Phantom of Glencourt

by Clarissa Ross, W.E.D. Ross (AKA)

The Glencourt theater was a shell of the magnificent building which had once crowned Broadway. In its day it had known all the famous stars and most of the great productions that made that street in New York famous as the theatrical center of America. But the theater was old now, its builder decades dead...and even it most flamboyant manager was now gone.

In his place was his granddaughter, Jane Glen, who found her inheritance a failing proposition, with but one chance to save it from the wreckers. But there were dark forces arrayed against her...forces from beyond life itself.

For the theater was said to be haunted by the ghost of a lovely murdered actress...and even Jane seemed to be threatened now with death!

Genres: Gothic

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

William Edward Daniel Ross, W. E. Daniel "Dan" Ross (born 1912) is a bestselling Canadian novelist from Saint John, New Brunswick who wrote over 300 books in a variety of genres and under a variety of mostly female pseudonyms such as Laura Frances Brooks, Lydia Colby, Rose Dana, Jan Daniels, Ross Olin, Diane Randall, Clarissa Ross, Leslie Ames, Ruth Dorset, Ann Gilmer, Jane Rossiter, Dan Ross, Dana Ross, Marilyn Ross, Dan Roberts, and W.E.D. Ross. As Marilyn Ross he wrote popular Gothic fiction including a series of novels about the vampire Barnabas Collins based on the American TV series Dark Shadows (1966-71).

Reviews

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan aka Clarissa Ross was always better when he got to draw on his theatrical background and "Phantom of Glencourt" does just that. Young film actress Jane Glen inherits a decrepit, financially troubled Broadway theatre after the death of her estranged grandfather. The theatre doesn't just have money worries; it also seems to be haunted by the ghost of a former leading man, who was responsible for a gruesome murder years before. Ross vividly evokes the larger-than-life personalities of actors and theatrical impresarios, and creates a genuine sense of menacing atmosphere in his descriptions of the theatre, as well as the seedy 70s era Broadway around it (Ross clearly didn't like hippies). Of course, this being a Ross novel, entire sections of the book consist of characters narrating recently occurred scenes to other characters--or re-telling their internal thoughts to other characters--all in an attempt, one suspects, to hit the minimum word count required by the publisher. Despite this, because of its theatrical setting, "Phantom of Glencourt" is more enjoyable than other Ross novels...although of course, if you're reading the Clarissa Ross novels, you approach them as a certain clunky delicacy to be savored.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was basically a Scooby Doo mystery. Almost every chapter ended with an exclamation mark. The pacing was awkward, and the exposition in dialogue was utterly ridiculous. Contractions were used sparingly and their lack is jarring. I give it 2 stars but I also want to add I enjoyed it for what it was. The gothic genre has a special place in my heart. But how she felt when she finished the last chapter truly shocked her!

[Nattie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless, but not even a tiny bit scary.