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The Far Forests: Tales of Romance, Fantasy, and Suspense
A collection of short stories, including: Lodging for the Night / Postman's Knock / As Gay As Cheese / Furry Night / Five Green Moons / Sultan's Splash / The Far Forests / The Story About Caruso / The Rented Swan / Safe and Soundproof / Cricket / Our Feathered Friends / The Man Who Had Seen the Rope Trick / The Cold Flame / A Taxi to Solitude.
- GenresShort StoriesFantasy
154 pages, Hardcover
First published May 9, 1976
1 person is currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Joan Aiken
333 books603 followersJoan Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. She was known as a writer of wild fantasy, Gothic novels and short stories.
She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge. She worked for the United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).
Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.
Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.
Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.
Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.
She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge. She worked for the United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).
Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.
Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.
Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.
Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 2, 2018
Originally published in Britain under the title A Bundle of Nerves: Stories of Horror, Suspense, and Fantasy, this collection of fifteen short stories features the supernatural and fantastic, and is told with Aiken's peculiarly subtle humor. Her quirky characters are always a joy to encounter. Selections include:
Lodging for the Night, in which a traveling salesman is driven to his death after staying the night in a haunted house, because all the inns in town are full...
Postman's Knock, which chronicles the trials and tribulations of shy playwright Fred Hwfa, who becomes a postman in order to escape his pushy fans, falling in love with a local girl who cannot recall faces. When his lady-love cannot remember him, the day after their wedding, Fred briefly retreats to the magical jar he inherited from his uncle...
As Gay as Cheese, concerning a psychic barber who foresees the death of one of his clients at the hands of her husband, but declines to intervene...
Furry Nights, which tells of Dr. Ian Peachtree's efforts to keep his werewolf employer in check, and his romance with a young woman who is more than she at first seems...
Five Green Moons, in which an alien refugee from Mars is briefly harbored in a quiet English village, until his mind-reading abilities make the locals uncomfortable, and he is asked to leave...
Sultan's Splash, which tells the story of a young man who avenges himself on his duplicitous thief of a boss, by using one of his aunt's potions to turn him into a crocodile...
The Far Forests, in which the saintly Canon Dallas sees a vision of giants moths eating a huge leaf in the sky above his cottage, but has no luck convincing his sister that it was real...
The Story About Caruso, which follows the story of a young woman who engineers the death of her elderly uncle, with whom she is sick of living...
The Rented Swan, in which another playwright rents an apartment, complete with butler and swan, only to discover that the swan is his landlady, in enchanted form. Romance and further adventure ensue...
Safe and Soundproof, which follows a young woman whose job of shredding confidential documents gets her into trouble, when she is kidnapped by thieves...
Cricket, in which an officious clergyman is murdered by the Melanesian family he is pestering, regarding the baptism of a young child...
Our Feathered Friends, in which a batty old woman insists she will pay for her landlord's cottage with an antique piece of furniture...
The Man Who Had Seen the Rope Trick, in which a coldhearted woman who runs a miserable home for the elderly gets her just deserts, when she harrasses the wrong man...
The Cold Flame, in which a young woman attempts to honor her ghost-friend's request that she publish his poetry, only to be balked by his stubborn mother...
And finally, A Taxi to Solitude, in which two people meet in a taxicab and recognize one another, despite having very different ideas about how they met...
Well worth the time of any Aiken enthusiasts, this collection has plenty to keep readers engrossed and entertained.
Lodging for the Night, in which a traveling salesman is driven to his death after staying the night in a haunted house, because all the inns in town are full...
Postman's Knock, which chronicles the trials and tribulations of shy playwright Fred Hwfa, who becomes a postman in order to escape his pushy fans, falling in love with a local girl who cannot recall faces. When his lady-love cannot remember him, the day after their wedding, Fred briefly retreats to the magical jar he inherited from his uncle...
As Gay as Cheese, concerning a psychic barber who foresees the death of one of his clients at the hands of her husband, but declines to intervene...
Furry Nights, which tells of Dr. Ian Peachtree's efforts to keep his werewolf employer in check, and his romance with a young woman who is more than she at first seems...
Five Green Moons, in which an alien refugee from Mars is briefly harbored in a quiet English village, until his mind-reading abilities make the locals uncomfortable, and he is asked to leave...
Sultan's Splash, which tells the story of a young man who avenges himself on his duplicitous thief of a boss, by using one of his aunt's potions to turn him into a crocodile...
The Far Forests, in which the saintly Canon Dallas sees a vision of giants moths eating a huge leaf in the sky above his cottage, but has no luck convincing his sister that it was real...
The Story About Caruso, which follows the story of a young woman who engineers the death of her elderly uncle, with whom she is sick of living...
The Rented Swan, in which another playwright rents an apartment, complete with butler and swan, only to discover that the swan is his landlady, in enchanted form. Romance and further adventure ensue...
Safe and Soundproof, which follows a young woman whose job of shredding confidential documents gets her into trouble, when she is kidnapped by thieves...
Cricket, in which an officious clergyman is murdered by the Melanesian family he is pestering, regarding the baptism of a young child...
