Cameos

by Marie Corelli

1896. Contents: Three wise men of Gotham; Angel's wickedness; Distant voice; Withering of a rose; Nehemiah P. Hoskins, artist; An old bundle; Mademoiselle Zephyr; Tiny tramps; Lady with the carnations; My wonderful wife.

From the Short Story Index Reprint Series.

291 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1896

About the author

Marie Corelli (born Mary Mackay) was a best-selling British novelist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose controversial works of the time often label her as an early advocate of the New Age movement.

In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.

She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a lovely old 1896 possibly 1900 copy of this book at Lyme Regis. I'd not read any of Corelli's short stories before. I am glad I found the UK edition as it has many more stories than the US version. The US Version also contains the story, "My Wonderful Wife" which I read online and was one of the hardest stories I've ever had to read. "My Wonderful Wife" was every gender sterotype from the Victorian era brought to life. The first person narrator was the husband complaining about his manly wife, how she was not-natural and an embarressement and how women should hold to their "womanly qualities" and not try to be like men. I read it and really hoped that the male character was not the voice of the author, as he was just unbearable, however his wife was brilliant. Honoria was the most perfect butch woman I've ever read about in Victorian literature, she was a bit too sporting and a bit too anti-literature (despite being a successful novelist) but she was intelligent and fighting so hard for her equality, saying how perfectly absurd and old fashioned the ideas of gender stereotypes were how women were every bit as equal to men. In the end she left her husband and gave a series of lectures about how women should all wear men's clothing and be free of the cumbersome qualities of women's clothing. And how she was laughed at but she didn't mind because she was a pioneer (which indeed it turns out to be the truth). As much as I had to squirm through the husband's narrative she was truly worth reading about. I would like to think that "lesbian author creates ideal butch" is how this should be read, but alas I feel that perhaps Corelli did agree more with women being "womanly". Though the other stories in the collection that point to the stiffling of women by their husbands makes me question this. I think perhaps she was trying to point out the absurdities of both extreme positions. It is impossible to know. But it was a fantastic look at gender stereotypes and an amazingly brilliant woman as the central character, for all it made me squirm! The stories in the book that I bought were less supernatural than I was hoping for. There was only one story with ghosts, "The lady with the Carnations" which was very good. There were quite a few stories that ended happily with the main character either dying or commiting suicide. Mademoiselle Zephyr also dealt with gender issues and how hard it was for women painters to be appreciated as artists and how men would take the credit for their work. Likewise the withering of a rose, looked at the oppresion of married life.Three wise men of Gotham tried to show that men's complaints about their wives activites were unfounded and that a woman could still love her husband and be an active member of society. The soul of Miriam was a story of murder and revenge. There were a few stories about very good children going to heaven, which I did not care for as much. Still overall I liked it very much.

[Liliana Pulbere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing, just like each and every single story and novel Marie Corelli wrote! She is one of those writers whose stories one can read again and again. I enjoyed every single page of this book, which is a compilation of short stories. My favorite one in this volume is definitely “The Soul of the Newly Born” - a quaint and most beautifully written story which is so full of sorrow that it leaves you deeply moved and thoughtful.