Witching Hill

by E.W. Hornung

Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 - 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels. In 1898 he wrote "In the Chains of Crime," which introduced Raffles and his sidekick, Bunny Manders; the characters were based partly on his friends Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and also on the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, created by his brother-in-law, Arthur Conan Doyle. The series of Raffles short stories were collected for sale in book form in 1899, and two further books of Raffles short stories followed, as well as a poorly received novel. Aside from his Raffles stories, Hornung was a prodigious writer of fiction, publishing numerous books from 1890, with A Bride from the Bush to his 1914 novel The Crime Doctor. The First World War brought an end to Hornung's fictional output. His son, Oscar, was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres in July 1915. Hornung joined the YMCA, initially in England, then in France, where he helped run a canteen and library. He published two collections of poetry during the war, and then, afterwards, one further volume of verse and an account of his time spent in France, Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front. Hornung's fragile constitution was further weakened by the stress of his war work. To aid his recuperation, he and his wife visited the south of France in 1921. He fell ill from influenza on the journey, and died on 22 March 1921, aged 54. Although much of Hornung's work has fallen into obscurity, his Raffles stories continued to be popular, and have formed numerous film and television adaptations. Hornung's stories dealt with a wider range of themes than crime: he examined scientific and medical developments, guilt, class and the unequal role played by women in society. Two threads that run through a sizeable proportion of his books are Australia and cricket; the latter was also a lifelong passion..... Frederick Coffay Yohn (February 8, 1875 - June 6, 1933), often recognized only by his initials, F. C. Yohn, was an artist and magazine illustrator.

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Ebooks

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Ernest William Hornung known as Willie, was an English author, most famous for writing the Raffles series of novels about a gentleman thief in late Victorian London.

In addition to his novels and short stories Hornung wrote some war verse, and a play based on the Raffles stories was produced successfully. He was much interested in cricket, and was "a man of large and generous nature, a delightful companion and conversationalist".

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Oddity. The author of Raffles gives us a linked set of stories with brawny young man and ailing intellectual confronting an ancient evil in which the brawny young man doesn't believe (and never starts believing, jeez mate). Not really sure what Hornung was doing with this and it's less exciting than it should be, but good Boer War England atmos.

[Randal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very glad I stumbled upon this book, if only for the character of Uvo Delavoye, who I found to be extremely likeable.

Witching Hill is essentially a collection of loosely connected mystery stories with a hint of the supernatural, each starring Delavoye and Gillon as a kind of Holmes and Watson pair. It is interesting to note that E.W. Hornung was the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Each of the stories takes place in Witching Hill housing estate, built on the old grounds of a country estate formerly the sight of much decadence and depravity centuries before. The stories are all intertwined by the suggestion that the mysteries and murders are the result of sinister influences from the "old man of the soil," the long-deceased wicked Lord Mulcaster.

Mr. Gillon, a young man and clerk of the housing estate, meets Uvo Delavoye, one of Mulcaster's distant descendents. Delavoye is recently returned and recovering from a tropical disease, leaving him much idle time to wonder about the many odd goings-on at Witching Hill. He places the blame of the bizarre happenings firmly at the feet of his devilish ancestor, Lord Mulcaster. Delavoye spends the next few years trying to prove this fact to Gillon, an inveterate skeptic who, despite suicides, robberies, attempted murders, and arsons, refuses to believe in any supernatural cause.

This is one of those odd little gems that you can find in the public domain if you look hard enough. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes early 1900s mystery stories with a heavily English flavor.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Project Gutenburg edition. This has to be one of the most unusual books I've ever read! There are several smaller stories told within the scope of the main story, and one of those was so sweet that I have already reread it. It wasn't enough for me to consider him a new favorite author, but I will definitely consider reading more of his works. Don't let the title fool you, though; it's not a ghost story, but the name of a place.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in 1913, this is a story composed of several episodes involving possible supernatural explanations taking place in a newly developed residential community out of an estate whose ancestor was a very unsavory character. An present day relative believes the events are connected to this person while his friend doesn't.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Read in the Project Gutenberg copy, which is free of typos.) Interesting concept, especially for something supernatural: events in a collection of houses newly built on an old estate seem to parallel events in earlier times. The episodic structure works well. Hornung hedges his bets by the end, though, which is a bit of a disappointment.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new (1913) housing estate is built on land once owned by a debauched and diabolic aristo. Modern renters succumb to influence, which is combated by rental agent and his friend, a descendant of the old devil.

Hornung's light touch is perfect.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe I've read all of E.W.Hornung's books now and this is the least engaging. There are a few surreal scenes I enjoyed, such as viewing a dinner party apparently happening in the past.

[Ethan]

DNF at 39%. Not bad but simply not engaging my interest