural Fiction”, gets ‘first billing’ in Michael Dirda’s “Washington Post” column of 15th August. In ‘This is getting weird: Critics on horror, science fiction and fantasy’, Dirda discusses the cross-fertilization of the horror, SF and fantasy genres and John Clute’s “useful umbrella term ‘fantastika’”. He then reviews some recent books about fantastika and has some fine things to say about Rosemary Pardoe’s writing.
Of course, a certain person thinks that everything in the Washington Post is 'fake news', so that's one order we won't be getting (hooray!).
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 14, 2018 8:51:54 GMT
Here, for your edification, are the contents of the upcoming Ghosts & Scholars 34:
New Jamesian Fiction:
"The Suppell Stone" (does a prehistoric stone have a guardian or does it have another means of defence?) and "The Chalk Pit" (a prequel to M.R. James's "The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance": what are the true facts of Uncle Henry's death?): two previously unpublished stories by Elsa Wallace: a memorial to this fine author and long-time supporter of Ghosts & Scholars, who died in April 2018. "My Dancing Days are Over" by Paul StJohn Mackintosh (a prequel to "Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance").
Non-Fiction: "H.F.W. Tatham: An Outlier of the James Gang" by Joseph Hinton.
"The Jamesian Elliott O'Donnell?" by Peter Bell.
"The Watermelon and the Hatstand: On Aickman's 'The School Friend' and Others" by Mark Valentine.
"Jamesian Notes & Queries", News (including Rick Kennett's column on Jamesian podcasts) and Reviews sections.
The issue should be out in October, on schedule, as long as my on-going chronic health problems don't intervene. I won't say what they are here for fear of being bombarded by spam from snake oil salesmen trying to sell me 'cures'. But suffice to say they're boringly common and, be assured, they're not at all life-threatening.
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 8, 2018 8:23:08 GMT
Is that the version (or was it the Japanese version) where the experts are allowed to smash up the worthless crap with a hammer? No, the Dutch are more subtle. Having broadcast to the nation that these folk are the proud possessors of some piece of useless stuff, they just leave the owners with the junk intact as well as the problem of what to do with it next... I must admit the British version does get a bit comfortable and genteel at times. A few broken vases might brighten it up (actually I'd be quite willing to offer my services with a hammer to dispose of half of the items valued!). But anyway, a couple of recent episodes were filmed at Cardiff Castle and there's nothing genteel about that glorious place.
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 7, 2018 8:36:58 GMT
If people who haven't read it can find this book in their local library, there's some fascinating detail about the actual craft of the demon sculptures and the filming of those sequences: www.amazon.com/Beating-Devil-Making-Night-Demon/dp/095319261XIt's a shame this book is already out of print. It seems to the be the "curse" of boutique press materials these days. That's extraordinary that a painting by Austin Osman Spare showed up on the Antiques Roadshow clambake. Makes me think of a 1640s chapbook bearing the memorable title A Pearl in a Dunghill. cheers, Steve It wasn't a particularly good Austin Osman Spare picture though, and despite the expert's best efforts it didn't look all that sinister to me. Not a demon in sight! Still, the valuation was pretty high (arguably not high enough given the keen Spare collectors there are around).
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 5, 2018 15:46:18 GMT
I think it's a very good line-up: Ramsey Campbell, Michael Chislett, Kay Fletcher, Chico Kidd, Terry Lamsley, Jacqueline Simpson, Philip Thompson, Carole Tyrrell, Geoffrey Warburton, C.E. Ward, Gail-Nina Anderson, Helen Grant, Tom Johnstone, Christopher Harman, John Llewellyn Probert, David A. Sutton, and S.A. Rennie. The book is scheduled to be published by Sarob around September. That's a stellar line up! The announcement for it is just up on the Sarob site (http://sarobpress.blogspot.com). I haven't actually read it yet (the announcement - not the book!). I'll be back shortly if there's anything to add!
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 5, 2018 15:41:28 GMT
I can't find a specific Sarob Press thread so I'll start one now. The next Sarob book (circa June) looks especially exciting: a new collection from Peter Bell, with six of the ten stories previously unpublished. Peter is one of the best writers I know for creating a sense of place. sarobpress.blogspot.co.ukThe Autumn Sarob book will be A Ghosts & Scholars Book of Folk Horror, to be followed by... well, one of you knows exactly what it is...! Further to the above, here's the announcement (just up in the past hour or two) for A Ghosts & Scholars Book of Folk Horror: sarobpress.blogspot.com. It's on schedule for publication next month.
