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Post by Michael Connolly on Mar 7, 2018 12:44:07 GMT
I received Newsletter 33 yesterday. I nearly fainted when I saw the illustration on the back cover.
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 7, 2018 16:01:04 GMT
I received Newsletter 33 yesterday. I nearly fainted when I saw the illustration on the back cover. Not a problem I had!!!
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Post by dem bones on Mar 8, 2018 9:15:12 GMT
Rosemary Pardoe [ed.] - Ghosts & Scholars M. R. James Newsletter #33 (Haunted Library, March 2018) Cover: Rosemary Pardoe, Untitled Collage: Back: Cybele's nutcrackers (uncredited).: Editorial Rosemary Pardoe & Rick Kennett - News Michael Chislett - The Whistle Thing Mark Nicholls - Unfinished Business Paul M. Chapman - The Quest For Karswell: An Enquiry Into Identity Rosemary Pardoe - Michael Harrison Reviews: Leah Moore & John Reppion's Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary Vol II: A Graphic Collection Of Short Stories by M. R. James, (Self Made Hero, 2017), reviewed by Rosemary Pardoe. Nicola Upson's Nine Lessons, (Faber & Faber, 2017), reviewed by Dan McGachey. Ron Weighell's The White Road, (Sarob, 2018), reviewed by Peter Bell Dale Nelson's Lady Stanhope's Manuscript & Other Stories, (Nodens, 2017), reviewed by David HarrisMany thanks, Ro! Will attempt to provide a *ahem* commentary over the weekend....
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 8, 2018 9:33:08 GMT
Rosemary Pardoe [ed.] - Ghosts & Scholars M. R. James Newsletter #33 (Haunted Library, March 2018) Cover: Rosemary Pardoe, Untitled Collage: Back: Cybele's nutcrackers (uncredited).: Editorial Rosemary Pardoe & Rick Kennett - News Michael Chislett - The Whistling Thing Mark Nicholls - Unfinished Business Paul M. Chapman - The Quest For Karswell: An Enquiry Into Identity Rosemary Pardoe - Michael Harrison Reviews: Leah Moore & John Reppion's Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary Vol II: A Graphic Collection Of Short Stories by M. R. James, (Self Made Hero, 2017), reviewed by Rosemary Pardoe. Nicola Upson's Nine Lessons, (Faber & Faber, 2017), reviewed by Rosemary Pardoe. Ron Weighell's The White Road, (Sarob, 2018), reviewed by Peter Bell Dale Nelson's Lady Stanhope's Manuscript & Other Stories, (Nodens, 2017), reviewed by David HarrisMany thanks, Ro! Will attempt to provide a *ahem* commentary over the weekend.... Thanks for the listing, Kev. A couple of minor corrections: Mike Chislett's story is called "The Whistle Thing", not "Whistling"; and the review of Nine Lessons is by Dan McGachey. I don't know who the artist of the back cover was: that picture turns up in various places, including in one of Michael Harrison's books, but I scanned it from Gods with Thunderbolts: Religion in Roman Britain by Guy de la Bedoyere, which I happen to have here on my 'gods' shelf!
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Post by helrunar on Mar 8, 2018 13:05:46 GMT
Wow, wow, wow! That's an amazing drawing of the sacramental nutcrackers. Ave Magna Mater! You can imagine what I'm clutching and it ain't pearls.
The short term memory loss that besets one in advancing middle age is a dreadful thing. I know I read the tale in which the shocking nutcrackers featured last year but can't recall author or title now. And it was a goodish story... Ah well.
Congratulations to Ro and to all!
cheers, Helrunar
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Post by jamesdoig on Mar 9, 2018 7:27:48 GMT
My copy arrived - looking forward to reading it over the Canberra long weekend. In fact, I see I get a mention - a nice surprise.
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 9, 2018 9:22:43 GMT
My copy arrived - looking forward to reading it over the Canberra long weekend. In fact, I see I get a mention - a nice surprise. Because you provided so much help with the Harrison article (thanks again), I counted you as a contributor so you got a comp copy mailed in the first bundle. It still took a spectacularly short time to get to Australia though. Most of the other overseas copies haven't even been mailed yet (all will be in the post by tomorrow)!
