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Ghostly Tales
This publication from The Wimbourne Reprint Series reproduces in its entirety the text of "Ghostly Tales", the 1896 collection of supernatural or weird stories by the Countess of Munster, or Wilhelmina FitzClarence (1830-1906), plus some additional stories not before published.
The "Saturday Review" declared "Ghostly Tales" "entertaining and dramatic" on its publication. Later anthologist Hugh Lamb was very supportive of the volume, declaring it one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories" and "possibly her best work". Lamenting that "Ghostly Tales" was "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death", Lamb went on to rectify the situation; including "The Tyburn Ghost" in his collection "Tales from a Gas-lit Graveyard" (W. H. Allen, 1979) and "The Page-Boy’s Ghost" in the later anthology "Gaslit Nightmares" (Futura, 1988). Neil Wilson wrote in his study of British supernatural fiction ("Shadows in the Attic") that "Ghostly Tales" is a "rare collection of high quality Victorian ghost stories, which seems several decades ahead of its time. FitzClarence’s ghost stories are usually more swiftly paced than those of her contemporaries and this, coupled with a plain and direct writing style, have allowed the tales to retain their interest and bear re-examination by new generations of readers." "Ghostly Tales" was very successful on its publication, going to several reprints over the ensuing years, but original copies are now extremely difficult to find.
In addition to the original list of eleven stories, this volume also contains three stories not originally appearing in "Ghostly Tales". The first is "A Mysterious Experience" which appeared in Strand Magazine in January 1896. The second is titled "A True Ghost Story", which recounts the personal experiences of Wilhelmina’s sister Millicent’s (and her niece’s) encounters with the ghostly ‘Green Lady’ or ‘Green Jean’ at their family home, Wemyss Castle in Fife. The final story is the excellent "The Crimson Portrait", perhaps Mina’s most effective story of all. Both these latter stories appeared in her autobiography "My Memories and Miscellanies" (1904). This collection from the Wimbourne Reprints Series therefore, for the first time,contains all of Wilhelmina FitzClarence’s supernatural short fiction.
Contents:
A Double
The Ghost of My Dead Friend
The Tyburn Ghost
The Bruges Ghost
The Page-Boy’s Ghost
Aunt Jean’s Story
Only a Cat!
The Leather Box
“Saved!” (A Reminiscence)
A “Mauvais Quart D’Heure”
A Mysterious Visitor (A Well-Authenticated story)
A Mysterious Experience
A True Ghost Story
The Crimson Portrait
The "Saturday Review" declared "Ghostly Tales" "entertaining and dramatic" on its publication. Later anthologist Hugh Lamb was very supportive of the volume, declaring it one of the "truly representative collections of Victorian ghost stories" and "possibly her best work". Lamenting that "Ghostly Tales" was "completely overlooked by bibliophiles and anthologists since her death", Lamb went on to rectify the situation; including "The Tyburn Ghost" in his collection "Tales from a Gas-lit Graveyard" (W. H. Allen, 1979) and "The Page-Boy’s Ghost" in the later anthology "Gaslit Nightmares" (Futura, 1988). Neil Wilson wrote in his study of British supernatural fiction ("Shadows in the Attic") that "Ghostly Tales" is a "rare collection of high quality Victorian ghost stories, which seems several decades ahead of its time. FitzClarence’s ghost stories are usually more swiftly paced than those of her contemporaries and this, coupled with a plain and direct writing style, have allowed the tales to retain their interest and bear re-examination by new generations of readers." "Ghostly Tales" was very successful on its publication, going to several reprints over the ensuing years, but original copies are now extremely difficult to find.
In addition to the original list of eleven stories, this volume also contains three stories not originally appearing in "Ghostly Tales". The first is "A Mysterious Experience" which appeared in Strand Magazine in January 1896. The second is titled "A True Ghost Story", which recounts the personal experiences of Wilhelmina’s sister Millicent’s (and her niece’s) encounters with the ghostly ‘Green Lady’ or ‘Green Jean’ at their family home, Wemyss Castle in Fife. The final story is the excellent "The Crimson Portrait", perhaps Mina’s most effective story of all. Both these latter stories appeared in her autobiography "My Memories and Miscellanies" (1904). This collection from the Wimbourne Reprints Series therefore, for the first time,contains all of Wilhelmina FitzClarence’s supernatural short fiction.
Contents:
A Double
The Ghost of My Dead Friend
The Tyburn Ghost
The Bruges Ghost
The Page-Boy’s Ghost
Aunt Jean’s Story
Only a Cat!
The Leather Box
“Saved!” (A Reminiscence)
A “Mauvais Quart D’Heure”
A Mysterious Visitor (A Well-Authenticated story)
A Mysterious Experience
A True Ghost Story
The Crimson Portrait
- GenresClassics
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2017
6 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 29, 2018
Just to be clear, I have the British Library paperback edition not the kindle version. Time is just not my friend at the moment, so I'll have to report more fully on this book later.
For now, it's worth reading because of its obscurity, because it was written in the 1890s, and because this woman didn't start writing until in her 60s. It starts out ghostly but really, the title is a bit misleading since the bulk of the stories here are not "ghostly tales" at all. Another thing: a number of these stories have a religious bent to them, not unusual for the time, but not my cuppa at all; a couple read like sensation fiction and then there's one or two here that wouldn't be amiss under the category of gothic.
as I said, I have like zero time right now so I'll be back.
For now, it's worth reading because of its obscurity, because it was written in the 1890s, and because this woman didn't start writing until in her 60s. It starts out ghostly but really, the title is a bit misleading since the bulk of the stories here are not "ghostly tales" at all. Another thing: a number of these stories have a religious bent to them, not unusual for the time, but not my cuppa at all; a couple read like sensation fiction and then there's one or two here that wouldn't be amiss under the category of gothic.
as I said, I have like zero time right now so I'll be back.
May 22, 2019
Some Excellent Stories, Some Dreck
As is mentioned in the introduction in spite of the title not all of these tales are ghost stories. In fact one or two have nothing supernatural in them. The quality of the stories is rather uneven but even so it's worth a read.
As is mentioned in the introduction in spite of the title not all of these tales are ghost stories. In fact one or two have nothing supernatural in them. The quality of the stories is rather uneven but even so it's worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews