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A Phantom Lover: And Other Dark Tales
During her lifetime, Violet Paget, who wrote as Vernon Lee, was referred to as "the greatest of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction," and yet today she remains on the periphery of the genre. This collection of her uniquely weird short stories and dark fantasies proves why she was once considered among the best of the genre, and why she deserves to return to those ranks today. From modernized folk tales such as "Marsyas in Flanders" and "The Legend of Madame Krasinska" to ingenious psychological hauntings such as the titular "A Phantom Lover" and "A Wicked Voice," Lee’s own voice is just as distinctive and captivating—her weird imaginings just as freshly unsettling—as in her fin desiècle heyday.
288 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2020
72 people are currently reading
2016 people want to read
About the author
Vernon Lee
433 books120 followersViolet Paget, known by her pen name Vernon Lee, is remembered today primarily for her supernatural fiction and her work on aesthetics. An early follower of Walter Pater, she wrote over a dozen volumes of essays on art, music, and travel, poetry and contributed to The Yellow Book. An engaged feminist, she always dressed à la garçonne, and was a member of the Union of democratic control.
Her literary works explored the themes of haunting and possession. The English writer and translator, Montague Summers described Vernon Lee as "the greatest [...] of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction."
She was responsible for introducing the concept of empathy (Einfühling) into the English language. Empathy was a key concept in Lee's psychological aesthetics which she developed on the basis of prior work by Theodor Lipps. Her response to aesthetics interpreted art as a mental and corporeal experience. This was a significant contribution to the philosophy of art which has been largely neglected.
"The Lie of the Land", in the voume "Limbo, and other Essays", has been one of the most influential essays on landscaping.
Additionally she wrote, along with her friend and colleague Henry James, critically about the relationship between the writer and his/her audience pioneering the concept of criticism and expanding the idea of critical assessment among all the arts as relating to an audience's (or her personal) response. She was a strong, though vexed, proponent of the Aesthetic movement, and after a lengthy written correspondence met the movement's effective leader, Walter Pater, in England in 1881, just after encountering his famous disciple Oscar Wilde. Her interpretation of the movement called for social action, setting her apart from both Wilde and Pater.
Her literary works explored the themes of haunting and possession. The English writer and translator, Montague Summers described Vernon Lee as "the greatest [...] of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction."
She was responsible for introducing the concept of empathy (Einfühling) into the English language. Empathy was a key concept in Lee's psychological aesthetics which she developed on the basis of prior work by Theodor Lipps. Her response to aesthetics interpreted art as a mental and corporeal experience. This was a significant contribution to the philosophy of art which has been largely neglected.
"The Lie of the Land", in the voume "Limbo, and other Essays", has been one of the most influential essays on landscaping.
Additionally she wrote, along with her friend and colleague Henry James, critically about the relationship between the writer and his/her audience pioneering the concept of criticism and expanding the idea of critical assessment among all the arts as relating to an audience's (or her personal) response. She was a strong, though vexed, proponent of the Aesthetic movement, and after a lengthy written correspondence met the movement's effective leader, Walter Pater, in England in 1881, just after encountering his famous disciple Oscar Wilde. Her interpretation of the movement called for social action, setting her apart from both Wilde and Pater.
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April 18, 2020
I reviewed this for Sublime Horror. Read the full review here: A Phantom Lover: and other Dark Tales by Vernon Lee review – a writer ahead of her time
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'A Phantom Lover' has been one of my favourite ghost stories for a long time, but somehow I'd never read anything else by Lee. This newly published collection seemed like a good opportunity to put that right. I'd started reading Hauntings before and found it hard to get into, but that didn't happen with Dark Tales – perhaps because editor Mike Ashley places 'Winthrop's Adventure' first, and the more florid 'Amour Dure' (which opens Hauntings) comes later.
In fact, 'Amour Dure' ended up being one of my favourites from the book, with 'Winthrop's Adventure', 'The Legend of Madam Krasinka' and 'Sister Benvenuta and the Christ-Child' in close contention. Like Lee herself, many of the characters are deeply preoccupied with their appreciation of art and music; the stories are packed with densely detailed, vivid, heady descriptions, creating an intense atmosphere that is immediately recognisable as Lee's. There's not a dud among them, with only 'A Wicked Voice', which features diluted versions of themes from a couple of the others, appearing weaker. There are also surprises: I didn't expect to find myself laughing out loud, but 'Sister Benvenuta' is genuinely really funny.
'Winthrop's Adventure' originally went by the title 'A Culture-Ghost' – a phrase that could act as a subtitle to so many of Lee's supernatural stories, since 'culture' is always so present in her writing. I often find Victorian ghost stories underwhelming, and what I've got out of reading, for example, M.R. James, is more of a grounding in the formation of a genre than actual enjoyment. It's different with Vernon Lee's work. The stories are still fresh, so modern and unusual and beautiful. I could enthuse about them all day, but I'll just say that this collection is a brilliant introduction.
I received an advance review copy of A Phantom Lover and Other Dark Tales from Sublime Horror, courtesy of British Library Publishing.
TinyLetter
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'A Phantom Lover' has been one of my favourite ghost stories for a long time, but somehow I'd never read anything else by Lee. This newly published collection seemed like a good opportunity to put that right. I'd started reading Hauntings before and found it hard to get into, but that didn't happen with Dark Tales – perhaps because editor Mike Ashley places 'Winthrop's Adventure' first, and the more florid 'Amour Dure' (which opens Hauntings) comes later.
In fact, 'Amour Dure' ended up being one of my favourites from the book, with 'Winthrop's Adventure', 'The Legend of Madam Krasinka' and 'Sister Benvenuta and the Christ-Child' in close contention. Like Lee herself, many of the characters are deeply preoccupied with their appreciation of art and music; the stories are packed with densely detailed, vivid, heady descriptions, creating an intense atmosphere that is immediately recognisable as Lee's. There's not a dud among them, with only 'A Wicked Voice', which features diluted versions of themes from a couple of the others, appearing weaker. There are also surprises: I didn't expect to find myself laughing out loud, but 'Sister Benvenuta' is genuinely really funny.
'Winthrop's Adventure' originally went by the title 'A Culture-Ghost' – a phrase that could act as a subtitle to so many of Lee's supernatural stories, since 'culture' is always so present in her writing. I often find Victorian ghost stories underwhelming, and what I've got out of reading, for example, M.R. James, is more of a grounding in the formation of a genre than actual enjoyment. It's different with Vernon Lee's work. The stories are still fresh, so modern and unusual and beautiful. I could enthuse about them all day, but I'll just say that this collection is a brilliant introduction.
I received an advance review copy of A Phantom Lover and Other Dark Tales from Sublime Horror, courtesy of British Library Publishing.
TinyLetter
October 15, 2023
Review only for Sister Benvenuta and the Christ Child, an eighteenth-century legend which I read elsewhere, but I hope to have this entire collection someday.
The titular nun of this short Gothic story is a lame (word used in the story; I assume some sort of paralysis) young woman from a noble family. She is a novice in a convent and becomes infatuated with a little figurine or doll-like structure of the Child Christ. It is locked away from her and the rest of the convent in a cabinet that Benvenuta so desperately desires to get into for the sake of the Christ Child. Told in the form of Sister Benvenuta's diary, it records her unwavering desire towards the figurine of the Christ Child, her jealousy of the nun in charge of the cabinet, her devotion to God, her ability to laugh at the Devil but also doubt his trickery.
As far as I know, Vernon Lee was agonistic but she had an admiration for Catholicism and its aestheticism; at least the aestheticism filled with glory and bright Heaven and saints rather than the morose memento mori that she specifically accused Spanish art of. Given the Gothic tone of the story, and the origins of the Gothic, I assumed that Sister Benvenuta's devotion and visions would be reveal to be delusional or misguided, and there is some small suggestions of this, though interestingly enough it comes from Benvenuta's fellow skeptical sisters. However, Lee surprised me. The story shows these visions, both holy and diabolical, as genuine. Sister Benvenuta's life and visions seem to be inspired by the many female mystics of Catholicism and those saints who had visions of the Christ Child--particularly Saint Catherine of Siena.
As the diary progresses, we do see insight into Benvenuta's psychological landscape. There's no instances of anything troubling or repressed. Or, if it is the latter, then Lee has no made it very apparent in her writing. At one point, Sister Benvenuta discusses a puppet show being put on at the convent by an outside entertainer. One puppet represents the Devil and is described with the usual features i.e. horns, hoofed feet, but, most noticeably, the black beard of a Capuchin monk. Later on, when Benvenuta is describing her childhood, she mentions her father had horn spectacles and a black chin, what I assume is a beard. Her father's description is a very brief thing, and I may be looking into it too much, but his slight similarities to the Devil puppet can be striking. Nothing in her description of her childhood suggest any abuse from her parents or ill will towards them. If anything, Sister Benvenuta's lameness and being a simpleton, as pinned on her by the other nuns, might suggest some prejudice against the authenticity of her visions. Sister Benvenuta's devotion to the Christ Child grows more and more fervent, certainly making some readers uncomfortable. Apparently the Mother Superior was uncomfortable as well and she orders the diary destroyed and halts the progression for Benvenuta's sainthood. What's even stranger is that Benvenuta makes some sort of undescribed pack with Devil, possibly to get the Christ Child. This obscure deal probably also frightened the Mother Superior.
In the final section, written from the perspective of Benvenuta's cousin and fellow sister Atalanta, we learn that the diary wasn't destroyed and that Atalanta saved it. It also gives us another perspective of Sister Benvenuta's death and love for the Christ Child along with an ambiguous ending with her pact with the Devil. I won't say what it is. I want readers to read it for themselves and come up with their own conclusions. I would love to discuss them.
I am so glad I finally found this story.
The titular nun of this short Gothic story is a lame (word used in the story; I assume some sort of paralysis) young woman from a noble family. She is a novice in a convent and becomes infatuated with a little figurine or doll-like structure of the Child Christ. It is locked away from her and the rest of the convent in a cabinet that Benvenuta so desperately desires to get into for the sake of the Christ Child. Told in the form of Sister Benvenuta's diary, it records her unwavering desire towards the figurine of the Christ Child, her jealousy of the nun in charge of the cabinet, her devotion to God, her ability to laugh at the Devil but also doubt his trickery.
As far as I know, Vernon Lee was agonistic but she had an admiration for Catholicism and its aestheticism; at least the aestheticism filled with glory and bright Heaven and saints rather than the morose memento mori that she specifically accused Spanish art of. Given the Gothic tone of the story, and the origins of the Gothic, I assumed that Sister Benvenuta's devotion and visions would be reveal to be delusional or misguided, and there is some small suggestions of this, though interestingly enough it comes from Benvenuta's fellow skeptical sisters. However, Lee surprised me. The story shows these visions, both holy and diabolical, as genuine. Sister Benvenuta's life and visions seem to be inspired by the many female mystics of Catholicism and those saints who had visions of the Christ Child--particularly Saint Catherine of Siena.
As the diary progresses, we do see insight into Benvenuta's psychological landscape. There's no instances of anything troubling or repressed. Or, if it is the latter, then Lee has no made it very apparent in her writing. At one point, Sister Benvenuta discusses a puppet show being put on at the convent by an outside entertainer. One puppet represents the Devil and is described with the usual features i.e. horns, hoofed feet, but, most noticeably, the black beard of a Capuchin monk. Later on, when Benvenuta is describing her childhood, she mentions her father had horn spectacles and a black chin, what I assume is a beard. Her father's description is a very brief thing, and I may be looking into it too much, but his slight similarities to the Devil puppet can be striking. Nothing in her description of her childhood suggest any abuse from her parents or ill will towards them. If anything, Sister Benvenuta's lameness and being a simpleton, as pinned on her by the other nuns, might suggest some prejudice against the authenticity of her visions. Sister Benvenuta's devotion to the Christ Child grows more and more fervent, certainly making some readers uncomfortable. Apparently the Mother Superior was uncomfortable as well and she orders the diary destroyed and halts the progression for Benvenuta's sainthood. What's even stranger is that Benvenuta makes some sort of undescribed pack with Devil, possibly to get the Christ Child. This obscure deal probably also frightened the Mother Superior.
In the final section, written from the perspective of Benvenuta's cousin and fellow sister Atalanta, we learn that the diary wasn't destroyed and that Atalanta saved it. It also gives us another perspective of Sister Benvenuta's death and love for the Christ Child along with an ambiguous ending with her pact with the Devil. I won't say what it is. I want readers to read it for themselves and come up with their own conclusions. I would love to discuss them.
I am so glad I finally found this story.