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 9, 2018 9:23:52 GMT
Wow, wow, wow! That's an amazing drawing of the sacramental nutcrackers. Ave Magna Mater! You can imagine what I'm clutching and it ain't pearls. The short term memory loss that besets one in advancing middle age is a dreadful thing. I know I read the tale in which the shocking nutcrackers featured last year but can't recall author or title now. And it was a goodish story... Ah well. Congratulations to Ro and to all! cheers, Helrunar A comment by you here when we were discussing the story is actually cited in the notes to my Michael Harrison article!
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 9, 2018 9:49:45 GMT
David Longhorn has put up a piece about me on the Supernatural Tales blog: suptales.blogspot.co.uk. He describes me as "one of the great women of weird fiction" which is embarrassingly good for the ego. Or it was until I saw the aged 1970s photo accompanying the piece and began to wonder whether he was just referring to my size! Good grief! No, I wasn't pregnant!!! I am, I hope, somewhat slimmer now. And I finally had my hair cut a month ago (don't know why I didn't do it sooner - it's much nicer). Darroll still has the beard!
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Post by dem bones on Mar 9, 2018 10:58:16 GMT
Thanks for the listing, Kev. A couple of minor corrections: Mike Chislett's story is called "The Whistle Thing", not "Whistling"; and the review of Nine Lessons is by Dan McGachey. God, but I hate when that happens - and it always does. Apologies Dan and Mr.Chislett. All fixed. Read Paul M. Chapman's superb The Quest For Karswell article last night .....
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Post by Michael Connolly on Mar 9, 2018 13:34:13 GMT
Rosemary Pardoe [ed.] - Ghosts & Scholars M. R. James Newsletter #33 (Haunted Library, March 2018) Cover: Rosemary Pardoe, Untitled Collage: Back: Cybele's nutcrackers (uncredited).: Editorial Rosemary Pardoe & Rick Kennett - News Michael Chislett - The Whistle Thing Mark Nicholls - Unfinished Business Paul M. Chapman - The Quest For Karswell: An Enquiry Into Identity Rosemary Pardoe - Michael Harrison Reviews: Leah Moore & John Reppion's Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary Vol II: A Graphic Collection Of Short Stories by M. R. James, (Self Made Hero, 2017), reviewed by Rosemary Pardoe. Nicola Upson's Nine Lessons, (Faber & Faber, 2017), reviewed by Dan McGachey. Ron Weighell's The White Road, (Sarob, 2018), reviewed by Peter Bell Dale Nelson's Lady Stanhope's Manuscript & Other Stories, (Nodens, 2017), reviewed by David HarrisMany thanks, Ro! Will attempt to provide a *ahem* commentary over the weekend.... Aarrgh!! It's those damned nutcrackers again.
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Mar 9, 2018 15:59:36 GMT
Aarrgh!! It's those damned nutcrackers again. If the mere sight of a set of nutcrackers produces such a reaction, I suspect you may be using them wrong. (Good job it wasn't a picture of an organ grinder.)
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Post by Michael Connolly on Mar 10, 2018 13:29:33 GMT
Aarrgh!! It's those damned nutcrackers again. If the mere sight of a set of nutcrackers produces such a reaction, I suspect you may be using them wrong. (Good job it wasn't a picture of an organ grinder.) Maybe I'm using them right.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 16, 2018 11:25:15 GMT
Have said it before, but there's a great omnibus anthology to be had from the quality fiction published in the newsletter. Admittedly I've only been aboard since #27, but in that time there's not been a story I didn't rate.
Michael Chislett - The Whistle Thing: Jago finds the discarded tin whistle in the park. Carla, his much younger - and far more sensible - Italian girlfriend admonishes him "Don't put it in your mouth, you don't know what has lipped there, with blowing and sucking," but he can't resist a quick blast. The whistle summons amorous elemental forces which assume physical form by fashioning rudimentary 'bodies' from refuse. In one particularly eerie sequence, Jago is molested by a touchy-feely black bin liner. Worst of it is, he can no more throw the damn whistle away than resist blowing it when alone. Matters reach a head after an evening in the local bar ...
