The Sweeper

by A.M. Burrage

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A.M. Burrage - An Introduction

Alfred McLelland Burrage was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex on 1st July, 1889. His father and uncle were both writers, primarily of boy’s fiction, and by age 16 A.M. Burrage had joined them. The young man had ambitions to write for the adult market too. The money was better and so was his writing.

From 1890 to 1914, prior to the mainstream appeal of cinema and radio the printed word, mainly in magazines, was the foremost mass entertainment. A.M. Burrage quickly became a master of the market publishing his stories regularly across a number of publications.

By the start of the Great War Burrage was well established but in 1916 he was conscripted to fight on the Western Front. He continued to write during these years documenting his experiences in the classic book War is War by Ex-Private X.

For the remainder of his life Burrage was rarely printed in book form but continued to write and be published on a prodigious scale in magazines and newspapers. In this volume we concentrate on his supernatural stories which are, by common consent, some of the best ever written. Succinct yet full of character each reveals a twist and a flavour that is unsettling…..sometimes menacing….always disturbing.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

Audiobook

About the author

Alfred McLelland Burrage (1889-1956) was a British writer. He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty". Burrage is now remembered mainly for his horror fiction.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very quiet and mild horror story with an interesting twist at the end. Tessa is the companion of old Mrs Ludgate who has a heart for vagrants and beggars. One evening the old lady talks about her death either this years or next year in autumn. Then they hear a sweeping noise outside. Who is sweeping at that hour? It's no spectacular tale but I liked the flowing prose, the setting of the story in old mansion named Billingston Abbots and the depiction of the characters. Recommended!

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story from Alfred Burrage in the 1930s entertained me thoroughly. It is a ghost short set at an old manor in Britain. The old woman is the owner of the place and she is a hard woman mostly. She has hired a young lady to live with her and keep her company. The strange thing about the woman is that she thinks everyone should be responsible for themselves, but when beggers come begging at her door, she gives them food and money, always. She doesn't give money to anyone else.

I though this was a great story and the end really did entertain me. This is a good ghost story from the collection 'Roald Dahl's book of Ghost Stories'.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as part of the Classic Tales of Horror - 500+ Stories. It was very enjoyable 2023

[Maya Hope Hillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love a good ol' ghost story that doesn't pass the REVERSE bechdel test!

[Estelle]

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