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 5, 2018 8:28:52 GMT
Hi Andreas, In a recent issue of Ghosts & Scholars, somebody argued that Karswell was based on the notorious English eccentric Frederick Rolfe, aka "Baron Corvo." I personally doubt this, although the author argued his case very persuasively. If Crowley was the person who suggested the invention of Karswell, I suspect it must have been because of gossip the Master may have heard about Crowley's storming of the barricades of the Golden Dawn. I don't have time to look up the dates right now, but in a book I read about the early history of the Golden Dawn order, some of Crowley's correspondence from the period was quoted. Very Karswell in tenor. In all honesty, Karswell may simply have come into being because of how some English occultists were known to behave, even back in the 1890s and the Edwardian era. Nowadays this kind of thing often manifests as "flame wars." Different communications tech, same tired old bloviating nonsense. Best wishes, Steve So we've got Aleister Crowley, Oscar Browning, and Baron Corvo as options, to which we can perhaps add Montague Summers - something which I hope to have a brief piece on in a future issue of G&S (not next issue). Summers would seem to have claimed that he was a friend of Monty's, but I'm not convinced. Until recently I wasn't even certain that they were ever even in contact, but I've now seen proof that they at least exchanged correspondence in 1931. Anyway, I, like you, don't find any of these arguments entirely convincing and agree that Karswell may have been based on a generic occultist.
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Post by ropardoe on Aug 2, 2018 7:58:27 GMT
I really enjoyed reading this book, which I went through from cover to cover. In quite a few places it was a case of re-acquainting myself with pieces I'd read in G&S, but there was always something new to learn or something forgotten or given added context by other articles in the book. As someone who sometimes struggles on the more academic type of literary essay, I found everything here thoroughly researched, well informed, but very accessible... but, then, I knew that would be the case going in. Blush. Thanks Dan! I'm proud that no one can ever accuse me of writing an "academic type of literary essay". If I ever do, please put me away!
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 31, 2018 15:15:54 GMT
Some writers I just can't get into. Clive Barker is one of them. I recognize his influence, his voice. And still I have a hard time to finish his stories. Every few years I try The Books of Blood again, just a few weeks ago I took Vol.4 from the shelves after reading a nice new review of it. I got stuck again.
Yes, I agree with you on Clive Barker. Just not to my taste. I was once explaining this in detail to whoever I was sitting with at a Fantasycon (I'd just won a bundle of his books in the endless raffle), only to turn around and realise that the person sitting behind me was Clive Barker himself. Talk about embarrassing!
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 29, 2018 8:08:39 GMT
I'm not normally much of a Lucy Worsley fan, but that series was rather good, I thought.
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 20, 2018 8:16:38 GMT
Everything about BBC2's Picnic at Hanging Rock reminds me of Arthur Machen. Everything but the bare bums, that is. After two episodes, I'm reserving judgement. I liked the second episode better than the first, but it's nothing like as good as the film so far.
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Post by ropardoe on Jul 14, 2018 11:08:38 GMT
I've got Peter Bell's book pre-ordered. Hugely excited by that, as I'm a great fan of Peter's work. I have his other Sarob books, but I'm still kicking myself that I missed his Swan River Press collection, Strange Epiphanies, and I can't even begin to justify the current asking price for a second hand edition. As it is, I'm just about to get started on the current Sarob Press publication, Waiting In The Shadows by Katherine Haynes. And I've a few other titles waiting to be read, by Michael Chislett and Ron Weighell. Having taken a break from reading ghost stories for a few weeks (yes, it occasionally happens) has set me back. Peter Bell's book, Revenants & Maledictions, has just arrived. I think I've already read all the four reprints (including the lovely "Blackberry Time" from the third G&S Book of Shadows), but the six new stories are all new to me. Greatly looking forward to reading those this weekend before passing the book on (with eye tracks!) to the G&S reviewer. Apparently only 25 copies remain, so folk should get their orders in quickly if they haven't already.
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