Besides the obvious precursor, maybe something of of Ramsey Campbell's Litter, too, which is not to suggest Mr. Chislett brings nothing of his own to the party. Ultimately - and through little fault of the male lead - The Whistle Thing strikes me as a feel-good love story with cracking supernatural episodes.
Mark Nicholls - Unfinished Business: Aswarby Hall, Lincs. The new custodian is determined to exploit the estate's latent tourist potential. To this end he organises regular, increasingly tacky theme events, the volunteer staff imposed upon to don 'authentic' period costume for the occasion. None of which sits well with Avril, the veteran tour guide. When aged scholar Mr. Matthew Fell prevails upon the custodian to stage one such extravaganza in the library, she considers tending her resignation.
The library is Avril's holy of holies. It was assembled by a certain Mr. Abney, a wealthy recluse of "eccentric" interests, who died horribly on the night of March 12 1812. Eighty years later, Mr. Abney became the victim of a smear campaign when, for reasons known only to himself, a busy-body Dean with nothing better to do published a lurid fiction where-in said Abney is libelled as a Black Magician, Alchemist and ritual child murderer! Apparently this creepy old fossil Mr. Fell is of similar opinion which tells Avril all she needs to know about scholars!
Mr. Fell's upcoming performance involves his masquerading as Mr. Abney to deliver a cursory history of the Hall interspersed with readings from the library's racier volumes. In the days leading up to the event, Fell grows increasingly uncomfortable, sensing that he is being spied upon by figures he can but vaguely and very briefly discern.
The ticket buying public are in for a livelier evening than they might have anticipated.
[More to follow ....]
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Post by ropardoe on Mar 17, 2018 9:32:34 GMT
Have said it before, but there's a great omnibus anthology to be had from the quality fiction published in the newsletter. Admittedly I've only been aboard since #27, but in that time there's not been a story I didn't rate. Michael Chislett - The Whistle Thing: Jago finds the discarded tin whistle in the park. Carla, his much younger - and far more sensible - Italian girlfriend admonishes him "Don't put it in your mouth, you don't know what has lipped there, with blowing and sucking," but he can't resist a quick blast. The whistle summons amorous elemental forces which assume physical form by fashioning rudimentary 'bodies' from refuse. In one particularly eerie sequence, Jago is molested by a touchy-feely black bin liner. Worst of it is, he can no more throw the damn whistle away than resist blowing it when alone. Matters reach a head after an evening in the local bar ... Besides the obvious precursor, maybe something of of Ramsey Campbell's Litter, too, which is not to suggest Mr. Chislett brings nothing of his own to the party. Ultimately - and through little fault of the male lead - The Whistle Thing strikes me as a feel-good love story with cracking supernatural episodes. Mark Nicholls - Unfinished Business: Aswarby Hall, Lincs. The new custodian is determined to exploit the estate's latent tourist potential. To this end he organises regular, increasingly tacky theme events, the volunteer staff imposed upon to don 'authentic' period costume for the occasion. None of which sits well with Avril, the veteran tour guide. When aged scholar Mr. Matthew Fell prevails upon the custodian to stage one such extravaganza in the library, she considers tending her resignation. The library is Avril's holy of holies. It was assembled by a certain Mr. Abney, a wealthy recluse of "eccentric" interests, who died horribly on the night of March 12 1812. Eighty years later, Mr. Abney became the victim of a smear campaign when, for reasons known only to himself, a busy-body Dean with nothing better to do published a lurid fiction where-in said Abney is libelled as a Black Magician, Alchemist and ritual child murderer! Apparently this creepy old fossil Mr. Fell is of similar opinion which tells Avril all she needs to know about scholars! Mr. Fell's upcoming performance involves his masquerading as Mr. Abney to deliver a cursory history of the Hall interspersed with readings from the library's racier volumes. In the days leading up to the event, Fell grows increasingly uncomfortable, sensing that he is being spied upon by figures he can but vaguely and very briefly discern. The ticket buying public are in for a livelier evening than they might have anticipated. [More to follow ....] Nice write ups. Thanks. Your description of the Mike Chislett story as a "feel-good love story" isn't too far off! Just one correction: Jago's girlfriend is Romanian, not Italian. Hence she's able to make a fair guess as to what Balkan beastie is after Jago (it's not a vampire, for those who haven't read the story!).
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