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Uncanny Stories
May Sinclair was an innovator of modern fiction, a late Victorian who was also a precursor to Virginia Woolf. In her Uncanny Stories (1923), Sinclair combines the traditional ghost story with the discoveries of Freud and Einstein.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1923
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About the author
May Sinclair
226 books60 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair, a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. May Sinclair was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose and she is attributed with first using the term stream of consciousness) in a literary context, when reviewing the first volumes of Dorothy Richardson's novel sequence Pilgrimage (1915–67), in The Egoist, April 1918.
May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair, a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. May Sinclair was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose and she is attributed with first using the term stream of consciousness) in a literary context, when reviewing the first volumes of Dorothy Richardson's novel sequence Pilgrimage (1915–67), in The Egoist, April 1918.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 9, 2019
May Sinclair (1863--1946) is yet another example of those strong-willed Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian women who wrote to support a hapless family.
In 1881, May's father, having devoted himself to drink after a business failure, died, leaving behind a wife, six sons (four with debilitating heart ailments, three who would be dead within ten years), and eighteen year old May, newly enrolled at Cheltenham's Ladies College. Compelled to forsake her education, May endeavored to support her mother and brothers through writing. In the course of her career she published over forty volumes—poetry, novels, short stories, essays—as well as numerous philosophical articles and book reviews (in one of which she is credited with coining the term “stream of consciousness”). She gained fame with The Divine Fire (1903), and was briefly—until the ascension of Virginia Woolf—England's most respected female novelist.
Passionate and generous, May devoted her will to causes and people. She championed women's suffrage, and joined the Women's Freedom League. She loved Free Verse, and became a friend and financial patron to Ezra Pound. She believed in Freud, and in 1913 helped fund the Medico-Psychological Clinic, the first to offer psychotherapy in England; soon after, she became intrigued by the paranormal and joined the Society for Psychical Research. When "The Great War" began, Sinclair—now in her fifties—traveled to Belgium to join the ambulance corps, and later founded an organization for victims of PTSD (“Fund for Nerve-Shocked Soldiers”), one of the first of its kind.
In private life, May's passion and generosity remained unfulfilled. Amelia, her cold, conventional mother, never warmed to her free-thinking, tomboy daughter. Curate Anthony Dean, disturbed by her agnosticism, left her after three years of “friendship” to marry someone else. Much later, the poet Charlotte Mew—an eccentric little woman (4'10") who wore size-two boots, a man's suit, and always carried a black umbrella—fell desperately in love with May, a love she was unable—or unwilling—to return.
Many themes of her life—difficult families,controlling mothers, alienated affections, thwarted wills, repressed desires, and idealized passions—appear in this volume of ghost tales, Uncanny Stories. Occasionally Modernist in style (“Where their Fire is not Quenched” ), they more often resemble the ghost fiction of the middle-period Henry James (“The Flaw in the Crystal”). Her specters—recognizably the creations of a skeptic and a Freudian--inhabit a world with few traditional moral and religious assumptions, permeated by a remarkably honest sexuality. Both the murderer and the murdered in her story “The Victim” act upon unconventional moral principles, and the ghostly visitors of “The Finding of the Absolute” explore a “heaven” few Christian theologians would recognize. A sexual guilt which poisons even the afterlife drenches the sombre “Where their Fire is not Quenched,” “The Flaw in the Crystal” features a chilling psychic rape, and “The Nature of the Evidence” shows us frankly—and humorously—a ghostly femme fatale determined to block the consummation of a marriage. Through it all, Sinclair's fiction remains firmly on the side of duty, truth, tenderness and love.
“The Fire” and “The Flaw” are my favorites, but I recommend all the stories in this collection (even though the philosophical “The Finding of the Absolute” is a little too abstract for my taste). May Sinclair is an able writer, unjustly neglected, definitely worth a look.
February 20, 2018
4.5 stars
If you like your ghost stories slightly more subtle with a modernist edge then these may be for you. The introduction suggests that Sinclair combines the nineteenth century ghost story tradition with insights from Freud and Einstein. The concept of the uncanny is developed by Freud as meaning familiar but somehow incongruous with an element of cognitive dissonance. I can see point, but it can be stretched a little far. The last (and best) of the stories, The Intercessor, was written in 1911 before Freud wrote about the uncanny.
There is a good deal of intelligence in the twists and turns and not all the stories are about ghosts. A couple are about a rather unexpected afterlife and one is about a telepath who is confronted by the nature of mental illness. The stories are unexpected. A servant murders his master. The master returns as a ghost, for revenge you would expect; but no, very much no; it’s much more complex than that. Sinclair’s ghosts want explanation, understanding, acknowledgement and even emotional maturity. The Intercessor is straight from Emily Bronte and is an exploration of child abuse and neglect and provokes a good deal of thought.
There is a feminist twist as would be expected and “The Flaw in the Crystal” is an important work, examining the relationship between men and women in the context of the traditions of Eve and Mary, so influential in western thought about the role of women and is suggestive of a different way of perceiving and working out these processing against the backdrop of evolutionary thought.
I’m deliberately not going into detail about the stories because the power is in the reading. If you get hold of the edition with the introduction by Paul March-Russell; don’t read it until the end because he gives most of the plots away!
These stories feel like a reinterpretation and moving on from Victorian Gothic and ghost stories to a more modern/modernist form. If you are looking for shocks, gore and horror these are not the place to find them. Sinclair’s stories are more psychological and subtle, but not the less chilling for that.
If you like your ghost stories slightly more subtle with a modernist edge then these may be for you. The introduction suggests that Sinclair combines the nineteenth century ghost story tradition with insights from Freud and Einstein. The concept of the uncanny is developed by Freud as meaning familiar but somehow incongruous with an element of cognitive dissonance. I can see point, but it can be stretched a little far. The last (and best) of the stories, The Intercessor, was written in 1911 before Freud wrote about the uncanny.
There is a good deal of intelligence in the twists and turns and not all the stories are about ghosts. A couple are about a rather unexpected afterlife and one is about a telepath who is confronted by the nature of mental illness. The stories are unexpected. A servant murders his master. The master returns as a ghost, for revenge you would expect; but no, very much no; it’s much more complex than that. Sinclair’s ghosts want explanation, understanding, acknowledgement and even emotional maturity. The Intercessor is straight from Emily Bronte and is an exploration of child abuse and neglect and provokes a good deal of thought.
There is a feminist twist as would be expected and “The Flaw in the Crystal” is an important work, examining the relationship between men and women in the context of the traditions of Eve and Mary, so influential in western thought about the role of women and is suggestive of a different way of perceiving and working out these processing against the backdrop of evolutionary thought.
I’m deliberately not going into detail about the stories because the power is in the reading. If you get hold of the edition with the introduction by Paul March-Russell; don’t read it until the end because he gives most of the plots away!
These stories feel like a reinterpretation and moving on from Victorian Gothic and ghost stories to a more modern/modernist form. If you are looking for shocks, gore and horror these are not the place to find them. Sinclair’s stories are more psychological and subtle, but not the less chilling for that.
September 8, 2020
This is not the first time that I am going to say some nice things about London-based publisher Wordsworth Editions, and, more particularly, its Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural division, which, over the years, has brought forth dozens of reasonably priced books by many well-known writers, as well as many lesser-knowns. Previously, I have written here of two Wordsworth volumes by some (to me) known authors, Ambrose Bierce ("Terror By Night -- Classic Ghost & Horror Stories") and Robert E. Howard ("The Haunter of the Ring & Other Tales"), as well as two authors who were brand-new to this reader, Alice and Claude Askew ("Aylmer Vance: Ghost-Seer"). And now, thanks to this fine British imprint, I have been introduced to another wonderful writer of the macabre, May Sinclair (1863 - 1946); a most interesting woman, as it turns out. Sinclair was not only a proponent of the then-new Modernist school of writing, but was highly interested in metaphysical matters (such as the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and Georg Hegel) as well. She was at one time an ardent feminist and, as a member of both the Medico-Psychological Clinic and the Society for Psychical Research, an investigator into the occult. And here's a trivia fact for you: Sinclair is believed to be the first person to use the expression "stream of consciousness" as it pertains to literature.
How do I happen to know all this? The Sinclair book that I recently finished, "Uncanny Stories," which was first released in 1923, is here prefaced by a scholarly and informative introduction by one Paul March-Russell. In this intro, March-Russell tells us that "…Sinclair had been one of the most intellectually driven of writers, pursuing the 'new' and the 'modern' in philosophy, psychoanalysis, mysticism and the paranormal. Her 'Uncanny Stories'...are of a piece with both her ideas and her life-story...." The eight tales contained in this volume are anything but empty-headed, and indeed, several of them are quite challenging. The subject matter ranges from tales of the afterlife to traditional hauntings, but not one of the stories is told in the traditional manner. The ghosts depicted herein are more apt to be looking for affection than to affright; heaven and hell are both like nothing you have encountered before; a murderer may get away with his crime scot-free, while the seemingly innocent are made to suffer. One of the stories is virtually indescribable, while another effectively morphs into a discussion on recondite philosophical matters. But one thing they all have in common is the unexpected. There really is no way for the reader to predict how any of these literate, beautifully written and truly uncanny stories will turn out. These tales don't so much scare readers while they take them in as haunt them after the story is done, seamlessly combining the traditional, Victorian ghost tropes of the 1800s with the psychological concerns of the early 20th century. The result is both eerie and modern; a most winning combination, to be sure.
As for the stories themselves, the collection kicks off with the unusually titled "Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched." Here, the reader encounters Harriott Leigh, an unmarried woman who is having a love affair with the married man Oscar Wade. Harriott longs for something more spiritual in their trysts, while Oscar seems perfectly content with just their physical couplings. The two break it off, and decades later, on her deathbed, the still unmarried Harriott decides not to confess about this affair to her kindly priest. After her death, Harriott goes straight to Heaven. Or is it? Wherever she wanders, she runs smack into Oscar...her mate, it would seem, for all eternity. Surely, a hellacious idea for anyone who's ever felt a little smothered in a relationship, right? Thus, an adult, sophisticated and yes, haunting story to get the ball rolling.
In "The Token," our female narrator tells us of her brother, Donald Dunbar, and how he had been haunted by the ghost of his late wife, Cicely. An emotionally aloof man, Donald had treated his wife badly, especially when she had dared to touch one of his prized possessions, a Buddha paperweight given to him by the famous English novelist George Meredith. Now, Cicely's ghost has begun to haunt Donald's private library, seeking the affection that she never got from her husband while alive (and hardly the only love-starved spirit in this collection, as will be seen). This is a charming story, really, with a lovely ending that will surely move the reader.
Next up we have what is likely the most challenging tale in this bunch, the novella-length "The Flaw in the Crystal." This is the indescribable story that I mentioned earlier, and indeed, I despair of giving you a proper feel for just what an unusual experience it is. In a nutshell, the story deals with Agatha Verrall, another unmarried woman who is having an affair with a married man, Rodney Lanyon; a chaste affair, it would seem. Agatha is the possessor of an almost supernatural gift: She can mentally compel people to come to her from a distance, as well as soothe the mind back to normalcy and away from madness, as becomes apparent when a couple, Milly and the paranoid and neurotically unbalanced Harding Powell, moves into Agatha's secluded valley. But her simultaneous attempts to use her mental abilities on both men at once, long term, result in numerous problems, leading to some hallucinogenic episodes and the germ of fear to be born in Agatha's own mind, the so-called flaw in the crystal that prevents her from tapping into her arcane abilities. A story very much ahead of its time, and one that might have easily fit into the sci-fi New Wave of the mid-1960s, this is one unique reading experience, indeed.
In "The Nature of the Evidence," Edward Marston is made a widower when his beloved wife Rosamund passes away. But before her passing, Rosamund had told her husband that she wished him to remarry one day, but only with "the right woman"; if he were to marry the wrong type, "she couldn't bear that." And sure enough, when, sometime later, Edward marries the crass but licentious Pauline Silver, the troubles begin. In a series of increasingly comic episodes, the shade of Rosamund makes it impossible for Edward and Pauline to consummate their marriage, going so far as to hop into bed with them herself! A light and charming tale with a wonderful conclusion, this story comes as a breath of fresh air after the heaviness of the decidedly outré "The Flaw in the Crystal."
"If the Dead Knew" introduces us to kindly pianist and music teacher Wilfrid Hollyer, who desires to marry one of his students, Effie Carroll. But Wilfrid would not be able to support her, and indeed is currently living with and dependent on his beloved and fairly well-off mother. When his mother sickens and is laying on her deathbed, the attending nurse instructs Wilfrid to pray for her, which he dutifully does; heartfelt prayers only slightly tinged with the wish that his mother would die, so that he might inherit and thus marry Effie. When the old woman does indeed succumb to her sickness, Wilfrid is quite understandably guilt ridden...especially when the ghost of Mrs. Hollyer comes back to stare at him, seemingly accusingly. Another ghost merely looking for affection, perhaps? In all, a sweet and moving story, up until that ambiguous final paragraph....
In "The Victim," chauffeur Steven Acroyd cold-bloodedly murders his employer, Mr. Greathead, believing him to be standing in the way of marrying his sweetheart, the maid Dorsy Oldishaw. In what is easily this collection's most gruesome sequence, Acroyd then hangs his victim upside down over a bathtub, drains all his blood, and chops the cadaver into sackable pieces. He has seemingly thought over every last detail, and as the weeks pass, it does indeed seem as if the chauffeur has gotten away with the perfect crime...until, that is, the ghost of Mr. Greathead begins to appear to him, in both broad daylight and at night! But this is no ghost out for vengeance; rather, it is one of the, uh, grateful dead, thankful for being released from his ailing body and wishing Acroyd no ill will whatsoever! Remarkably, this is a tale in which a murderer is not made to pay a horrendous price for his crime; a practically unprecedented development!
"The Finding of the Absolute" was another tale that greatly surprised this reader. Here, a metaphysicist named Mr. Spalding is devastated when his wife, Elizabeth, runs off with the Imagist poet Paul Jeffreson, a drunken, drug-abusing person of few morals. Spalding's belief system is upended; his faith in eternal Justice negated. When he ultimately dies and goes to Heaven, Elizabeth and Jeffreson show him around, and even teach him how to create things with his mind and reach out to other heavenly dwellers. Spalding seeks out an audience with his hero, Immanuel Kant, and for the rest of the story the two discuss matters touching on consciousness, three-dimensional time, good and evil, and so on, enabling Spalding to see, in another hallucinogenic sequence, all of space/time at once. And it is a testament to Sinclair's great skills as a writer that she makes it all surprisingly fascinating and accessible, even to a philosophy dunce such as myself.
This collection concludes with one of its eeriest and most atmospheric tales, "The Intercessor." Here, Garvin, an estate agent/historian/antiquarian, desirous of a quiet place in the country where he can concentrate on his work, rents a room at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Falshaw, a gloomy couple that is expecting a baby. Garvin feels that something is not quite right with the couple and with the house, a hunch that grows stronger when he begins to hear the whimpering of a child every night. Eventually, Garvin does a little exploring, and actually sees the crying child: the ghost of a young girl who then crawls into his bed for comfort! The mystery of the Falshaws and the history of this ghost child make for gripping reading, and the story's culmination is both tragic and sweet at the same time. A bravura piece of work, really, to cap this highly interesting bunch of stories, and another object lesson on why you should never withhold affection from those you care about...unless, that is, you want those poor wretches to come seeking that love and affection as mournful spirits....
So there you have it...eight finely crafted tales by a woman whose work was decades ahead of her time. May Sinclair is an author whose renown has dwindled to near extinction since her heyday in the 1920s, but thanks to this fine edition from Wordworth, she may just possibly be finding some new appreciators today. Okay, then; with this minireview, I believe that I have shown Ms. Sinclair some well-deserved love and affection. Perhaps now her ghost will not be coming around to my apartment tonight....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ … a most ideal destination for all lovers of vintage spooky fare....)
How do I happen to know all this? The Sinclair book that I recently finished, "Uncanny Stories," which was first released in 1923, is here prefaced by a scholarly and informative introduction by one Paul March-Russell. In this intro, March-Russell tells us that "…Sinclair had been one of the most intellectually driven of writers, pursuing the 'new' and the 'modern' in philosophy, psychoanalysis, mysticism and the paranormal. Her 'Uncanny Stories'...are of a piece with both her ideas and her life-story...." The eight tales contained in this volume are anything but empty-headed, and indeed, several of them are quite challenging. The subject matter ranges from tales of the afterlife to traditional hauntings, but not one of the stories is told in the traditional manner. The ghosts depicted herein are more apt to be looking for affection than to affright; heaven and hell are both like nothing you have encountered before; a murderer may get away with his crime scot-free, while the seemingly innocent are made to suffer. One of the stories is virtually indescribable, while another effectively morphs into a discussion on recondite philosophical matters. But one thing they all have in common is the unexpected. There really is no way for the reader to predict how any of these literate, beautifully written and truly uncanny stories will turn out. These tales don't so much scare readers while they take them in as haunt them after the story is done, seamlessly combining the traditional, Victorian ghost tropes of the 1800s with the psychological concerns of the early 20th century. The result is both eerie and modern; a most winning combination, to be sure.
As for the stories themselves, the collection kicks off with the unusually titled "Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched." Here, the reader encounters Harriott Leigh, an unmarried woman who is having a love affair with the married man Oscar Wade. Harriott longs for something more spiritual in their trysts, while Oscar seems perfectly content with just their physical couplings. The two break it off, and decades later, on her deathbed, the still unmarried Harriott decides not to confess about this affair to her kindly priest. After her death, Harriott goes straight to Heaven. Or is it? Wherever she wanders, she runs smack into Oscar...her mate, it would seem, for all eternity. Surely, a hellacious idea for anyone who's ever felt a little smothered in a relationship, right? Thus, an adult, sophisticated and yes, haunting story to get the ball rolling.
In "The Token," our female narrator tells us of her brother, Donald Dunbar, and how he had been haunted by the ghost of his late wife, Cicely. An emotionally aloof man, Donald had treated his wife badly, especially when she had dared to touch one of his prized possessions, a Buddha paperweight given to him by the famous English novelist George Meredith. Now, Cicely's ghost has begun to haunt Donald's private library, seeking the affection that she never got from her husband while alive (and hardly the only love-starved spirit in this collection, as will be seen). This is a charming story, really, with a lovely ending that will surely move the reader.
Next up we have what is likely the most challenging tale in this bunch, the novella-length "The Flaw in the Crystal." This is the indescribable story that I mentioned earlier, and indeed, I despair of giving you a proper feel for just what an unusual experience it is. In a nutshell, the story deals with Agatha Verrall, another unmarried woman who is having an affair with a married man, Rodney Lanyon; a chaste affair, it would seem. Agatha is the possessor of an almost supernatural gift: She can mentally compel people to come to her from a distance, as well as soothe the mind back to normalcy and away from madness, as becomes apparent when a couple, Milly and the paranoid and neurotically unbalanced Harding Powell, moves into Agatha's secluded valley. But her simultaneous attempts to use her mental abilities on both men at once, long term, result in numerous problems, leading to some hallucinogenic episodes and the germ of fear to be born in Agatha's own mind, the so-called flaw in the crystal that prevents her from tapping into her arcane abilities. A story very much ahead of its time, and one that might have easily fit into the sci-fi New Wave of the mid-1960s, this is one unique reading experience, indeed.
In "The Nature of the Evidence," Edward Marston is made a widower when his beloved wife Rosamund passes away. But before her passing, Rosamund had told her husband that she wished him to remarry one day, but only with "the right woman"; if he were to marry the wrong type, "she couldn't bear that." And sure enough, when, sometime later, Edward marries the crass but licentious Pauline Silver, the troubles begin. In a series of increasingly comic episodes, the shade of Rosamund makes it impossible for Edward and Pauline to consummate their marriage, going so far as to hop into bed with them herself! A light and charming tale with a wonderful conclusion, this story comes as a breath of fresh air after the heaviness of the decidedly outré "The Flaw in the Crystal."
"If the Dead Knew" introduces us to kindly pianist and music teacher Wilfrid Hollyer, who desires to marry one of his students, Effie Carroll. But Wilfrid would not be able to support her, and indeed is currently living with and dependent on his beloved and fairly well-off mother. When his mother sickens and is laying on her deathbed, the attending nurse instructs Wilfrid to pray for her, which he dutifully does; heartfelt prayers only slightly tinged with the wish that his mother would die, so that he might inherit and thus marry Effie. When the old woman does indeed succumb to her sickness, Wilfrid is quite understandably guilt ridden...especially when the ghost of Mrs. Hollyer comes back to stare at him, seemingly accusingly. Another ghost merely looking for affection, perhaps? In all, a sweet and moving story, up until that ambiguous final paragraph....
In "The Victim," chauffeur Steven Acroyd cold-bloodedly murders his employer, Mr. Greathead, believing him to be standing in the way of marrying his sweetheart, the maid Dorsy Oldishaw. In what is easily this collection's most gruesome sequence, Acroyd then hangs his victim upside down over a bathtub, drains all his blood, and chops the cadaver into sackable pieces. He has seemingly thought over every last detail, and as the weeks pass, it does indeed seem as if the chauffeur has gotten away with the perfect crime...until, that is, the ghost of Mr. Greathead begins to appear to him, in both broad daylight and at night! But this is no ghost out for vengeance; rather, it is one of the, uh, grateful dead, thankful for being released from his ailing body and wishing Acroyd no ill will whatsoever! Remarkably, this is a tale in which a murderer is not made to pay a horrendous price for his crime; a practically unprecedented development!
"The Finding of the Absolute" was another tale that greatly surprised this reader. Here, a metaphysicist named Mr. Spalding is devastated when his wife, Elizabeth, runs off with the Imagist poet Paul Jeffreson, a drunken, drug-abusing person of few morals. Spalding's belief system is upended; his faith in eternal Justice negated. When he ultimately dies and goes to Heaven, Elizabeth and Jeffreson show him around, and even teach him how to create things with his mind and reach out to other heavenly dwellers. Spalding seeks out an audience with his hero, Immanuel Kant, and for the rest of the story the two discuss matters touching on consciousness, three-dimensional time, good and evil, and so on, enabling Spalding to see, in another hallucinogenic sequence, all of space/time at once. And it is a testament to Sinclair's great skills as a writer that she makes it all surprisingly fascinating and accessible, even to a philosophy dunce such as myself.
This collection concludes with one of its eeriest and most atmospheric tales, "The Intercessor." Here, Garvin, an estate agent/historian/antiquarian, desirous of a quiet place in the country where he can concentrate on his work, rents a room at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Falshaw, a gloomy couple that is expecting a baby. Garvin feels that something is not quite right with the couple and with the house, a hunch that grows stronger when he begins to hear the whimpering of a child every night. Eventually, Garvin does a little exploring, and actually sees the crying child: the ghost of a young girl who then crawls into his bed for comfort! The mystery of the Falshaws and the history of this ghost child make for gripping reading, and the story's culmination is both tragic and sweet at the same time. A bravura piece of work, really, to cap this highly interesting bunch of stories, and another object lesson on why you should never withhold affection from those you care about...unless, that is, you want those poor wretches to come seeking that love and affection as mournful spirits....
So there you have it...eight finely crafted tales by a woman whose work was decades ahead of her time. May Sinclair is an author whose renown has dwindled to near extinction since her heyday in the 1920s, but thanks to this fine edition from Wordworth, she may just possibly be finding some new appreciators today. Okay, then; with this minireview, I believe that I have shown Ms. Sinclair some well-deserved love and affection. Perhaps now her ghost will not be coming around to my apartment tonight....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ … a most ideal destination for all lovers of vintage spooky fare....)
July 26, 2022
Where Their Fire is Not Quenched - 5
Chilling story of the consequences of sin. What makes it most frightening is that you know the main character, Harriott Leigh, could too easily be you.
The Token - 4
A ghostly visit in search of love.
The Flaw in the Crystal - 3
Agatha has a power of which she is not in control but with which she heals others. This one got a bit out there and parts of it didn’t even make sense to me.
The Nature of the Evidence - 4
You might not want to be the second wife if the dead first wife isn’t quite finished yet.
If The Dead Knew - 5
I loved this one. What do the dead know of what we who are left behind think and feel? Wilfrid loves his mother, but it is only with her death that he can afford to marry, so he has a heart at war with itself.
The Victim - 4
Reminded me of the Tell-Tale Heart initially, but took a very different turn before the end. I found the end a little impractical, but then who expects a practical ghost story, I suppose.
The Finding of the Absolute - 2
This one was both weird and a little above me. I never understood Kant very well on earth, in heaven his theories seem even murkier.
