The Ghost Book

by Cynthia Asquith (Editor)

Contents:
• "The Villa Désirée," short story by May Sinclair
• "Chemical," novelette by Algernon Blackwood
• "The Duenna," short story by Marie Belloc Lowndes writing as Mrs. Belloc Lowndes
• "A Visitor from Down Under," short story by L.P. Hartley
• "The Lost Tragedy," short story by Denis Mackail
• "Spinster's Rest," novelette by Clemence Dane
• "Mrs. Lunt," short story by Hugh Walpole
• "Munitions of War," short story by Arthur Machen
• "The Rocking-Horse Winner," short story by D.H. Lawrence
• "A Recluse," novelette by Walter de la Mare
• "The Corner Shop," short story by Cynthia Asquith writing as C.L. Ray
• "The Ether-Hogs," short story by Oliver Onions
• "The Mortal," short story by Oliver Onions
• "Twelve O'Clock," short story by Charles Whibley
• "The Amorous Ghost," short story by Enid Bagnold
• "Mr. Tallent's Ghost," short story by Mary Webb
• "Pargiton and Harby," short story by Desmond MacCarthy

Genres: Anthologies, Horror, Ghosts

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith was an English writer, now known for her ghost stories and diaries. She also wrote novels and edited a number of anthologies, as well as writing for children and on the British Royal family.

Her father was Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss (1857 – 1937) and her mother Mary Constance Wyndham (see The Souls). In 1910, she married Herbert Asquith, son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916.

In 1913 she met D.H. Lawrence in Margate, and became a friend and correspondent.

Reviews

[Mestor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not realised that Pan, famed for their Horror Anthologies, also published a series of Ghost Story volumes. A marvellous discovery for this lover of the macabre! A fine collection of tales that range from the horrific to the whimsical. I do prefer the more malevolent ghost story but for me the atmosphere is often more important than the story itself. i provide below my idiosyncratic rankings of the stories in the volume:

1. Pargiton and Harby by Desmond MacCarthy - a disturbing revenge tale of the doppelganger variety. A strong closer to the anthology and beautifully written;
2. Mrs Lunt by Hugh Walpole - another sumptuous revenge story with a fittingly malevolent spectre;
3. The Rocking-Horse Winner by D H Lawrence - the only story in this book that I had encountered before. A story of prophecy and greed with a nasty sting in the tale;
4. A Visitor From Down Under by L P Hartley - lo and behold, I'm drawn to another revenge tale as a murder victim seeks vengeance against his murderer. Hartley builds the atmosphere and tension well, all the more surprising as his tales in other collections have often left me cold;
5. The Corner Shop by C L Ray - a reconciliation story that evokes a sense of place perfectly. Nicely paced and executed;
6. Mr Tallent's Ghost by Mary Webb - not your traditional ghost story by any means, and I think that's why it's a standout tale in the anthology for me! A rather smashing twist in this one;
7. The Villa Desiree by May Sinclair - the first story in this collection may have a baffling ending, but it evokes a sense of place and dread successfully enough that it left a good impression on me for all that I didn't really understand it;
8. Chemical by Algernon Blackwood - intrigue and scares in a seedy boarding house make for a heady and spooky mix. Not one of Blackwood's strongest stories but diverting nonetheless;
9. The Amorous Ghost by Enid Bagnold - a compact little shocker in which the man of the house finds himself receiving unwanted advances from beyond the grave;
10. The Lost Tragedy - a clever story featuring the ghost of an irate Shakespeare trying to stop the publication of a long lost manuscript. Whimsical rather than frightening;
11. 'A Recluse' by Walter De la Mare - I'd be lying if I said that I fully understood what was supposed to be going on in this but I found it a satisfactorily eerie story with a good sense of location;
12. Spinsters' Rest by Clemence Dane - an overly sentimental, folkloric story but not without merit;
13. Twelve O'Clock by Charles Whibley - an account of the supposedly true story of the prophecy of death given to Lord Lyttleton by a spectral visitor. Rather pedestrian;
14. The Duenna by Mrs Belloc Lowndes - more Mills and Boon than M R James. A bit of a nothingness;
15. Two Trifles by Oliver Onions - two light-hearted tales in which we see the world from the perspectives of the ghosts themselves. Not awful but not to my taste;
16. Munitions of War by Arthur Machen - a potentially intriguing timeslip ghost story that is over too quickly and for which the dramatic twist is more damp squib.

[Mike Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in a charity shop in Canterbury whilst on holiday. The inscription on the fly leaf reads "Basil Copper, April 4th 1952", so I assume it was his own copy - there's a find then.

Nothing here raised the hairs on my head. For me the best were 'The Rocking Horse Winner' by D.H. Lawrence and 'Mrs Lunt' by Hugh Walpole. Everything else was just a decent short story.

Nothing to rave about but equally nothing to complain about.

[Mark H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compilation of old, creaky, early short stories that culminate with the realisation that a ghost has appeared. Not really a surprise in a book of ghost stories.

Asquith’s second volume is more interesting, with newly-written tales, many by women.

[Kaethe]

contains "Spinsters' Rest" by Clemence Dane, which I now feel compelled to read

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.63⭐

A Recluse • (1926) • Walter de la Mare 4⭐
A Visitor from Down Under • (1926) • L. P. Hartley 4⭐
Chemical • (1926) • Algernon Blackwood 3.5⭐
Mr. Tallent's Ghost • (1926) • by Mary Webb 5⭐
Mrs. Lunt • (1926) • Hugh Walpole 3.5⭐
Munitions of War • (1926) • Arthur Machen 2.5⭐
Pargiton and Harby • (1926) • Desmond MacCarthy 3⭐
Spinster's Rest • (1926) • Clemence Dane 2.5⭐
The Amorous Ghost • (1926) • Enid Bagnold 3.25⭐
The Corner Shop • (1926) • Cynthia Asquith [as by C. L. Ray] 4⭐
The Duenna • (1926) • Marie Belloc Lowndes 4⭐
The Ether-Hogs • (1926) • Oliver Onions 3⭐
The Lost Tragedy • (1926) • Denis Mackail 4⭐
The Mortal • (1926) • Oliver Onions 2.5⭐
The Rocking-Horse Winner • (1926) • D. H. Lawrence 5⭐
The Villa Désirée • (1921) • May Sinclair 5⭐
Twelve O'Clock • (1926) • Charles Whibley 3⭐