November 23, 2022
Veoma zavodljiv stil pisanja i prelepe rečenice, kombinacija koja je dovodila do toga da se lako izgubim u pričama i da mi bude nevažno kako će se završiti. Spook element je suptilan, ima ga ali nije u prvom planu već kao da je tu da učini priče za nijansu zanimljivijim. Kako nikad ne preskačem biografije pisaca kad se izdavači ovoliko potrude i ispred vas stave mnoštvo detalja iz literarnog i privatnog života spisatelja, biografija Vernon Li je samo pojačala moju fascinaciju onim što sam pročitala.
July 5, 2024
Me deje llevar por la hermosa y llamativa portada, pero definitivamente este libro de relatos no fue para mí. Los últimos dos relatos, ni ganas me daban de leerlo
May 6, 2024
No conocía a Vernon Lee y tras esta antología suya he acabado enamorándome totalmente de la autora. Su forma de escribir y relatar esas historias tan características donde se ve que al ser humano siempre le persigue algo internamente por naturaleza me parece fascinante. Sin duda buscaré más relatos de ella en el futuro porque es justo la clase de terror que amo en la literatura.
August 29, 2024
2,5*
Segundo libro de la serie "Dark Tales: La serie gótica de la British Library" gestionada por Mike Ashley. En este caso nos encontramos con un volumen dedicado a una sola autora que en su tiempo firmaba como Vernon Lee. El libro comienza con una introducción sobre la autora, seguido de un ensayo de la misma de apenas unas páginas. En este caso, ambas secciones me parecieron algo pedantes y recargadas.
El libro continúa con tres relatos de la autora, de fantasmas, aunque bastante sutiles. Su narración es esquiva, deteniéndose a menudo para demostrar sus conocimientos respecto a figuras prominentes, escritos, etc. coetaneos. Por otro lado, también recurre a la repetición con frecuencia, notable por utilizar la misma frase o recurrir a un mismo adjetivo. Desde luego no te vas a perder en cuanto a trama se refiere, porque te la va recordando, si bien siempre de la misma manera.
Por otro lado, también encontraremos frases e incluso párrafos preciosos, si bien un poco enterrados entre tantos datos de pura erudición (sí, se me hizo un poco pesada a ratos), pero estar, están, y se disfrutan.
De los tres relatos, el que más me gustó fue el tercero, titulado "Una voz perversa" ambientado en Venecia y protagonizado por un personaje que acaba obsesionado, a su pesar, con aquello que más detesta. Con un buen final y sin demasiados meandros, es la que más disfruté leyendo.
La segunda historia, cuya segunda parte me gustó bastante, titulada "Amor Dure" está dividida en dos partes. La primera se me hizo, como mencionaba, repetitiva, aburrida a ratos, con muchos datos de personajes históricos en un párrafo sin fin. Lo bueno es que esos personajes serán relevantes para el colofón de la historia, lo que no quita que la manera de presentarlos sea un tanto tediosa y sin forma.
Pero vayamos a la segunda parte, en esta es donde entraremos realmente en el meollo de la cuestión, con buena ambientación, momentos sobresalientes y un final que compensa.
Y para terminar de atrás hacia delante: el primer relato, "El amante fantasma". Este es el que más adolece de esa demostración de erudición, repetición, etc. No empieza mal, pero se va alargando innecesariamente, entrando casi en un bucle, repitiéndonos lo que ya sabemos pero salpicándolo de mil datos que lo hacen algo pretencioso. Además, el final se desinfla y es tan rápido que no llegas a disfrutar de la resolución del meollo. Si hubiera sido solo por este relato, probablemente no habría seguido leyendo a la autora, puesto que su estilo no me gustó particularmente. Por suerte, y como ya he mencionado, en los otros dos relatos, sobre todo el último, la cosa mejora.
Sea como fuere, hay algo que une a los tres relatos, un elemento común que sobresale por encima de lo paranormal: la obsesión. En todos ellos vemos cómo el personaje principal se obsesiona con alguien, ya esté vivo o muerto hace tiempo. La obsesión la gran protagonista, sin duda, más que los fantasmas, que incluso quedan relegados a un segundo plano.
Por último, no puedo terminar sin comentar mi opinión con respecto al anterior volumen de esta tetralogía gestionada por Mike Ashley. En "Nocturno" encontré más variedad, disfruté más de la narración y de los temas, además de ser historias de terror gótico más propias del estilo. Personalmente, me gustó más. También hice reseña.
No me extiendo más. Una breve antología con otro tipo de terror gótico, por una autora no muy conocida con unos pocos relatos paranormales en su haber. Tiende más hacia las descripciones y la información que hacia el cuidado de la narración de una historia del género, pero sus ideas no dejan de ser interesantes y es otra forma de acercarse a este tipo de historias.
Segundo libro de la serie "Dark Tales: La serie gótica de la British Library" gestionada por Mike Ashley. En este caso nos encontramos con un volumen dedicado a una sola autora que en su tiempo firmaba como Vernon Lee. El libro comienza con una introducción sobre la autora, seguido de un ensayo de la misma de apenas unas páginas. En este caso, ambas secciones me parecieron algo pedantes y recargadas.
El libro continúa con tres relatos de la autora, de fantasmas, aunque bastante sutiles. Su narración es esquiva, deteniéndose a menudo para demostrar sus conocimientos respecto a figuras prominentes, escritos, etc. coetaneos. Por otro lado, también recurre a la repetición con frecuencia, notable por utilizar la misma frase o recurrir a un mismo adjetivo. Desde luego no te vas a perder en cuanto a trama se refiere, porque te la va recordando, si bien siempre de la misma manera.
Por otro lado, también encontraremos frases e incluso párrafos preciosos, si bien un poco enterrados entre tantos datos de pura erudición (sí, se me hizo un poco pesada a ratos), pero estar, están, y se disfrutan.
De los tres relatos, el que más me gustó fue el tercero, titulado "Una voz perversa" ambientado en Venecia y protagonizado por un personaje que acaba obsesionado, a su pesar, con aquello que más detesta. Con un buen final y sin demasiados meandros, es la que más disfruté leyendo.
La segunda historia, cuya segunda parte me gustó bastante, titulada "Amor Dure" está dividida en dos partes. La primera se me hizo, como mencionaba, repetitiva, aburrida a ratos, con muchos datos de personajes históricos en un párrafo sin fin. Lo bueno es que esos personajes serán relevantes para el colofón de la historia, lo que no quita que la manera de presentarlos sea un tanto tediosa y sin forma.
Pero vayamos a la segunda parte, en esta es donde entraremos realmente en el meollo de la cuestión, con buena ambientación, momentos sobresalientes y un final que compensa.
Y para terminar de atrás hacia delante: el primer relato, "El amante fantasma". Este es el que más adolece de esa demostración de erudición, repetición, etc. No empieza mal, pero se va alargando innecesariamente, entrando casi en un bucle, repitiéndonos lo que ya sabemos pero salpicándolo de mil datos que lo hacen algo pretencioso. Además, el final se desinfla y es tan rápido que no llegas a disfrutar de la resolución del meollo. Si hubiera sido solo por este relato, probablemente no habría seguido leyendo a la autora, puesto que su estilo no me gustó particularmente. Por suerte, y como ya he mencionado, en los otros dos relatos, sobre todo el último, la cosa mejora.
Sea como fuere, hay algo que une a los tres relatos, un elemento común que sobresale por encima de lo paranormal: la obsesión. En todos ellos vemos cómo el personaje principal se obsesiona con alguien, ya esté vivo o muerto hace tiempo. La obsesión la gran protagonista, sin duda, más que los fantasmas, que incluso quedan relegados a un segundo plano.
Por último, no puedo terminar sin comentar mi opinión con respecto al anterior volumen de esta tetralogía gestionada por Mike Ashley. En "Nocturno" encontré más variedad, disfruté más de la narración y de los temas, además de ser historias de terror gótico más propias del estilo. Personalmente, me gustó más. También hice reseña.
No me extiendo más. Una breve antología con otro tipo de terror gótico, por una autora no muy conocida con unos pocos relatos paranormales en su haber. Tiende más hacia las descripciones y la información que hacia el cuidado de la narración de una historia del género, pero sus ideas no dejan de ser interesantes y es otra forma de acercarse a este tipo de historias.
December 27, 2023
Ho iniziato questo romanzo partendo dalla parte più consona: ovvero la fine.
Prima che mi linciate, in mia difesa è vero che sono le note sull’autore la parte più succosa. E se siete il tipo di lettore che le salta a piedi pari vi conviene correre; c’è una ciabatta in arrivo.
Tornando a noi, Presenze si concentra su alcuni racconti di Vernon Lee, pseudonimo di Violet Paget.
Ebbene sì, Vernon in realtà è una lei, costretta come molte autrici del suo tempo a indossare i pantaloni per essere presa sul serio. Ed ecco perché è sempre bene leggere le note.
La sua biografia è stata interessante e sì, sono entrata in empatia con lei, tant’è che ha alzato di molto le mie aspettative per i suoi racconti.
Inutile dire che ho amato il suo stile.
Per quanto sia prolisso e descrittivo, ha un linguaggio arguto e intrigante, capace di catturare l’attenzione del lettore. I suoi racconti “weird” sono infatti una parte secondaria del suo lavoro, dato che era più dedita ai saggi storici e d’arte, ma non mi dispiacerebbe leggere altro di suo in futuro.
Presenze racchiude in sé il saggio “I boschi incantati” e tre racconti: L’amante fantasma, Amour dure e La voce del male.
Rispetto a quanto si potrebbe immaginare, le “presenze” in queste novelle sono marginali. Lee infatti si concentra sulle ossessioni e le passioni che guidano i personaggi, oltre che la malinconia e la speranza. Questo studio psicologico ha aiutato a sopperire la mancanza di un climax e se vi piacciono gli svarioni mentali Vernon Lee è l’autrice che fa per voi.
Nel complesso ho amato “I boschi incantati” per la sua tematica e l’atmosfera magica che chi ama le scampagnate nei boschi può capire; ho adorato “L’amante fantasma” per i suoi personaggi atipici e la loro relazione ancora più atipica, oltre che per il finale; ma gli ultimi due racconti non mi hanno coinvolta come immaginavo, sebbene le atmosfere impeccabili. Già, erano troppo prolissi anche per me.
Ma sono soddisfatta di aver scoperto questa autrice.
Prima che mi linciate, in mia difesa è vero che sono le note sull’autore la parte più succosa. E se siete il tipo di lettore che le salta a piedi pari vi conviene correre; c’è una ciabatta in arrivo.
Tornando a noi, Presenze si concentra su alcuni racconti di Vernon Lee, pseudonimo di Violet Paget.
Ebbene sì, Vernon in realtà è una lei, costretta come molte autrici del suo tempo a indossare i pantaloni per essere presa sul serio. Ed ecco perché è sempre bene leggere le note.
La sua biografia è stata interessante e sì, sono entrata in empatia con lei, tant’è che ha alzato di molto le mie aspettative per i suoi racconti.
Inutile dire che ho amato il suo stile.
Per quanto sia prolisso e descrittivo, ha un linguaggio arguto e intrigante, capace di catturare l’attenzione del lettore. I suoi racconti “weird” sono infatti una parte secondaria del suo lavoro, dato che era più dedita ai saggi storici e d’arte, ma non mi dispiacerebbe leggere altro di suo in futuro.
Presenze racchiude in sé il saggio “I boschi incantati” e tre racconti: L’amante fantasma, Amour dure e La voce del male.
Rispetto a quanto si potrebbe immaginare, le “presenze” in queste novelle sono marginali. Lee infatti si concentra sulle ossessioni e le passioni che guidano i personaggi, oltre che la malinconia e la speranza. Questo studio psicologico ha aiutato a sopperire la mancanza di un climax e se vi piacciono gli svarioni mentali Vernon Lee è l’autrice che fa per voi.
Nel complesso ho amato “I boschi incantati” per la sua tematica e l’atmosfera magica che chi ama le scampagnate nei boschi può capire; ho adorato “L’amante fantasma” per i suoi personaggi atipici e la loro relazione ancora più atipica, oltre che per il finale; ma gli ultimi due racconti non mi hanno coinvolta come immaginavo, sebbene le atmosfere impeccabili. Già, erano troppo prolissi anche per me.
Ma sono soddisfatta di aver scoperto questa autrice.
June 20, 2024
4 stars!
By the end of the second story I had a suspicion that this would prove to be another middling collection, but having now finished I'd say this is one of the stronger installments of the Tales of the Weird series. Vernon Lee's dark tales follow in the same vein of Henry James and Edith Wharton wherein the horror leans toward the psychological. Wrapped up in lush description of Catholic aestheticism and Italian scenery, ambiguity is the element that reigns supreme throughout these stories. Reading this collection was a twofold experience. I was being enchanted by the luxuriant details of the setting and found myself mulling over the dark implications that each story left behind. While these tales won't be to everyone's taste they were certainly to mine.
