L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace--THE ORACLE OF MADDOX STREET

[helrunar]

This is completely a shot in the dark--I wonder whether anyone here is familiar with L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace's short story cycle, THE ORACLE OF MADDOX STREET (1904)?  Meade/Eustace are best known to me for their Madam Sara cycle, THE SORCERESS IN THE STRAND (an episode of which was dramatized on the 1970s Thames television series THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES).  I just read two of the "Oracle" stories in a digitized anthology on a bus trip.  The stories feature Miss Marburg, a professional palmist who makes use of her arcane skills in solving crimes.

Neither tale was terribly distinguished, but the heroine is a very engaging character and the oddity of the concept is sufficient to make me want to read more.  A google search did not immediately reveal a complete edition and the book seems never to have been reprinted.  Perhaps Gutenberg Australia will have it.  

It just seems to have been one of those unregarded gems that slipped through the cracks of time--that alone may warrant note of it in this cherished Vault of Evil.

cheers, H.

[helrunar]

Further research has unearthed the fact that our authors wrote only three tales featuring "the Oracle of Maddox Street," Diana Marburg. The book bearing that title was filled up with miscellaneous other short stories from their well-occupied pens.

Apparently all three Diana Marburg tales were collected in this book by the equally distinguished and vigorous scholar of such work, Tim Prasil:

www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2015/12/just-plain-fun-giving-up-ghosts-short.html

Best, H.

[dem]

Thank you for posting this, the Giving Up The Ghost anthology sounds absolutely wonderful. Particularly like the sound of Conrad Richter and A. M. Burrage stories. Have read some Meade-Eustace collaborations featuring occult detective John Bell, but hadn't heard of this particular book, or, indeed, Diana Marburg, until your post.

As to John Bell, Mark Valentine included The Warder At The Door in The Black Veil, as did Michel Parry before him in The Supernatural Solution. Hugh Lamb's Gaslit Nightmares II revives The Mystery Of The Felwyn Tunnel, while Peter Haining's Gentlewomen Of Evil has Eyes Of Terror, attributed to L. T. Meade only, though this may be for convenience sake.

[helrunar]

Lord Demonik, my mind reels to contemplate the possibility that I actually unearthed a horror anthology--and a recent one at that--of which you were previously unaware!  I've seen Tim Prasil's name a few times lately, maybe even in posts here, and this anthology does pique my interest.

L. T. Meade did do some solo work as well as writing in collaboration with other authors.  I look forward to further explorations of her oeuvre.  A lot of it apparently was aimed at little girls which is all very nice for them and their parents but not really my cup of Assam.

cheers, H.

[Michael Connolly]

The entirety of The Sorceress in the Strand ("Madame Sara", "The Blood Red Cross", "The Face of the Abbot", "The Talk of the Town", "The Bloodstone" and "The Teeth of the Wolf") can be downloaded from here: digital.library.upenn.edu/women/meade/sorceress/sorceress.html#VI

I've already read the first three, reprinted in facsimile in Alan K. Russell, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Castle Books, 1978).

[Michael Connolly]

Oct 13, 2016 12:55:16 GMT Michael Connolly said:

The entirety of The Sorceress in the Strand ("Madame Sara", "The Blood Red Cross", "The Face of the Abbot", "The Talk of the Town", "The Bloodstone" and "The Teeth of the Wolf") can be downloaded from here: digital.library.upenn.edu/women/meade/sorceress/sorceress.html#VI

I've already read the first three, reprinted in facsimile in Alan K. Russell, The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Castle Books, 1978).

Further to the above, I first read "Madame Sara" in Hugh Greene's The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1970), the best of his four collections.   "The Face of the Abbot" is the investigation of a haunting with a solution which is either ingenious or ridiculous. Saying that, the first three stories cited above are entertaining so I'm looking forward to the last three. 
 

[Michael Connolly]

Oct 12, 2016 20:25:36 GMT dem said:

Thank you for posting this, the Giving Up The Ghost anthology sounds absolutely wonderful. Particularly like the sound of Conrad Richter and A. M. Burrage stories. Have read some Meade-Eustace collaborations featuring occult detective John Bell, but hadn't heard of this particular book, or, indeed, Diana Marburg, until your post.

As to John Bell, Mark Valentine included The Warder At The Door in The Black Veil, as did Michel Parry before him in The Supernatural Solution. Hugh Lamb's Gaslit Nightmares II revives The Mystery Of The Felwyn Tunnel, while Peter Haining's Gentlewomen Of Evil has Eyes Of Terror, attributed to L. T. Meade only, though this may be for convenience sake.