The Intercessor - 5
I found this the best story in the book. Mr. Garvin seeks a quiet place to lodge and work and finds himself referred to the home of the Falshaw’s. It is obvious that something sinister has happened here and in the room where he sleeps at night, he hears the mysterious cries of a child. What ensues is eventually a story of child abandonment, parental misdeeds, and a mother’s remorse. This story has a more gothic feel than the others, and put me in mind of Emily Bronte and the loneliness of the heaths.
Chilling story of the consequences of sin. What makes it most frightening is that you know the main character, Harriott Leigh, could too easily be you.
The Token - 4
A ghostly visit in search of love.
The Flaw in the Crystal - 3
Agatha has a power of which she is not in control but with which she heals others. This one got a bit out there and parts of it didn’t even make sense to me.
The Nature of the Evidence - 4
You might not want to be the second wife if the dead first wife isn’t quite finished yet.
If The Dead Knew - 5
I loved this one. What do the dead know of what we who are left behind think and feel? Wilfrid loves his mother, but it is only with her death that he can afford to marry, so he has a heart at war with itself.
The Victim - 4
Reminded me of the Tell-Tale Heart initially, but took a very different turn before the end. I found the end a little impractical, but then who expects a practical ghost story, I suppose.
The Finding of the Absolute - 2
This one was both weird and a little above me. I never understood Kant very well on earth, in heaven his theories seem even murkier.
The Intercessor - 5
I found this the best story in the book. Mr. Garvin seeks a quiet place to lodge and work and finds himself referred to the home of the Falshaw’s. It is obvious that something sinister has happened here and in the room where he sleeps at night, he hears the mysterious cries of a child. What ensues is eventually a story of child abandonment, parental misdeeds, and a mother’s remorse. This story has a more gothic feel than the others, and put me in mind of Emily Bronte and the loneliness of the heaths.
March 5, 2023
La reseña completa en https://inthenevernever.blogspot.com/...
«Un deseo, incluso un deseo secreto, podía matar».
Los seguidores del blog ya saben lo mucho que disfruto de los relatos. Por eso cada nueva colección publicada por La biblioteca de Carfax es la ocasión perfecta para descubrir nuevas historias, así como autoras que gozaron de gran popularidad en su momento, pero que han quedado un poco relegadas al olvido en las librerías españolas. Por eso hoy quiero recomendarles Cuentos de lo insólito, de May Sinclair. Una antología publicada originalmente en 1923 y que nos llega con la excelente traducción de Shaila Correa y una asombrosa cubierta ilustrada por Rafael Martín Coronel.
«Un deseo, incluso un deseo secreto, podía matar».
Los seguidores del blog ya saben lo mucho que disfruto de los relatos. Por eso cada nueva colección publicada por La biblioteca de Carfax es la ocasión perfecta para descubrir nuevas historias, así como autoras que gozaron de gran popularidad en su momento, pero que han quedado un poco relegadas al olvido en las librerías españolas. Por eso hoy quiero recomendarles Cuentos de lo insólito, de May Sinclair. Una antología publicada originalmente en 1923 y que nos llega con la excelente traducción de Shaila Correa y una asombrosa cubierta ilustrada por Rafael Martín Coronel.
September 29, 2023
At first, I really didn't feel I was getting into the groove of these stories, but I gave them some time to marinate. And then it was like I had unlocked a heavy oak door, and out came all the shadows from the cellar.
May Sinclair is almost forgotten these days, at least in the Americas, but was a rather prolific author of early 20th Century Britain, despite her busy life as an activist. Her experiences and philosophy seep into her storytelling, which has a modern feminist flair while feeling very representative of the period in which she was writing. This collection of weird fiction ranks up there with the tales of Edith Wharton, Hugh Walpole, and Henry James as being some of the finest examples of "elevated" horror I've read.
What makes these tales truly "uncanny" is her ability to focus on deep details of interpersonal relationships, and the horror then seems to write itself.
Let's take "The Token" as a simple example. It's a pretty straightforward ghost story about a wife who haunts her husband after her death. But this is no vengeful spirit. The horrible aspect of it is that, in life, the couple was very much in love but did not speak each other's love language. The husband was profoundly avoidant, always fearful of showing any feelings that may overwhelm him, including his tenderness. He expressed love silently through what he considered acts of service, by being a provider. He spent hours each day writing an academic book, and when his wife died, he lost interest in it. The wife, on the other hand, craved his companionship. She often would just linger in his library while he was working just to hang out with him, but this irritated him. After she died, she continued to watch him while he worked, desperate for his attention and touch, but in his fear of showing his grief and affection for her, he could not see her. His sister finally figures out what is happening and helps manipulate him to show his true feelings so he can finally open his eyes. For me, the story is an allegory for what we do in psychotherapy.
One of the eeriest stories is "The Flaw in the Crystal," which involves a woman who discovers that she has the gift to heal people by merging with them in a state of deep meditation. When she uses this Power to cure a man with paranoid psychosis, she finds that the cure comes at an awful price. She is almost like a gamer who takes advantage of glitches and cheat codes in reality, but now the game no longer works as expected. It is a frightening but powerful reminder of how thought shapes our perception of reality. The same country landscape can appear beautiful to someone who is relaxed and in a healthy headspace, but may be a desolate wasteland full of carnivorous threats hiding in the foliage to someone who is paranoid. You might look forward to going to your job when you are happy, but that same job drains you of what little energy you have left when you are depressed, filling you with anxiety at the thought of waking up each work day, and all you want to do is hide in bed because you don't see the point in anything. The idea that everyday experiences we take for granted are not the things in themselves, that even our experience of a stable individual self is a fallicy, can be terrifying, but also can open one's eyes to the power of Belief.
I've often said that Kant and Freud were the two biggest influences on literature, especially horror, and their influence here is palpable. Kant himself even makes an appearance in the final story. However, May Sinclair has a sensitivity and insight that is all her own, one that clearly comes from an introspective soul who had thought deeply about her own relationships and those around her.
If I have any complaint about the book, it is that stories do tend to repeat certain themes, but when this happens, there's always a new and unexpected twist involved. So I didn't get upset over this aspect at all.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are struggling with interpersonal issues, but I warn you that you can't read this while tired, or around a lot of distractions. Give these stories some attention and time, and you might be as surprised as I was at how moving this book can be. Don't let this author be forgotten!
SCORE: 5 phantasms out of 5
May Sinclair is almost forgotten these days, at least in the Americas, but was a rather prolific author of early 20th Century Britain, despite her busy life as an activist. Her experiences and philosophy seep into her storytelling, which has a modern feminist flair while feeling very representative of the period in which she was writing. This collection of weird fiction ranks up there with the tales of Edith Wharton, Hugh Walpole, and Henry James as being some of the finest examples of "elevated" horror I've read.
What makes these tales truly "uncanny" is her ability to focus on deep details of interpersonal relationships, and the horror then seems to write itself.
Let's take "The Token" as a simple example. It's a pretty straightforward ghost story about a wife who haunts her husband after her death. But this is no vengeful spirit. The horrible aspect of it is that, in life, the couple was very much in love but did not speak each other's love language. The husband was profoundly avoidant, always fearful of showing any feelings that may overwhelm him, including his tenderness. He expressed love silently through what he considered acts of service, by being a provider. He spent hours each day writing an academic book, and when his wife died, he lost interest in it. The wife, on the other hand, craved his companionship. She often would just linger in his library while he was working just to hang out with him, but this irritated him. After she died, she continued to watch him while he worked, desperate for his attention and touch, but in his fear of showing his grief and affection for her, he could not see her. His sister finally figures out what is happening and helps manipulate him to show his true feelings so he can finally open his eyes. For me, the story is an allegory for what we do in psychotherapy.
One of the eeriest stories is "The Flaw in the Crystal," which involves a woman who discovers that she has the gift to heal people by merging with them in a state of deep meditation. When she uses this Power to cure a man with paranoid psychosis, she finds that the cure comes at an awful price. She is almost like a gamer who takes advantage of glitches and cheat codes in reality, but now the game no longer works as expected. It is a frightening but powerful reminder of how thought shapes our perception of reality. The same country landscape can appear beautiful to someone who is relaxed and in a healthy headspace, but may be a desolate wasteland full of carnivorous threats hiding in the foliage to someone who is paranoid. You might look forward to going to your job when you are happy, but that same job drains you of what little energy you have left when you are depressed, filling you with anxiety at the thought of waking up each work day, and all you want to do is hide in bed because you don't see the point in anything. The idea that everyday experiences we take for granted are not the things in themselves, that even our experience of a stable individual self is a fallicy, can be terrifying, but also can open one's eyes to the power of Belief.