Favorite Stories
A Phantom Lover
Amour Dure
Marsyas in Flanders
Sister Benvenuta and the Christ Child
"The love of such a woman is enough, and is fatal - 'Amour Dure,' as her device says. I shall die also. But why not?"
By the end of the second story I had a suspicion that this would prove to be another middling collection, but having now finished I'd say this is one of the stronger installments of the Tales of the Weird series. Vernon Lee's dark tales follow in the same vein of Henry James and Edith Wharton wherein the horror leans toward the psychological. Wrapped up in lush description of Catholic aestheticism and Italian scenery, ambiguity is the element that reigns supreme throughout these stories. Reading this collection was a twofold experience. I was being enchanted by the luxuriant details of the setting and found myself mulling over the dark implications that each story left behind. While these tales won't be to everyone's taste they were certainly to mine.
Favorite Stories
A Phantom Lover
Amour Dure
Marsyas in Flanders
Sister Benvenuta and the Christ Child
"The love of such a woman is enough, and is fatal - 'Amour Dure,' as her device says. I shall die also. But why not?"
April 28, 2024
Horor isto koliko i iskustva domaćica u Praktičnoj ženi. Interesantno isto koliko i čekanje čajnika da uzavri. Stilski na momente lepo, na momente logoreično i bolesno opširno. Y svakom slučaju ne pripada u ovoj ediciji i jedna je od tzv. "mamipara" knjiga kojima (sm)Orfelin pokušava da izmuze još novca od ljudi koji sakupljaju ediciju. Sramota, jedva dvojka.
P.S. MOTHER IN LAW ŽENSKOJ OSOBI JE SVEKRVA, NE TAŠTA, PREVODIOČE I UREDNIČE.
P.S. MOTHER IN LAW ŽENSKOJ OSOBI JE SVEKRVA, NE TAŠTA, PREVODIOČE I UREDNIČE.
September 3, 2021
3.5 stars
These stories were written at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, and it shows. For modern readers, they hold little horror. All the same, I found them entertaining. I especially liked 'Amour Dure' and 'The Legend of Madame Krasinska'.
These stories were written at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, and it shows. For modern readers, they hold little horror. All the same, I found them entertaining. I especially liked 'Amour Dure' and 'The Legend of Madame Krasinska'.
November 8, 2024
2,5 al igual porque ya no estoy en mood spooky y se me hizo pesado
January 9, 2025
Lo grotesco de Poe conoce al esteticismo de Wilde para crear femme fatales.
Amour Dure es
, sin duda, la mejor de las 4 novellas, seguida de
Un amante fantasma
"All those who see her, love her, become her slaves; and it is the destiny of all her slaves to perish"
"All those who see her, love her, become her slaves; and it is the destiny of all her slaves to perish"
May 25, 2025
No he conectado con ninguno de los personajes (quizás con la que más haya conectado sea con la propia autora). Me ha resultado tedioso y difícil de terminar, tanto que la segunda mitad la he leído solo por encima. Considero que no ha envejecido bien esta obra.
September 17, 2020
4,5 stars. My review of the novella A Phantom Lover (1886): https://theblankgarden.com/2020/09/17...
November 15, 2025
Vernon Lee's fiction has the assured hand of a born storyteller, but like many of her Victorian literary contemporaries, she does tend to over-describe scenes. My thoughts had a tendency to drift as scenery began to dominate, and her telling of events became stronger than the character's actions.
The Enchanted Woods is a short descriptive fictional essay that hints at the world of the supernatural. But again, I kind of drifted off in the third and fourth page.
Winthrop's Adventure is a bit disappointing, even as a non-supernatural story. I suspect it takes its cue from the famous portrait of J.S. Bach holding his own piece of sheet music and weaves a story of obsession and a haunting aria around that. Too long for any strong impact.
A Phantom Lover, a sixty-page story, tells of a painter hired to paint the portrait of a couple who have inherited the Okehurst name and estate. As the painter gets to know each, the history of their ancestors, including the ghosts that may or not be real, begin tearing the couple apart. Lee builds the characters and their antagonisms with ease, but the story lacks some genuinely strong and engaging scenes that show the frustration between the husband for his lacklustre wife. As a consequence, there is no increase of tension or shock when the finale occurs. Only one reference at the start is made of the first-person storyteller being a male, which I forgot, and subsequently rendered her female for the rest of the story (even after the husband says "old fellow" to him). I actually liked this more, since it matches the author as I know her to have been in real life. A pretty good story which could make a stellar film if the right director got behind it.
Amour Dure
A Wicked Voice is an aria haunting story;
The Legend of Madame Krasinka waffled on with far too many descriptions, too much Oh! But surely! that I needed to skim read it to get to an uneventful ending. Marsyas in Flanders has something to do with the cross of Christ.
The last story, Sister Benvenuta and the Christ Child was almost endearing, despite the first half not being all that interesting to read. A sister in a nunnery weaves a cloak, or some piece of clothing, for a baby Christ figure from a play, has a meeting with Beelzebub, and then has the light of the Lord shine on her ... some such thing like that. Another found-diary story, but still a bit too wordy to make much sense, or for me to stay interested as it played itself out. I liked some of the imagery though. I got a bit distracted though as I started imagining it as a film... another one that could work quite well with a good director and script writer behind it.
All in all, these stories are of interest, but don't stand out. There are times when the prose has moments of poetic flare and beauty, but more times when the wordiness becomes overwrought and repetitive; there are moments of great character writing when even the character questions themselves:
Other readers could just as easily like the stories I didn't like more than me; a lot depends on a reader's tolerance of the language being used, and the lack of tension throughout the stories. These aren't horror stories, or scary supernatural stories; they tell of characters obsessed with the constructed personalities and traits of the dead, rather than the dead themselves, and how those 'ghosts' come back to haunt and ruin them. A little bit more editing, some tighter plotting, more focus on tension-heightening, and these stories could have been classics.
The Enchanted Woods is a short descriptive fictional essay that hints at the world of the supernatural. But again, I kind of drifted off in the third and fourth page.
Winthrop's Adventure is a bit disappointing, even as a non-supernatural story. I suspect it takes its cue from the famous portrait of J.S. Bach holding his own piece of sheet music and weaves a story of obsession and a haunting aria around that. Too long for any strong impact.