All six John Bells stories in A Master of Mysteries by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace can be read here: www.gutenberg.org/files/22278/22278-h/22278-h.htm

The best of them is the "The Warder of the Door", which explains why it is the most often reprinted. "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel" is included in yet another book entitled The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Barnes & Noble, 2015). This one is edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz.

[cauldronbrewer]

Oct 14, 2016 12:10:00 GMT Michael Connolly said:

Oct 12, 2016 20:25:36 GMT dem said:

Thank you for posting this, the Giving Up The Ghost anthology sounds absolutely wonderful. Particularly like the sound of Conrad Richter and A. M. Burrage stories. Have read some Meade-Eustace collaborations featuring occult detective John Bell, but hadn't heard of this particular book, or, indeed, Diana Marburg, until your post.

As to John Bell, Mark Valentine included The Warder At The Door in The Black Veil, as did Michel Parry before him in The Supernatural Solution. Hugh Lamb's Gaslit Nightmares II revives The Mystery Of The Felwyn Tunnel, while Peter Haining's Gentlewomen Of Evil has Eyes Of Terror, attributed to L. T. Meade only, though this may be for convenience sake.

All six John Bells stories in A Master of Mysteries by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace can be read here: www.gutenberg.org/files/22278/22278-h/22278-h.htm

The best of them is the "The Warder of the Door", which explains why it is the most often reprinted. "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel" is included in yet another book entitled The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Barnes & Noble, 2015). This one is edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz.

I recently picked up a copy of the Wildside Press reprint of A Master of Mysteries, which collects the John Bell stories. I'd already read "The Warder of the Door" and "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel," so I started with "The Mystery of the Circular Chamber." It has the inevitable Scooby-Doo ending--after all, the hero is a "professional exposer of ghosts"--but it's still fun; the mechanism behind the haunting is equal parts ingenious and ridiculous. I like to picture Bell as a Victorian era Fred, complete with orange ascot.

[ripper]

Dec 31, 2020 22:45:28 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

Oct 14, 2016 12:10:00 GMT Michael Connolly said:

All six John Bells stories in A Master of Mysteries by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace can be read here: www.gutenberg.org/files/22278/22278-h/22278-h.htm

The best of them is the "The Warder of the Door", which explains why it is the most often reprinted. "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel" is included in yet another book entitled The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Barnes & Noble, 2015). This one is edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz.

I recently picked up a copy of the Wildside Press reprint of A Master of Mysteries, which collects the John Bell stories. I'd already read "The Warder of the Door" and "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel," so I started with "The Mystery of the Circular Chamber." It has the inevitable Scooby-Doo ending--after all, the hero is a "professional exposer of ghosts"--but it's still fun; the mechanism behind the haunting is equal parts ingenious and ridiculous. I like to picture Bell as a Victorian era Fred, complete with orange ascot.

I downloaded the John Bell collection a few years ago and thought that it was okay, but agree that Warder is the best tale. One or two of the stories are a bit hazy now. I seem to remember one in which involved a canal or river and someone swimming underwater to commit a crime, but may be confusing it for a story in another collection.

Hugh Greene edited a number of 'rivals of Sherlock Holmes' collections in the early 70s. I believe one was used as the basis for story selections for the first season of the TV series.

[Jojo Lapin X]

Jan 2, 2021 19:44:17 GMT ripper said:

Dec 31, 2020 22:45:28 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

I recently picked up a copy of the Wildside Press reprint of A Master of Mysteries, which collects the John Bell stories. I'd already read "The Warder of the Door" and "The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel," so I started with "The Mystery of the Circular Chamber." It has the inevitable Scooby-Doo ending--after all, the hero is a "professional exposer of ghosts"--but it's still fun; the mechanism behind the haunting is equal parts ingenious and ridiculous. I like to picture Bell as a Victorian era Fred, complete with orange ascot.

I downloaded the John Bell collection a few years ago and thought that it was okay, but agree that Warder is the best tale. One or two of the stories are a bit hazy now. I seem to remember one in which involved a canal or river and someone swimming underwater to commit a crime, but may be confusing it for a story in another collection.

Hugh Greene edited a number of 'rivals of Sherlock Holmes' collections in the early 70s. I believe one was used as the basis for story selections for the first season of the TV series.

They were never really "rivals" of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes himself was clearly unaware of their existence.

[helrunar]

Ripper, I've read that Hugh Greene was credited as a creative consultant on The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Those are such delightful adaptations. The teleplays often depart radically from the texts of the source tales.