I've often said that Kant and Freud were the two biggest influences on literature, especially horror, and their influence here is palpable. Kant himself even makes an appearance in the final story. However, May Sinclair has a sensitivity and insight that is all her own, one that clearly comes from an introspective soul who had thought deeply about her own relationships and those around her.
If I have any complaint about the book, it is that stories do tend to repeat certain themes, but when this happens, there's always a new and unexpected twist involved. So I didn't get upset over this aspect at all.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are struggling with interpersonal issues, but I warn you that you can't read this while tired, or around a lot of distractions. Give these stories some attention and time, and you might be as surprised as I was at how moving this book can be. Don't let this author be forgotten!
SCORE: 5 phantasms out of 5
November 4, 2021
Questa raccolta di racconti di May Sinclair è stata una bellissima scoperta.
Comincio con il dire che non mi ricordavo proprio di questa scrittrice dell'età vittoriana. L'avrò sicuramente studiata al liceo, in letteratura inglese, magari l'avrò anche letta in originale: completamente rimossa.
Questa raccolta si compone di sette racconti (l'ultimo dà il titolo alla raccolta) che hanno a che fare con il mistero e il senso di assoluto. Nel modo di scrivere di May Sinclair ho riconosciuto gli echi di Shirley Jackson: la tensione narrativa che May Sinclair riesce a creare descrivendo le ambientazioni delle varie scene mi è infatti sembrata così vicina a quella propria di Shirley Jackson.
Nel primo racconto, "Dove il fuoco non è estinto", Harriott e Oscar saranno intrappolati in un perpetuo disamore, senza via di scampo.
«A un certo punto dovrà finire» disse lei. «La vita non continua per sempre. Moriremo.»
«Morire? Siamo morti. Non sapete che cos’è questo? Non sapete dove siete? Questa è la morte. Siamo morti, Harriott. Siamo all’inferno.»
«Sì, non può esserci niente di peggio di questo.»
«Questo non è il peggio. Non siamo ancora completamente morti, finché abbiamo della vita in noi per voltarci e scappare l’uno dall’altra; finché possiamo fuggire nei nostri ricordi. Ma quando sarete arrivata al ricordo più remoto di tutti oltre il quale non c’è niente... Quando non ci sarà altro ricordo che questo... Nell’ultimo inferno non scapperemo più; non troveremo più strade, niente passaggi, niente porte aperte. Non sarà necessario che ci cerchiamo. Nell’ultima parte della morte saremo chiusi in questa stanza, dietro quella porta chiusa a chiave, insieme. Giaceremo qui insieme, per sempre, uniti così saldamente che nemmeno Dio ci potrà separare. Saremo una sola carne e un solo spirito, un peccato ripetuto per sempre, e per sempre; spirito che disprezza la carne, carne che disprezza lo spirito; voi e io che ci disprezziamo a vicenda.»
«Perché? Perché?» gridò lei.
«Perché è tutto ciò che ci resta. È questo che avete fatto dell’amore.»
Anche nel secondo racconto, "L'Emblema", ritorna il tema della morte e delle passioni intrappolate che non si riesce a lasciar andare. La voce narrante racconta di suo fratello, Donald Dunbar, e di come fosse stato perseguitato dal fantasma della sua defunta moglie, Cicely: “Pensai: Come deve averla ferita! Era la stessa vecchia storia daccapo: io che cercavo di farlo cedere, di farlo aprire a lei; lui che ci respingeva entrambe, punendoci. Vedete, ora sapevo perché era tornata; era tornata per scoprire se lui l’amava. Con un bisogno che la morte non aveva spento, era tornata per essere certa. E ora, come sempre, la mia goffa interferenza lo aveva solo reso più duro, più ostinato. Se solo potesse vederla! Ma finché la respingerà non riuscirà a farlo.”
Il terzo racconto, "L'incrinatura del cristallo", è un racconto lungo. La protagonista è Agatha Verrall, un'altra donna non sposata che ha una relazione con un uomo sposato, Rodney Lanyon. Agatha è la proprietaria di un dono quasi soprannaturale: può costringere mentalmente le persone a venire da lei a distanza, così come calmare la mente riportandola alla normalità e allontanarla dalla follia. Ma questo "Dono" creerà non pochi problemi ad Agatha: “Perché il pensiero era più ampio e profondo di qualsiasi azione; apparteneva allo stesso ordine delle Energie intangibili con cui aveva lavorato. Insomma, i pensieri non ancora nati e senza forma che correvano sotto la soglia e lì si nascondevano contavano di più in quel mondo dove la Cosa, l’Inespresso, il Nascosto e il Segreto regnavano.
Ora sapeva che la sua resa della notte precedente era stata l’ultima liberazione. Non aveva più paura di incontrare Rodney, perché era stata purificata dal desiderio; era al sicuro per sempre.”
Anche nel quarto racconto "La natura della prova", si ha a che fare con la morte di uno dei due coniugi. I protagonisti sono Edward Marston e la moglie Rosamund, che prima della sua morte, Rosamund aveva detto a suo marito che desiderava che un giorno si risposasse, ma solo con "la donna giusta"; se avesse sposato la donna sbagliata, non lo avrebbe potuto sopportare. E in effetti, Edward inizia ad avere non pochi problemi quando si risposa con Pauline (una donna sbagliata).
In "Se i morti sapessero", ritornano il tema del desiderio del matrimonio, ma stavolta tra un'insegnante di musica e uno dei suoi studenti, dei legami famigliari, delle passioni e della morte.
Questi temi saranno presenti anche negli ultimi due racconti "La vittima" e "La scoperta dell'assoluto".
“Vide le vaste superfici del tempo intersecarsi l’un l’altra, come i piani di una sfera che ruota, che entrano ed escono uno dall’altro. Vide altri sistemi di spazio e tempo sorgere, cadere, che racchiudevano ed erano racchiusi. E come un inserto minuscolo nell’immensa scena, la sua stessa vita, dalla nascita al momento presente, insieme agli eventi della sua vita celeste a venire. In questa visione, l’adulterio di Elizabeth, che un tempo era apparso un evento tanto mostruoso, tanto intollerabile, apparve come piccolo e insignificante.”
Alla fine, è proprio così: ciò che affligge le nostre vite, a guardarlo da un punto di vista "altro", appare come un puntino piccolo e insignificante.
Comincio con il dire che non mi ricordavo proprio di questa scrittrice dell'età vittoriana. L'avrò sicuramente studiata al liceo, in letteratura inglese, magari l'avrò anche letta in originale: completamente rimossa.
Questa raccolta si compone di sette racconti (l'ultimo dà il titolo alla raccolta) che hanno a che fare con il mistero e il senso di assoluto. Nel modo di scrivere di May Sinclair ho riconosciuto gli echi di Shirley Jackson: la tensione narrativa che May Sinclair riesce a creare descrivendo le ambientazioni delle varie scene mi è infatti sembrata così vicina a quella propria di Shirley Jackson.
Nel primo racconto, "Dove il fuoco non è estinto", Harriott e Oscar saranno intrappolati in un perpetuo disamore, senza via di scampo.
«A un certo punto dovrà finire» disse lei. «La vita non continua per sempre. Moriremo.»
«Morire? Siamo morti. Non sapete che cos’è questo? Non sapete dove siete? Questa è la morte. Siamo morti, Harriott. Siamo all’inferno.»
«Sì, non può esserci niente di peggio di questo.»
«Questo non è il peggio. Non siamo ancora completamente morti, finché abbiamo della vita in noi per voltarci e scappare l’uno dall’altra; finché possiamo fuggire nei nostri ricordi. Ma quando sarete arrivata al ricordo più remoto di tutti oltre il quale non c’è niente... Quando non ci sarà altro ricordo che questo... Nell’ultimo inferno non scapperemo più; non troveremo più strade, niente passaggi, niente porte aperte. Non sarà necessario che ci cerchiamo. Nell’ultima parte della morte saremo chiusi in questa stanza, dietro quella porta chiusa a chiave, insieme. Giaceremo qui insieme, per sempre, uniti così saldamente che nemmeno Dio ci potrà separare. Saremo una sola carne e un solo spirito, un peccato ripetuto per sempre, e per sempre; spirito che disprezza la carne, carne che disprezza lo spirito; voi e io che ci disprezziamo a vicenda.»