A Phantom Lover, a sixty-page story, tells of a painter hired to paint the portrait of a couple who have inherited the Okehurst name and estate. As the painter gets to know each, the history of their ancestors, including the ghosts that may or not be real, begin tearing the couple apart. Lee builds the characters and their antagonisms with ease, but the story lacks some genuinely strong and engaging scenes that show the frustration between the husband for his lacklustre wife. As a consequence, there is no increase of tension or shock when the finale occurs. Only one reference at the start is made of the first-person storyteller being a male, which I forgot, and subsequently rendered her female for the rest of the story (even after the husband says "old fellow" to him). I actually liked this more, since it matches the author as I know her to have been in real life. A pretty good story which could make a stellar film if the right director got behind it.
Amour Dure
"Yes; I can understand Medea... The mere thought of violence [towards her] of such a nature is an abominable outrage; and if Pico chooses to embrace such a woman at the risk of meeting a sharp piece of steel in her arms, why, it is a fair bargain."A great tale of male obsession with a female historical figure. Vernon Lee sets up the main character as slowing falling in love with her portrait, and discovering the atrocious treatment through historical records; and finally to be led into a set-up for revenge from the grave. All done through the means of a found-diary story. This one wasn't overly long, and I have enjoyed it the most so far.
A Wicked Voice is an aria haunting story;
The Legend of Madame Krasinka waffled on with far too many descriptions, too much Oh! But surely! that I needed to skim read it to get to an uneventful ending. Marsyas in Flanders has something to do with the cross of Christ.
The last story, Sister Benvenuta and the Christ Child was almost endearing, despite the first half not being all that interesting to read. A sister in a nunnery weaves a cloak, or some piece of clothing, for a baby Christ figure from a play, has a meeting with Beelzebub, and then has the light of the Lord shine on her ... some such thing like that. Another found-diary story, but still a bit too wordy to make much sense, or for me to stay interested as it played itself out. I liked some of the imagery though. I got a bit distracted though as I started imagining it as a film... another one that could work quite well with a good director and script writer behind it.
All in all, these stories are of interest, but don't stand out. There are times when the prose has moments of poetic flare and beauty, but more times when the wordiness becomes overwrought and repetitive; there are moments of great character writing when even the character questions themselves:
And I, for what am I waiting? I don't know; all seems a dream, everything vague and unsubstantial about me, as if time had ceased, nothing could happen, my own desires and hopes were all dead, myself absorbed into I know not what passive dreamland.
Other readers could just as easily like the stories I didn't like more than me; a lot depends on a reader's tolerance of the language being used, and the lack of tension throughout the stories. These aren't horror stories, or scary supernatural stories; they tell of characters obsessed with the constructed personalities and traits of the dead, rather than the dead themselves, and how those 'ghosts' come back to haunt and ruin them. A little bit more editing, some tighter plotting, more focus on tension-heightening, and these stories could have been classics.
November 17, 2020
Vernon Lee's ghost stories are not subversive or innovative as such, and yet they might be some of the best in the genre.
Lee's approach is close to that of Henry James and Edith Wharton in that her hauntings are as much psychological as they are supernatural. All of them are rather standard fare, though; we often follow the gradual breakdown of a character and the narrative never ends up far from where you might expect.
Nevertheless, Lee manages her characters and tension arcs deftly. The stakes are heightened, and so are the characters' action, but never are they opaque or unreasonable within the story world. Much of this has to do with Lee's writing. Her pregnant prose evokes sumptuous scenes of (often Italian) splendour and dread; the sensuous baroque combined with the cold gothic. She manages to engage the senses in such a way that the stories feel at the same time real and heightened. It is at this crossroads where the ghost story can flourish, and hers truly do.
Lee's approach is close to that of Henry James and Edith Wharton in that her hauntings are as much psychological as they are supernatural. All of them are rather standard fare, though; we often follow the gradual breakdown of a character and the narrative never ends up far from where you might expect.
Nevertheless, Lee manages her characters and tension arcs deftly. The stakes are heightened, and so are the characters' action, but never are they opaque or unreasonable within the story world. Much of this has to do with Lee's writing. Her pregnant prose evokes sumptuous scenes of (often Italian) splendour and dread; the sensuous baroque combined with the cold gothic. She manages to engage the senses in such a way that the stories feel at the same time real and heightened. It is at this crossroads where the ghost story can flourish, and hers truly do.
September 18, 2024
La raccolta fa parte della collana "Dark Tales" della British Library, tradotta in italiano dall'editore Vallardi. "Presenze" comprende un saggio e tre racconti, tutti dell'autrice Vernon Lee (pseudonimo di Violet Paget).
Nonostante il titolo, non si tratta di classici racconti horror di fantasmi: le storie di cui si parla hanno un taglio psicologico (sul modello di Henry James per intenderci), le presenze non sono altro che ossessioni del passato, che tormentano i protagonisti fino a far perdere loro la percezione della realtà.
Nonostante lo stile possa sembrare a tratti prolisso, a livello narrativo ho trovato più interessante la rappresentazione dettagliata dei luoghi e delle atmosfere gotiche, piuttosto che la trama in sé.
Ho comunque apprezzato questa autrice, credo che recupererò altri libri della collana.
Nonostante il titolo, non si tratta di classici racconti horror di fantasmi: le storie di cui si parla hanno un taglio psicologico (sul modello di Henry James per intenderci), le presenze non sono altro che ossessioni del passato, che tormentano i protagonisti fino a far perdere loro la percezione della realtà.
Nonostante lo stile possa sembrare a tratti prolisso, a livello narrativo ho trovato più interessante la rappresentazione dettagliata dei luoghi e delle atmosfere gotiche, piuttosto che la trama in sé.
Ho comunque apprezzato questa autrice, credo che recupererò altri libri della collana.
February 5, 2025
Llegué a este libro sin saber nada salvo que me gustaba su portada. Creo que por eso la sorpresa de descubrir a su autora y la época en la que fueron escritos los relatos cortos que hay en su interior, me han fascinado aún más.
Adoro leer terror antiguo, echar ese vistazo al pasado y cotillear sobre que era lo que provocaba miedo en aquel entonces.
Al iniciar nos hacen un resumen de la vida de la autora y su pseudónimo. Punto de inicio muy interesante, sobre todo porque hasta estas historias no se había atrevido con el terror.
Los relatos me han gustado mucho en general, menos el último que me ha parecido más flojo. La forma en la que describe la autora, ha sido capaz de transportarme a todos esos lugares del Viejo Continente y sumergirme en sus misterios, llenos de haciendas enormes, viejas leyendas y fantasmas.
