The Closed Window

by A.C. Benson

Unknown Binding

About the author

Arthur Christopher Benson was an English essayist, poet, author and academic and the 28th Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Benson was born on 24 April 1862 at Wellington College, Berkshire. He was one of six children of Edward White Benson (1829-1896; Archbishop of Canterbury 1882–96; the first headmaster of the college) and his wife Mary Sidgwick Benson, sister of the philosopher Henry Sidgwick.

Benson was born into a literary family; his brothers included E.F. Benson, best remembered for his Mapp and Lucia novels, and Robert Hugh Benson, a priest of the Church of England before converting to Roman Catholicism, who wrote many popular novels. Their sister, Margaret Benson, was an artist, author, and amateur Egyptologist.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Closed Window is about a man who takes possession of a house with an old tower attached to it. The tower has a bad and superstitious reputation with the locals. The man and a friend decide to enter a room in the tower which has been shut up for a long time. Their dog is nervous in the chamber, and once the shuttered window is opened the owner finds it looks out into a foreboding world not his own.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book for the most part. Some of the sentences run on a bit and don’t flow as well as they could. However my main complaint is that the story feels rushed. It could have easily been a short novel as the premise is very eerie and compelling. That said, really fun read and one that if you dwell on long and hard enough, could keep you up at night.