«Perché? Perché?» gridò lei.
«Perché è tutto ciò che ci resta. È questo che avete fatto dell’amore.»
Anche nel secondo racconto, "L'Emblema", ritorna il tema della morte e delle passioni intrappolate che non si riesce a lasciar andare. La voce narrante racconta di suo fratello, Donald Dunbar, e di come fosse stato perseguitato dal fantasma della sua defunta moglie, Cicely: “Pensai: Come deve averla ferita! Era la stessa vecchia storia daccapo: io che cercavo di farlo cedere, di farlo aprire a lei; lui che ci respingeva entrambe, punendoci. Vedete, ora sapevo perché era tornata; era tornata per scoprire se lui l’amava. Con un bisogno che la morte non aveva spento, era tornata per essere certa. E ora, come sempre, la mia goffa interferenza lo aveva solo reso più duro, più ostinato. Se solo potesse vederla! Ma finché la respingerà non riuscirà a farlo.”
Il terzo racconto, "L'incrinatura del cristallo", è un racconto lungo. La protagonista è Agatha Verrall, un'altra donna non sposata che ha una relazione con un uomo sposato, Rodney Lanyon. Agatha è la proprietaria di un dono quasi soprannaturale: può costringere mentalmente le persone a venire da lei a distanza, così come calmare la mente riportandola alla normalità e allontanarla dalla follia. Ma questo "Dono" creerà non pochi problemi ad Agatha: “Perché il pensiero era più ampio e profondo di qualsiasi azione; apparteneva allo stesso ordine delle Energie intangibili con cui aveva lavorato. Insomma, i pensieri non ancora nati e senza forma che correvano sotto la soglia e lì si nascondevano contavano di più in quel mondo dove la Cosa, l’Inespresso, il Nascosto e il Segreto regnavano.
Ora sapeva che la sua resa della notte precedente era stata l’ultima liberazione. Non aveva più paura di incontrare Rodney, perché era stata purificata dal desiderio; era al sicuro per sempre.”
Anche nel quarto racconto "La natura della prova", si ha a che fare con la morte di uno dei due coniugi. I protagonisti sono Edward Marston e la moglie Rosamund, che prima della sua morte, Rosamund aveva detto a suo marito che desiderava che un giorno si risposasse, ma solo con "la donna giusta"; se avesse sposato la donna sbagliata, non lo avrebbe potuto sopportare. E in effetti, Edward inizia ad avere non pochi problemi quando si risposa con Pauline (una donna sbagliata).
In "Se i morti sapessero", ritornano il tema del desiderio del matrimonio, ma stavolta tra un'insegnante di musica e uno dei suoi studenti, dei legami famigliari, delle passioni e della morte.
Questi temi saranno presenti anche negli ultimi due racconti "La vittima" e "La scoperta dell'assoluto".
“Vide le vaste superfici del tempo intersecarsi l’un l’altra, come i piani di una sfera che ruota, che entrano ed escono uno dall’altro. Vide altri sistemi di spazio e tempo sorgere, cadere, che racchiudevano ed erano racchiusi. E come un inserto minuscolo nell’immensa scena, la sua stessa vita, dalla nascita al momento presente, insieme agli eventi della sua vita celeste a venire. In questa visione, l’adulterio di Elizabeth, che un tempo era apparso un evento tanto mostruoso, tanto intollerabile, apparve come piccolo e insignificante.”
Alla fine, è proprio così: ciò che affligge le nostre vite, a guardarlo da un punto di vista "altro", appare come un puntino piccolo e insignificante.
November 2, 2022
I have been coveting a copy of Uncanny Stories by May Sinclair for such a long time. She is an author whom I was originally focusing upon in my current postgraduate thesis, and whilst my scope has changed since I began my project, I am still very keen to read her entire oeuvre. This particular book proved rather difficult to find, but I struck gold by keeping my eye on Abebooks, and finding a copy which was around £20 cheaper than those which I have previously seen.
The Wordsworth Edition which, whilst out of print, seemed to be the only edition which I could find, has been edited and introduced in a thorough manner by the well-informed Paul March-Russell. The stories were first published with this title in 1923, and throughout, Sinclair 'combines the traditional ghost story with the discoveries of Freud and Einstein.' March-Russell, who calls her a 'pivotal writer in the development of the ghost story', recognises the myriad elements which influenced Sinclair's work, calling her 'one of the most intellectually driven of writers, pursuing the "new" and the "modern" in philosophy, psychoanalysis, mysticism and the paranormal.' These eight tales promise to 'shock, enthral, delight and unsettle'. March-Russell writes that due to the very nature of these stories, they are 'disturbing' both in their content and the Modernist form in which they have been written.
A recurring motif in Sinclair's stories is the 'horror of family life', and the 'theme of self-denial'; she explores both in each of these stories, weaving them cleverly in with mysterious circumstances and paranormal occurrences. Her writing is what really shines here. A contemporary critic of hers named Julian Thompson said that her writing was 'pin-sharp, often harrowingly economic.' Everything here feels almost effortless; there is such a sense of flow and control in Sinclair's writing, which often feels like a mixture of the Victorian Gothic and the Modernist tradition.
Uncanny Stories has a curiosity about it; it is as though Sinclair has chosen to explore our world through things which cannot be proven to exist, but which a lot of people in the Victorian era, for instance, as well at the time of writing, were highly interested in. The descriptions which Sinclair has crafted are vivid and mysterious at once. 'The Finding of the Absolute', for example, deals with differing dimensions and the emergence of Kant conversing with the narrator in this particular space, and is the most unusual story in the collection. Here, she writes: 'He found himself alone in an immense grey space, in which there was no distinguishable object but himself. He was aware of his body as occupying a portion of this space. For he had a body; a curious, tenuous, whitish body. The odd thing was that this empty space had a sort of solidity under him. He was lying on it, stretched out on it, adrift. It supported him with the buoyancy of deep water. And yet his body was part of it, melted in.'
Different narrative techniques and perspectives can be found from one story to another so, despite the often recurring themes, there is a freshness and variety to the collection. Given its main theme, Uncanny Stories could so easily have been melodramatic, but not a single story can be categorised as such. Sinclair has a way of making obscene and otherworldly things seem entirely reasonable; she provides ghosts and hauntings almost with a sense of normalcy. The tension is built masterfully, and the theme of obsessive love has been explored in such depth in many differing situations. Whilst there is a trope in these stories in which many young wives come back to haunt their husbands, the ways in which they do so vary, as does the reasoning. The only thing here which I felt was a little overdone were the accents, some of which felt almost impenetrable.
The stories collected here were originally presented with illustrations; they have since been removed, which seems a shame. Of this collection, I had only read one of the stories before, 'The Flaw in the Crystal'; this, I enjoyed even more the second time around. The influence of psychology particularly here is fascinating; there are so many layers to each story, and psychological elements can be picked out in every single tale.
Uncanny Stories is highly engaging, and whilst I read it during a heatwave in France, it would definitely better suit a dark evening with a crackling fire. The stories here should be better known and more widely read, as, indeed, should the rest of Sinclair's books. She is a wonderful and unjustly neglected author, and this collection demonstrates just how versatile she was.
The Wordsworth Edition which, whilst out of print, seemed to be the only edition which I could find, has been edited and introduced in a thorough manner by the well-informed Paul March-Russell. The stories were first published with this title in 1923, and throughout, Sinclair 'combines the traditional ghost story with the discoveries of Freud and Einstein.' March-Russell, who calls her a 'pivotal writer in the development of the ghost story', recognises the myriad elements which influenced Sinclair's work, calling her 'one of the most intellectually driven of writers, pursuing the "new" and the "modern" in philosophy, psychoanalysis, mysticism and the paranormal.' These eight tales promise to 'shock, enthral, delight and unsettle'. March-Russell writes that due to the very nature of these stories, they are 'disturbing' both in their content and the Modernist form in which they have been written.
