The third ghost book

by Cynthia Asquith

Contents:
Mary Treagold – The Telephone
Elizabeth Bowen – The Claimant
Evelyn Fabyon – Napoleon’s Hat
Rachel Hartfield – The Bull
L.A.G. Strong – The House That Wouldn’t Keep Still
Mary Fitt – The Doctor
Elizabeth Jenkins – On No Account, My Love
Lord Dunsany – The Ghost Of The Valley
Margaret Lane – The Day Of The Funeral
Ronald Blythe – Take Your Partners
L.P.Hartley – Someone In The Lift
Robert Aickman – Ringing The Changes
Marghanita Laski – The Tower
Jonathon Curling – I Became Bulwinkle
Collin Brooks – Mrs. Smiff
James Laver – Somebody Calls
Rosemary Timperley – Harry
Ursula Codrington – The Shades Of Sleepe
Daniel George – The Woman In Black
Shane Leslie – A Laugh On The Professor
Elizabeth Taylor – Poor Girl
John Cornell – The House In The Glen
Nancy Spain – The King Of Spain
Michael Asquith – The Uninvited Face
Angus Wilson – Animals Or Human Beings
Eileen Bigland – Remembering Lee
Cynthia Asquith – Who Is Sylvia ?

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Ghost Stories, Short Stories

302 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

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

[Nancy Oakes]

I'm calling this one 3.5 not rounded up.

Twenty-seven stories are included in this little book, some of which I've read before: "The Ghost of the Valley", by Lord Dunsany, Aickman's "Ringing the Changes," "The Tower," by Marghanita Laski, and "Poor Girl," by Elizabeth Taylor. Out of the remaining 23, several authors are familiar, although their stories were not: Elizabeth Bowen, Mary Fitt, Elizabeth Jenkins, L.P. Hartley, and Lady Cynthia Asquith herself. That leaves a total of 18 writers whose work I've never read, offering lots of possibilities for further reading (yay!). The collection as a whole is not the greatest, but as I'm always saying, when you pick up an anthology it's bound to be a mixed bag where there are treasures and there are those stories that are not so hot. Depending on the reader though, people's choices in each category will be different.

While I can't promise that each and every tale will produce goosebumps, there's probably something for everyone here who enjoys these older stories. For me it's all about discovering those obscure, long-forgotten authors whose work has just sort of faded away, and in that sense, this book was a goldmine.

recommended for strange, nerdiferous people like me who revel in the older stuff. I know you're out there.

http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2017...

[Mark H · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag, but includes a few unusual and rewarding tales from familiar mames
like Rosemary Timperley. All these tales are supposedly from the 1950s, but many feel more old fashioned, in terms of the writing style. Worth it for the rare gems, but I’d prefer a more ruthless editor!

[Sean Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid collection of ghost stories, including some fairly obscure authors. I want to find more of this series.