Adoro leer terror antiguo, echar ese vistazo al pasado y cotillear sobre que era lo que provocaba miedo en aquel entonces.
Al iniciar nos hacen un resumen de la vida de la autora y su pseudónimo. Punto de inicio muy interesante, sobre todo porque hasta estas historias no se había atrevido con el terror.
Los relatos me han gustado mucho en general, menos el último que me ha parecido más flojo. La forma en la que describe la autora, ha sido capaz de transportarme a todos esos lugares del Viejo Continente y sumergirme en sus misterios, llenos de haciendas enormes, viejas leyendas y fantasmas.
October 24, 2024
echt teleurstellend en saaaaaaaaai
March 30, 2025
Todo un descubrimiento Vernon Lee, maravillosa prosa que parece poesía...este tomo de la serie gótica de la British library lo forman cuatro de relatos de esta escritora . Me ha encantado.
September 19, 2025
Vernon Lee seriously said, “I want to be haunted by art” and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read. They’re twisted in a very special way. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them. Definitely some of the favorite short stories I’ve read!
April 1, 2024
Presencias
Autora: Vernon Lee
País: Viajó tanto que es difícil de decir. Diré italiana.
Año: 1890
Hay algo innegable en mi personalidad, y es que soy alguien con arrebatos obsesivos. Tal vez por eso este libro llamó tanto mi atención cuando supe cuál era el hilo que conectaba todos los relatos que contiene: el hilo de la obsesión.
Obsesión por el pasado, por los deseos y los miedos. Obsesiones tan fuertes y marcadas, selladas en personajes tan reales que a veces puedes olvidar que son ficticios, que no puedes evitar obsesionarte un poco también con lo que están contando. Y es que Vernon Lee (o Violet Paget, su nombre real) tiene esa pluma magnífica que hace que, una vez empiezas a leer, deseas saber lo que va a pasar… a pesar de que puedes ver venir el final. Un final a la altura de las pasiones que viven los protagonistas.
Un libro cortito que me ha permitido descubrir a la escritora y que, desde luego, no será lo último que lea de ella. Os lo recomiendo. Pero, ¿y vosotres? ¿lo habéis leído? ¿Qué os pareció? ¡Os leo!
Autora: Vernon Lee
País: Viajó tanto que es difícil de decir. Diré italiana.
Año: 1890
Hay algo innegable en mi personalidad, y es que soy alguien con arrebatos obsesivos. Tal vez por eso este libro llamó tanto mi atención cuando supe cuál era el hilo que conectaba todos los relatos que contiene: el hilo de la obsesión.
Obsesión por el pasado, por los deseos y los miedos. Obsesiones tan fuertes y marcadas, selladas en personajes tan reales que a veces puedes olvidar que son ficticios, que no puedes evitar obsesionarte un poco también con lo que están contando. Y es que Vernon Lee (o Violet Paget, su nombre real) tiene esa pluma magnífica que hace que, una vez empiezas a leer, deseas saber lo que va a pasar… a pesar de que puedes ver venir el final. Un final a la altura de las pasiones que viven los protagonistas.
Un libro cortito que me ha permitido descubrir a la escritora y que, desde luego, no será lo último que lea de ella. Os lo recomiendo. Pero, ¿y vosotres? ¿lo habéis leído? ¿Qué os pareció? ¡Os leo!
February 1, 2025
No es un libro ágil pese a ser un libro de relatos de fantasamas interiores (o no...ahí está la gracia) y tener poco más de 200 páginas.
Creo que lo más relevante a tener en cuenta es el momento en que fue escrito y por quien. Ya que Vernon Lee era una mujer lesbiana que escribia bajo pseudónimo. Partiendo de esto 'analizas" las historias de otra manera.
Ahora bien sin tener en cuenta lo anterior, diré que se me ha hecho tedioso, repetitivo, rimbombante y aburrido. No es el tipo de lectura que me guste, PERO disfruté mucho comentándolo en el club de lectura, al final siempre le sacamos jugo a las lecturas sean mejores o peores 😊.
Creo que lo más relevante a tener en cuenta es el momento en que fue escrito y por quien. Ya que Vernon Lee era una mujer lesbiana que escribia bajo pseudónimo. Partiendo de esto 'analizas" las historias de otra manera.
Ahora bien sin tener en cuenta lo anterior, diré que se me ha hecho tedioso, repetitivo, rimbombante y aburrido. No es el tipo de lectura que me guste, PERO disfruté mucho comentándolo en el club de lectura, al final siempre le sacamos jugo a las lecturas sean mejores o peores 😊.
February 19, 2022
3.5☆
i am not sure i enjoyed this as much as i had hoped, i just had a hard time finding myself engaged with the stories.
regardless, i really liked the titular story, "a phantom lover", "amure dure" and "the legend of madame krasinska", as well as the ending of "sister bienvenuta and the christ child". there was a sense of drama in them, as well as an opportunity for lee to show off her abilities to build up a plot and anticipation.
i am not sure i enjoyed this as much as i had hoped, i just had a hard time finding myself engaged with the stories.
regardless, i really liked the titular story, "a phantom lover", "amure dure" and "the legend of madame krasinska", as well as the ending of "sister bienvenuta and the christ child". there was a sense of drama in them, as well as an opportunity for lee to show off her abilities to build up a plot and anticipation.
August 22, 2020
A longwinded story with a mediocre ending.
Nothing dark to it, it's rather predictable.
Nothing dark to it, it's rather predictable.
July 13, 2024
Vaneggiamenti à la Pascoli senza capo né coda. Massacrante.
July 15, 2024
Los relatos son muy interesantes, me gusta la idea que tienen. Que sean tan cortos a ratos me gusta y a ratos no. El relato de Medea mi fav.
March 2, 2024
L’ossessione per il passato lentamente infesta la psiche dei personaggi di questa raccolta, sebbene non si tratti di classiche storie di fantasmi queste appartengono a quel filone che si contraddistingue per una connotazione fortemente psicologica.
E’ perciò facile accostare questi racconti al giro di vite di Henry James ad esempio, alla tensione palpabile che ne permea tutto il racconto, rendendo impossibile scindere finzione e realtà, ciò che viene immaginato da ciò che realmente sta accadendo. Cosi come per esempio non ho potuto fare a meno di notare una similitudine con la scrittura di Shirley Jackson e dei suoi personaggi caratterizzati dalla stessa febbrile psicologia.
