Victorian Anthologies: A Collection of Classic Spectral Stories to Chill and Thrill the Senses

by Charles Dickens, E. Nesbit (Contributor), Mrs. Henry Wood (Contributor)

Few ghost stories are as chilling as the ones written by Victorian writers.

Featuring work by M.R. James, Edith Nesbit, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Atherton, and many more, this enhanced audio collection of eight enduring stories - some well-known, others less familiar - transport you to a candlelit fireside to hear tales of lonely coastlines, deadly rivers, dark, creaking corridors, horrific, everlasting love and unknown entities lurking in black velvet shadows.



RUNNING TIME ⇒ 5hrs. and 21mins.

©2020 B7 Media (P)2020 B7 Media

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Horror

Audible Audio

First published March 20, 2020

About the author

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Exitgirl05 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to collections of short stories, it is difficult to be objective. One is better, the other is worse, so the average grade can easily be misleading. And that's why I'm going to give 4 stars. Why? Because this audio version is fantastic, worth listening to. Because at least half of the stories thrilled me and because the last story is like icing on the cake.

[Nastja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Солидный викторианский хоррор, ничего особенного – тем и хорош.

[Firstpersonnarrator · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great fun, and gave me a handful of interesting formulas and archetypes to consider as I read more Victorian gothic stories. Also useful from the perspective of a beginner student of short story writing. Each plunks you into a miasma of spooky atmosphere, haunted sense of place, and the context of a gothic sensibility in the Victorian view of the world. Fun, fast, and exactly what you want from a collection like this.

The four stars is because there weren’t really that many stories. I feel like there should have been more content between the covers. Especially since writings from this era are in the public domain. The publisher didn’t have to pay an author for the content, and doesn’t have to pay royalties to anyone but whoever put the thing together. I’ll say it this way: I wouldn’t want to pay very much for this number of stories.

As to the audiobook angle, the narrators were great. Not a single dud in the mix.

[Cie Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good anthology - way too short though - could have stood to be a bit longer!