A recurring motif in Sinclair's stories is the 'horror of family life', and the 'theme of self-denial'; she explores both in each of these stories, weaving them cleverly in with mysterious circumstances and paranormal occurrences. Her writing is what really shines here. A contemporary critic of hers named Julian Thompson said that her writing was 'pin-sharp, often harrowingly economic.' Everything here feels almost effortless; there is such a sense of flow and control in Sinclair's writing, which often feels like a mixture of the Victorian Gothic and the Modernist tradition.
Uncanny Stories has a curiosity about it; it is as though Sinclair has chosen to explore our world through things which cannot be proven to exist, but which a lot of people in the Victorian era, for instance, as well at the time of writing, were highly interested in. The descriptions which Sinclair has crafted are vivid and mysterious at once. 'The Finding of the Absolute', for example, deals with differing dimensions and the emergence of Kant conversing with the narrator in this particular space, and is the most unusual story in the collection. Here, she writes: 'He found himself alone in an immense grey space, in which there was no distinguishable object but himself. He was aware of his body as occupying a portion of this space. For he had a body; a curious, tenuous, whitish body. The odd thing was that this empty space had a sort of solidity under him. He was lying on it, stretched out on it, adrift. It supported him with the buoyancy of deep water. And yet his body was part of it, melted in.'
Different narrative techniques and perspectives can be found from one story to another so, despite the often recurring themes, there is a freshness and variety to the collection. Given its main theme, Uncanny Stories could so easily have been melodramatic, but not a single story can be categorised as such. Sinclair has a way of making obscene and otherworldly things seem entirely reasonable; she provides ghosts and hauntings almost with a sense of normalcy. The tension is built masterfully, and the theme of obsessive love has been explored in such depth in many differing situations. Whilst there is a trope in these stories in which many young wives come back to haunt their husbands, the ways in which they do so vary, as does the reasoning. The only thing here which I felt was a little overdone were the accents, some of which felt almost impenetrable.
The stories collected here were originally presented with illustrations; they have since been removed, which seems a shame. Of this collection, I had only read one of the stories before, 'The Flaw in the Crystal'; this, I enjoyed even more the second time around. The influence of psychology particularly here is fascinating; there are so many layers to each story, and psychological elements can be picked out in every single tale.
Uncanny Stories is highly engaging, and whilst I read it during a heatwave in France, it would definitely better suit a dark evening with a crackling fire. The stories here should be better known and more widely read, as, indeed, should the rest of Sinclair's books. She is a wonderful and unjustly neglected author, and this collection demonstrates just how versatile she was.
November 19, 2017
"Where their Fire is not Quenched" is a highly unsettling and creepy story about an adulterous couple who are damned to continue their loathsome, loveless relationship for all eternity. (3 stars)
"The Token" is a ghost story about a wife who died with an important question in her life unanswered. She revisits her husband's study in search for the answer to the mystery she had never solved while alive. (3 stars)
"The Flaw in the Crystal" is about a female telepath who quietly uses her powers to cure other people of depression and instability. She’s horrified to discover that the suicidal madness of one of her patients is leaking into her own mind. (4 stars)
"The Nature of the Evidence" is a ghost story about a first wife who returns to this world when her husband remarries to protest her disapproval of his choice of second wife and prevent the two of them ever sharing a bed. (4 stars)
"If the Dead Knew" is a story filled with tension revolves around a mother-son relationship. The son wants the mother to die and then he gets his wish. (3 stars)
"The Victim" is a story wherein a servant murders his master and then becomes increasingly tormented by the murdered man’s spectre. (3 stars)
"The Finding of the Absolute" is the story of an amateur philosopher exploring the afterlife, a possible heaven seen though the scientific explanations. (2 stars)
"The Intercessor" tells the story of a haunting by a little girl's ghost. (4 stars)
"The Token" is a ghost story about a wife who died with an important question in her life unanswered. She revisits her husband's study in search for the answer to the mystery she had never solved while alive. (3 stars)
"The Flaw in the Crystal" is about a female telepath who quietly uses her powers to cure other people of depression and instability. She’s horrified to discover that the suicidal madness of one of her patients is leaking into her own mind. (4 stars)
"The Nature of the Evidence" is a ghost story about a first wife who returns to this world when her husband remarries to protest her disapproval of his choice of second wife and prevent the two of them ever sharing a bed. (4 stars)
"If the Dead Knew" is a story filled with tension revolves around a mother-son relationship. The son wants the mother to die and then he gets his wish. (3 stars)
"The Victim" is a story wherein a servant murders his master and then becomes increasingly tormented by the murdered man’s spectre. (3 stars)
"The Finding of the Absolute" is the story of an amateur philosopher exploring the afterlife, a possible heaven seen though the scientific explanations. (2 stars)
"The Intercessor" tells the story of a haunting by a little girl's ghost. (4 stars)
September 21, 2008
Note: This book contains the title collection and adds the title story to one of Sinclair's later collections. The upcoming collection of Sinclair's complete supernatural work, THE VILLA DESIREE, will contain the complete contents of UNCANNY STORIES and THE INTERCESSOR &c., as well as the five supernatural stories in TALES TOLD BY SIMPSON.
February 8, 2024
i only enjoyed the ones about women
August 20, 2015
May Sinclair's body of modernist paranormal fiction is small but worth investigating for its precise and delicate use of language, its uncanny atmosphere and the gothic tension that gradually builds.
This volume collects eight of her uncanny stories that are united by the themes of realisation in the face of once-hidden knowledge and the intermingling of the lives of the living and the dead; "The Token" and "The Victim" particularly are good examples of the latter. Sinclair also deftly weaves modern theories of Einstein and Freud into traditional ghost stories, revealing her talents in philosophy and psychoanalysis (which she was involved in during the First World War).
My favourite stories in this collection include "The Finding of The Absolute" for its descriptions of heaven in material terms though the scientific explanations did get a little confusing, "The Intercessor" which was one of the eeriest and most gothic of the collection and dealt with the powerful grief of losing a child (and dealt too with semi-autobiographical elements), and also "The Token" for its look at how our actions impact the dead.
In all, Sinclair deserves wider recognition as an accomplished Modernist and ghost-story writer; this volume is a perfect introduction to her work and merit re-reading and mulling over time and again.
This volume collects eight of her uncanny stories that are united by the themes of realisation in the face of once-hidden knowledge and the intermingling of the lives of the living and the dead; "The Token" and "The Victim" particularly are good examples of the latter. Sinclair also deftly weaves modern theories of Einstein and Freud into traditional ghost stories, revealing her talents in philosophy and psychoanalysis (which she was involved in during the First World War).
My favourite stories in this collection include "The Finding of The Absolute" for its descriptions of heaven in material terms though the scientific explanations did get a little confusing, "The Intercessor" which was one of the eeriest and most gothic of the collection and dealt with the powerful grief of losing a child (and dealt too with semi-autobiographical elements), and also "The Token" for its look at how our actions impact the dead.
In all, Sinclair deserves wider recognition as an accomplished Modernist and ghost-story writer; this volume is a perfect introduction to her work and merit re-reading and mulling over time and again.
February 17, 2023
Excelente recopilación de 7 relatos de la autora. Para descubrir a nuevas autoras del fantástico.
Que maravilla que Biblioteca de Carfax vaya recuperando y reivindicando a escritoras de género.
El único pero…vuelve a ser la revisión del texto. Con bastantes fallos para una edición tan cuidada y ese portadon.
Que maravilla que Biblioteca de Carfax vaya recuperando y reivindicando a escritoras de género.
El único pero…vuelve a ser la revisión del texto. Con bastantes fallos para una edición tan cuidada y ese portadon.
January 1, 2020
May Sinclair offers us eight ghost stories with her trademark psychological stamp, exploring themes including consciousness after death. I think the first two give an example of the collection as a whole. "Where Their Thirst is Quenched" is original and stimulating in both content and style whereas "The Token" shows how Sinclair's work is sometimes boring and unsurprising. A couple of the stories were really quite touching, notably "If the Dead Knew".
April 7, 2022
I am still waiting for the May Sinclair revival. She was well-known in her time (early 20th cent.); an author with many successful and interesting novels to her name, written with an economy of style (perhaps an influence on Hemingway?), a modernist sensibility (she coined the term “Stream of Consciousness”), and a feminist outlook. She is surely due for a revival. I am a HUGE fan and own 25 books by her, most of them original printings as she was most popular in the US and her works can often be found in thrift and used book stores for next to nothing. This collection of supernatural short stories touches on all the things that Sinclair loved to explore—the psychological damage done by families, repressed sexuality, unspoken longings, and the brutality of men toward women. The use of ghosts to explore all of these issues allows her to create a shield rather than confront things directly--a very English approach. Every story in this collection is worth reading and some of them are brilliant (The Flaw in the Crystal especially).
December 11, 2012
have to say I found these stories to be a little disappointing. They were supposed to be a more psychological ghost story, but were just a little odd. I think the nicest was a story called "The Intercessor" about a man who stayed in a haunted cottage with a family and had to solve the mystery of the dead child that he heard crying every night. It was a very nice story; the man had no fear of the child ghost and just set about setting things right. The other stories were not so good. There was one about a woman who was doomed to re-live her terribly dull affair in hell, I took this to be a judgement on her having sex with a married man, Bill took it as she was being punished for having a Boring affair and no real emotions. (Which is much better). The token was another story where someone saw a ghost and was trying to put her to rest. Unfortunately the story was not as compelling as the Intercessor. The Flaw in the Crystal was the longest and strangest tale about a woman who was able to heal with some strange empathic power, which I was never sure, if it was real or her imagination. It was rather odd and too long and a little dull. On the whole not one of the best ghost story collections I've read this year. I wouldn't really recommend the stories that highly.
July 19, 2023
Lo que mas me ha interesado de estos cuentos de fantasmas (buenos) y apariciones (bondadosas) es cuando Sinclair tira de los hilos del fantastico en la literatura de las Bronte, de quienes era admiradora y estudiosa. Fantasmas de amantes separados por la muerte, con dolor y a veces para bien. Se ve en los relatos tambien que Sinclair era una mujer muy inteligente y buena observadora de la conducta humana, asi que da gusto escuchar su voz. Lastima que creyera en el espiritismo sin doblez alguna. Salvo "Donde su fuego no se apaga", el resto son algo aburridillos.
January 12, 2008
I found this an uneven collection - some of the stories I loved, others I wasn't so sure about. A powerful Gothic writer, anyway.
April 2, 2023
⭐3⭐
Los cuentos de relatos es lo que tiene. O unos te gustan muchísimo u otros te aburren al infinito. Pero es un buen libro para tener en tu colección si te gusta el terror gótico.
Los cuentos de relatos es lo que tiene. O unos te gustan muchísimo u otros te aburren al infinito. Pero es un buen libro para tener en tu colección si te gusta el terror gótico.
June 25, 2019
What a strange book. It starts with stories of women haunting their ex-husbands or vice-versa, then wanders into something like Wicca before settling on an all-encompassing sci-fi theory of the afterlife. An unexpected set of stories.
September 9, 2024
so boring!!
January 11, 2010
This book contains eight short stories and an introduction by Paul March-Russell.
The introduction is mostly an analysis of the stories in the book, and would have probably made more sense to me if I'd read it after I'd finished the book.
“Where their Fire is not Quenched” is about two lovers who are having an empty affair and end up having to spend eternity repeating it. I found this story a bit confusing as it jumps through the years quite quickly. It was a bit dull really, just like their affair.
“The Token” is about a man who can’t express his love for his wife, so when she dies she comes back to find out if he really loved her. I enjoyed this story.
“The Flaw in the Crystal” is about a telepathic healer who finds it hard when the person she is healing finds out that she is the one keeping him healthy. This story was ok, but it was dragged out too long in my opinion.
“The Nature of the Evidence” is about a man who takes a new wife after his first wife dies. When he tries to go to his new wife’s bedroom he is visited by the ghost of his old wife.
“If the Dead Knew” is about a man who wishes his mother would hurry up and die, and she does.
“The Victim” is a murder story. A chauffeur murders his master and is then haunted by what he has done. I really liked this story.
“The Finding of the Absolute” is the story of an amateur philosopher who goes to heaven. Some of the ideas of heaven are interesting, but there were too many scientific explanations in this story and I found it confusing.
“The Intercessor” is a haunting story of a house haunted by a little girl who is looking for the love of her mother. This was my favourite story in the whole book, it was quite spooky.
Overall I enjoyed about half of the stories in the book, the other half I found a bit dull.
The introduction is mostly an analysis of the stories in the book, and would have probably made more sense to me if I'd read it after I'd finished the book.
“Where their Fire is not Quenched” is about two lovers who are having an empty affair and end up having to spend eternity repeating it. I found this story a bit confusing as it jumps through the years quite quickly. It was a bit dull really, just like their affair.
“The Token” is about a man who can’t express his love for his wife, so when she dies she comes back to find out if he really loved her. I enjoyed this story.
“The Flaw in the Crystal” is about a telepathic healer who finds it hard when the person she is healing finds out that she is the one keeping him healthy. This story was ok, but it was dragged out too long in my opinion.
“The Nature of the Evidence” is about a man who takes a new wife after his first wife dies. When he tries to go to his new wife’s bedroom he is visited by the ghost of his old wife.
“If the Dead Knew” is about a man who wishes his mother would hurry up and die, and she does.
“The Victim” is a murder story. A chauffeur murders his master and is then haunted by what he has done. I really liked this story.
“The Finding of the Absolute” is the story of an amateur philosopher who goes to heaven. Some of the ideas of heaven are interesting, but there were too many scientific explanations in this story and I found it confusing.
“The Intercessor” is a haunting story of a house haunted by a little girl who is looking for the love of her mother. This was my favourite story in the whole book, it was quite spooky.
Overall I enjoyed about half of the stories in the book, the other half I found a bit dull.
September 12, 2010
Overall, I enjoyed these quite a bit, although a few of the author's (Freudian) conceits get worn a little thin through repetition, though the remedy is simple: I'd suggest dipping into this one occassionally, rather than reading straight through. Lots of unrequited, repressed or unconsumated love driving psyches into wierd assignations beyond death, which is a charmingly creepy idea. "The Nature of the Evidence" is a great brief example of this, where a man's lovely child-bride dies, and then returns to literally fight it out with his next wife, a creature of voluptuous flesh and blood. Will heaving corporeal femininity standing naked in the moonlight stand a chance against the embraces of a disembodied shade, who is in all places at once? It is nice that - unlike much contemporary paranormal schtuff - the sublime answer is only hinted at (no phallic pottery wheel scenes here); very effective. I very much enjoyed "The Nature of the Absolute," - a curious experiment in describing heaven in material terms - though I don't think it would tell well aloud - but one or two others here certainly would - "The Victim," and maybe "The Inctercessor." I've been curious about Sinclair's novel, Mary Oliver, which was brought out by NYRB, and this has whet that curiousity further.
November 5, 2014
Reading this book was a sharp turn for me since I usually read modern supernatural fiction, but an enjoyable one - although the technicalities of the somewhat old English were challenging. As far as horror stories go, I wasn't terrified or thrilled, but rather intrigued by the various shades of human nature that Sinclair showed throughout the book. It was fascinating how, for example in "The Intercessor" and "If the Dead Knew," she manages to make the reader understand and relate to a supernatural existence or apparition, and see their "feelings" in the same light as those of tangible, "real" existences.
June 29, 2014
I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this, because I tend to find older horror and supernatural stories too gentle, too slow, or too formal and mannered for my taste. But when it comes to ghost stories, all of those things can work in their favour. From the intimate to the existential, May Sinclair's stories were a constant surprise to me, and a couple of them gnawed at my brain long after I finished reading them.
August 24, 2023
Ha sido una lectura curiosa pero no precisamente lo que esperaba. Hay alguna historia de fantasmas, se trata la vida después de la muerte e incluso aparece un personaje con poder sobrenatural. Algunos relatos se alargan y parecen estancarse en ciertos puntos al mismo tiempo que otros utilizan un suceso desagradable como excusa para criticar el egoísmo del ser humano.
Como bien dice el título, insólito.
Como bien dice el título, insólito.
September 10, 2015
A really good set of ghost stories from May Sinclair. The stories themselves are pretty solid. There's only one that I didn't particularly care for. However, as an artifact of an early 1900's female viewpoint, there is a lot that can be learned from them. The ghost stories read as allegories for the female experience, and are quite fascinating in that regard.
August 10, 2016
This is a collection of eight stories. They are not 'ghost stories' in the traditional sense and are surprisingly modern for the time. There are elements of the supernatural, but also a lot of psychology and a feminist sensibility.
January 8, 2009
uncanny and rather dull.
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