Greene worked for the BBC but Rivals was a Thames Television production. For me, the two series are amongst the classics.

H.

[cauldronbrewer]

Jan 2, 2021 19:44:17 GMT ripper said:

I downloaded the John Bell collection a few years ago and thought that it was okay, but agree that Warder is the best tale. One or two of the stories are a bit hazy now. I seem to remember one in which involved a canal or river and someone swimming underwater to commit a crime, but may be confusing it for a story in another collection.

Your memory is correct--the story you described is "The Eight-Mile Lock." I read it yesterday along with two other Bell stories, "How Siva Spoke" and "To Prove an Alibi." All three fall short of the earlier tales in the series, but I still enjoyed them enough to consider taking a look at The Sorceress of the Strand.

[ripper]

Jan 2, 2021 20:37:14 GMT helrunar said:

Ripper, I've read that Hugh Greene was credited as a creative consultant on The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Those are such delightful adaptations. The teleplays often depart radically from the texts of the source tales.

Greene worked for the BBC but Rivals was a Thames Television production. For me, the two series are amongst the classics.

H.

Rivals of Sherlock Holmes vols 1 and 2, and American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes are all available for your listening pleasure on the librivox.org website.

I can remember seeing the Rivals of Sherlock Holmes TV series when it was first shown in 1971 in the UK. The Horse of the Invisible episode terrified me...hey I was only 9 at the time! Back then it used to be my job to switch on my parents and my electric blankets, and for weeks after seeing that episode I would run upstairs as fast as my legs would carry me, switch on the blankets, then run down again, all the time scared of that blasted horse getting me.

[ripper]

Jan 2, 2021 22:37:28 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

Jan 2, 2021 19:44:17 GMT ripper said:

I downloaded the John Bell collection a few years ago and thought that it was okay, but agree that Warder is the best tale. One or two of the stories are a bit hazy now. I seem to remember one in which involved a canal or river and someone swimming underwater to commit a crime, but may be confusing it for a story in another collection.

Your memory is correct--the story you described is "The Eight-Mile Lock." I read it yesterday along with two other Bell stories, "How Siva Spoke" and "To Prove an Alibi." All three fall short of the earlier tales in the series, but I still enjoyed them enough to consider taking a look at The Sorceress of the Strand.

Thank you. The titles of the other stories you mentioned ring a bell--no pun intended--but the plots are very hazy. After reading Warder, which I thought was great, the other stories were kind of underwhelming, even though I rate the whole collection as okay. It's a pity the quality of Warder couldn't be maintained for the rest.

[cauldronbrewer]

Oct 12, 2016 15:19:00 GMT helrunar said:

This is completely a shot in the dark--I wonder whether anyone here is familiar with L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace's short story cycle, THE ORACLE OF MADDOX STREET (1904)?  Meade/Eustace are best known to me for their Madam Sara cycle, THE SORCERESS IN THE STRAND (an episode of which was dramatized on the 1970s Thames television series THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES).  I just read two of the "Oracle" stories in a digitized anthology on a bus trip.  The stories feature Miss Marburg, a professional palmist who makes use of her arcane skills in solving crimes.

Swan River Press recently published a collection of L. T. Meade's stories that includes one of the Diana Marburg stories ("The Dead Hand") along with a John Bell story ("The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel") and a Brotherhood of the Seven Kings story ("The Doom"):

Eyes of Terror and Other Adventures - L. T. Meade (Swan River Press, 2021)

Introduction - Janis Dawson

Very Far West (with Clifford Halifax; Strand Magazine, September 1893)
The Panelled Bedroom (with Clifford Halifax; Strand Magazine, December 1896)
The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel (with Robert Eustace; Cassell's Family Magazine, August 1897)
The Dead Hand (with Robert Eustace; Pearson's Magazine, February 1902)
The Doom (with Robert Eustace; Strand Magazine, October 1898)
The Woman with the Hood (Weekly Scotsman, December 1897)
Followed (with Robert Eustace; Strand Magazine, December 1900)
The Man Who Disappeared (with Robert Eustace; Strand Magazine, December 1901)
Eyes of Terror (Strand Magazine, January 1904)
How I Write My Books: An Interview with Mrs. L. T. Meade (The Young Woman, January 1893)

I like the cover art quite a bit. The editor, Janis Dawson, also edited The Sorceress of the Strand and Other Stories (Broadview Press, 2016) and presumably holds the crown as the world's foremost L. T. Meade scholar.