I personaggi di Vernon Lee (1856 -1935) sono ossessionati da un passato lontano, tormentati da speranze e legami ormai morti, passioni che diventano impossibili e per questo così affascinanti. Questo tormento per il passato deriva forse per dal suo amore per l’arte, la musica e la cultura europea che studiò per lunghi anni. E così spettri colpevoli di empi crimini tornano in vita, animati ora da terribili maledizioni, dalla passione improvvisa di studiosi o di compositori alla ricerca d’ispirazione.
Un ruolo importantissimo è giocato dallo spirito dei luoghi, il genius loci, che segna indissolubilmente un legame tra la storia di sfondo e le ossessioni che ne derivano. Quelle presenze terribili che si rivelano nelle notti più oscure come alla luce del giorno ne infestano i luoghi perché ne sono impregnati, come in vita così nella morte.
Il soprannaturale secondo Vernon Lee si definisce come lo stimolo esercitato dall'ambiente sull'immaginazione, “… il soprannaturale è l'effetto esercitato sull'immaginazione da una serie di impressioni esteriori, che vengono messe a fuoco e personificate, per quanto in modo fluttuante e mutevole. Tale personificazione è continuamente ridefinita, rafforzata, sfocata, allargata e rimpicciolita dalle nuove impressioni provenienti dall'esterno, e la forma che scorgiamo in questo ammasso fumoso oscilla a ogni piè sospinto…”
L'amante Fantasma è il perfetto manifesto di questo pensiero, un assoluto capolavoro.
E’ perciò facile accostare questi racconti al giro di vite di Henry James ad esempio, alla tensione palpabile che ne permea tutto il racconto, rendendo impossibile scindere finzione e realtà, ciò che viene immaginato da ciò che realmente sta accadendo. Cosi come per esempio non ho potuto fare a meno di notare una similitudine con la scrittura di Shirley Jackson e dei suoi personaggi caratterizzati dalla stessa febbrile psicologia.
I personaggi di Vernon Lee (1856 -1935) sono ossessionati da un passato lontano, tormentati da speranze e legami ormai morti, passioni che diventano impossibili e per questo così affascinanti. Questo tormento per il passato deriva forse per dal suo amore per l’arte, la musica e la cultura europea che studiò per lunghi anni. E così spettri colpevoli di empi crimini tornano in vita, animati ora da terribili maledizioni, dalla passione improvvisa di studiosi o di compositori alla ricerca d’ispirazione.
Un ruolo importantissimo è giocato dallo spirito dei luoghi, il genius loci, che segna indissolubilmente un legame tra la storia di sfondo e le ossessioni che ne derivano. Quelle presenze terribili che si rivelano nelle notti più oscure come alla luce del giorno ne infestano i luoghi perché ne sono impregnati, come in vita così nella morte.
Il soprannaturale secondo Vernon Lee si definisce come lo stimolo esercitato dall'ambiente sull'immaginazione, “… il soprannaturale è l'effetto esercitato sull'immaginazione da una serie di impressioni esteriori, che vengono messe a fuoco e personificate, per quanto in modo fluttuante e mutevole. Tale personificazione è continuamente ridefinita, rafforzata, sfocata, allargata e rimpicciolita dalle nuove impressioni provenienti dall'esterno, e la forma che scorgiamo in questo ammasso fumoso oscilla a ogni piè sospinto…”
L'amante Fantasma è il perfetto manifesto di questo pensiero, un assoluto capolavoro.
October 26, 2024
Si alguien cree que va a encontrar terror en este libro, se equivoca, pues la autora no busca infundir terror en el lector, sino más bien evocar una atmósfera de misterio y de belleza inquietante. Vernon Lee está claramente influenciada por el decadentismo estético y el simbolismo de funales del XIX y principios del XX, movimientos interesados en el poder de la belleza, el deseo, el arte y lo etéreo, que son precisamente los temas que se repiten en todos los relatos que contiene este libro, donde los fantasmas actúan como metáforas de la memoria, la nostalgia y la influencia emocional que ejercen las obras de arte en las personas. Su aproximación al "terror" es más intelectual y menos melodramático de lo habitual en las obras clásicas de terror. Lee cuestiona la naturaleza de las "presencias" fantasmales y las asimila a los estados emocionales y espirituales de los personajes. Sus cuentos pueden ser leídos como meditaciones filosóficas sobre la relación entre lo espiritual y lo estético, y no como historias de horror en el sentido tradicional.
Presencias" se compone de un artículo de la autora sobre los bosques encantados y 3 relatos de fantasía gótica.
En el primero, explora la relación entre la naturaleza y la experiencia humana, así como la interacción entre lo real y lo sobrenatural. A través de descripciones vívidas y una atmósfera onírica, Lee sugiere que los bosques son espacios mágicos que reflejan los deseos y miedos de los seres humanos y los presenta como un lugar de refugio y transformación.
En los tres relatos, la autora trata los temas recurrentes de su obra: la culpa y el peso de la tradición familiar, el amor obsesivo, los deseos no cumplidos y los peligros de la belleza.
El estilo de Vernon Lee es detallista y evocador, lo que contribuye a construir una atmósfera cargada de misterio y ambigüedad. Su prosa es deliberadamente lenta, llena de descripciones elaboradas y un lenguaje que resalta la sensibilidad estética de sus personajes. Todo esto añade densidad a sus relatos, por lo que su lectura puede resultar un poco cansina para los lectores modernos, acostumbrados a ritmos más ágiles.
Presencias" se compone de un artículo de la autora sobre los bosques encantados y 3 relatos de fantasía gótica.
En el primero, explora la relación entre la naturaleza y la experiencia humana, así como la interacción entre lo real y lo sobrenatural. A través de descripciones vívidas y una atmósfera onírica, Lee sugiere que los bosques son espacios mágicos que reflejan los deseos y miedos de los seres humanos y los presenta como un lugar de refugio y transformación.
En los tres relatos, la autora trata los temas recurrentes de su obra: la culpa y el peso de la tradición familiar, el amor obsesivo, los deseos no cumplidos y los peligros de la belleza.
El estilo de Vernon Lee es detallista y evocador, lo que contribuye a construir una atmósfera cargada de misterio y ambigüedad. Su prosa es deliberadamente lenta, llena de descripciones elaboradas y un lenguaje que resalta la sensibilidad estética de sus personajes. Todo esto añade densidad a sus relatos, por lo que su lectura puede resultar un poco cansina para los lectores modernos, acostumbrados a ritmos más ágiles.
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