Our Feathered Friends, in which a batty old woman insists she will pay for her landlord's cottage with an antique piece of furniture...
The Man Who Had Seen the Rope Trick, in which a coldhearted woman who runs a miserable home for the elderly gets her just deserts, when she harrasses the wrong man...
The Cold Flame, in which a young woman attempts to honor her ghost-friend's request that she publish his poetry, only to be balked by his stubborn mother...
And finally, A Taxi to Solitude, in which two people meet in a taxicab and recognize one another, despite having very different ideas about how they met...
Well worth the time of any Aiken enthusiasts, this collection has plenty to keep readers engrossed and entertained.
January 11, 2009
This was a charming collection of light tales from Joan Aiken. These stories do not push any genre boundaries, instead they are quick and satisfying -- good for a snowy evening. Find inside clairvoyant barbers, Elizabethan ghosts, werewolves, playwrights in love, a swan maiden and a Martian angel.
If Agatha Christie wrote short fantasy fiction, they might resemble these lovely, ephemeral bits from Aiken's pen.
If Agatha Christie wrote short fantasy fiction, they might resemble these lovely, ephemeral bits from Aiken's pen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2019
Dieser schmale Band enthält 12 kurze Kurzgeschichten, die alle ein mystisches Element haben und den Leser überraschen wollen.
Die Geschichten wirken ein klein wenig altmodisch und aus der Zeit gefallen und sind weder gruslig noch schockierend. An ihrem ursprünglichen Erscheinungsdatum in den 70er Jahren wirkten sie vermutlich überaschender und unerwarteter als die das heute tun.
Insgesamt ein nettes Lesevergügen für zwischendurch.
Die Geschichten wirken ein klein wenig altmodisch und aus der Zeit gefallen und sind weder gruslig noch schockierend. An ihrem ursprünglichen Erscheinungsdatum in den 70er Jahren wirkten sie vermutlich überaschender und unerwarteter als die das heute tun.
Insgesamt ein nettes Lesevergügen für zwischendurch.
July 5, 2020
The best word to describe the fifteen short stories of The Far Forests is charming. This is despite several stories that involve characters seeing/predicting a person's death, a potential case of cannibalism, a twist on a haunted house story, and a poor soul whose damnation on earth follows him into the afterlife.
I'm not entirely sure how Aiken does it, yet she does. Even the grisly stories have this cozy, homey feeling like you could curl up and stay awhile.
This charm doesn't (always) come at the expense of substance. While most stories are light-hearted, several had a good deal of staying power. The last story, A Taxi to Solitude, especially intrigued me.
While charming doesn't come at the expense of substance, it does come at the expense of urgency. Kindly, laid back characters who, for the most part, take the peculiarities of their life in stride don't compel me to read with haste. There's a reason why offices and gyms aren't often charming or cozy: psychologically, coziness makes you want to relax.
I wouldn't say that's a detraction to this collection, but it is important to know, lest you burst into these "Tales of romance, fantasy, and suspense," expecting a bit more drama.
On that note, while most of the stories have a supernatural or fantastical element, not all do. A good deal of them have a thread of romance, though it's a classical English sort of love story: a man and a woman meet, fall in well with each other, then one says something like "Well, we're to be married, aren't we?"
If you're in the mood for something cozy and charming with just the right amount of mental heft, The Far Forests is as perfect a recommendation as I think I can make.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at Forgotten Female Fantasy]
I'm not entirely sure how Aiken does it, yet she does. Even the grisly stories have this cozy, homey feeling like you could curl up and stay awhile.
This charm doesn't (always) come at the expense of substance. While most stories are light-hearted, several had a good deal of staying power. The last story, A Taxi to Solitude, especially intrigued me.
While charming doesn't come at the expense of substance, it does come at the expense of urgency. Kindly, laid back characters who, for the most part, take the peculiarities of their life in stride don't compel me to read with haste. There's a reason why offices and gyms aren't often charming or cozy: psychologically, coziness makes you want to relax.
I wouldn't say that's a detraction to this collection, but it is important to know, lest you burst into these "Tales of romance, fantasy, and suspense," expecting a bit more drama.
On that note, while most of the stories have a supernatural or fantastical element, not all do. A good deal of them have a thread of romance, though it's a classical English sort of love story: a man and a woman meet, fall in well with each other, then one says something like "Well, we're to be married, aren't we?"
If you're in the mood for something cozy and charming with just the right amount of mental heft, The Far Forests is as perfect a recommendation as I think I can make.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at Forgotten Female Fantasy]
October 26, 2023
This is an amazing book of short stories, some eerie, some beautiful, and all strange: an offbeat haunted house story; a story of a playwright turned postman who falls in love with a woman who can't recognize faces; a barber who predicts his customers' futures by touching their heads; a playwright rents an apartment, the lease of which requires that he share it with a swan; and several other stories, my favorite of which is the final one, "A Taxi to Solitude," a heartbreaking story about a chance encounter of two people who think they have met before, but each has a different memory of the meeting.
January 16, 2010
I enjoyed a couple of the stories more then others.
June 1, 2010
Delightful. Perfectly portioned stories for a brief escape to a more whimsical land.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews