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The Frontier Guards
H R Wakefield was one of the twentieth century’s most prolific writers of ghost stories, whose best tales rank alongside those of M R James and E F Benson. His spectral work has been available for decades only in expensive collectible editions. We present here a selection of what we believe are his most powerful pieces. Included are;- ‘The Red Lodge’, ‘The Thirteenth Hole at Duncaster’, ‘He Cometh and He Passeth By’ and ‘Look Up There!’.
- GenresShort Stories
228 pages, Paperback
Published September 26, 2022
11 people want to read
About the author
H.R. Wakefield
72 books5 followersHerbert Russell Wakefield was an English short story writer, novelist, publisher, and civil servant. Wakefield is best known for his ghost stories, but he produced work outside the field. He was greatly interested in the criminal mind and wrote two non-fiction criminology studies
Used These Alternate Names: H.R. Wakefield, H. Russell Wakefield, Рассел Уэйкфилд?, Herbert Russell Wakefield, Herbert R. Wakefield, Henry Russell Wakefield, Henry R. Wakefield, Sir H. Russell Wakefield, Horace Russell Wakefield
Used These Alternate Names: H.R. Wakefield, H. Russell Wakefield, Рассел Уэйкфилд?, Herbert Russell Wakefield, Herbert R. Wakefield, Henry Russell Wakefield, Henry R. Wakefield, Sir H. Russell Wakefield, Horace Russell Wakefield
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 7, 2023
[Incunabula] (2022). SB. 222 Pages. Purchased from Lulu.
An overpriced (£14.00 + £3.24 P&P) and physically shoddy POD volume.
No bibliographical or biographical information is provided.
The First Editions, and subsequent collections, are all scarce but greatly preferable.
14 of H. R. Wakefield’s masterfully written tales are included (listed below).
“…how can such things be? But at night I know they are.” (“He Cometh and He Passeth By”)
It’s nice to see a new volume but this picture’s owed a much better frame.
“The First Sheaf” is a genre high point - most unsettling.
They Return at Evening (1928)
“That Dieth Not”
“He Cometh and He Passeth By”
“The Red Lodge”
“The Seventeenth Hole At Duncaster”
Old Man's Beard (1929)
“‘Look Up There!’”
“Nurse’s Tale”
“The Cairn”
“Blind Man’s Buff”
Imagine a Man in a Box (1931)
“The Frontier Guards”
The Clock Strikes Twelve (1940)
“Into Outer Darkness”
“Lucky’s Grove”
“The First Sheaf”
Strayers from Sheol (1961)
“The Triumph of Death”
The Best Ghost Stories of H. Russell Wakefield (1978)
“A Black Solitude”
An overpriced (£14.00 + £3.24 P&P) and physically shoddy POD volume.
No bibliographical or biographical information is provided.
The First Editions, and subsequent collections, are all scarce but greatly preferable.
14 of H. R. Wakefield’s masterfully written tales are included (listed below).
“…how can such things be? But at night I know they are.” (“He Cometh and He Passeth By”)
It’s nice to see a new volume but this picture’s owed a much better frame.
“The First Sheaf” is a genre high point - most unsettling.
They Return at Evening (1928)
“That Dieth Not”
“He Cometh and He Passeth By”
“The Red Lodge”
“The Seventeenth Hole At Duncaster”
Old Man's Beard (1929)
“‘Look Up There!’”
“Nurse’s Tale”
“The Cairn”
“Blind Man’s Buff”
Imagine a Man in a Box (1931)
“The Frontier Guards”
The Clock Strikes Twelve (1940)
“Into Outer Darkness”
“Lucky’s Grove”
“The First Sheaf”
Strayers from Sheol (1961)
“The Triumph of Death”
The Best Ghost Stories of H. Russell Wakefield (1978)
“A Black Solitude”
March 24, 2023
A nice collection of vintage terror tales for those who enjoy atmosphere over action. Wakefield could be compared to Lovecraft in that so many things are indescribable they don't bother to even try to explain them. Indeed, a number of tales just sort of...end. No real conclusion or denouement, just a light sort of "boo" that causes the death or madness of our protagonist.
These are the sorts of tales you want to crack out on a chilly autumnal day when you want to read about rich English toffs getting what's coming to them for toying with people, places, and things tainted by the deadly corruption of the supernatural.
These are the sorts of tales you want to crack out on a chilly autumnal day when you want to read about rich English toffs getting what's coming to them for toying with people, places, and things tainted by the deadly corruption of the supernatural.
August 16, 2024
H.R. Wakefield was one of the UK's most prolific ghost story authors (yes, I admit I stole that from the intro). His best story (IMHO), and likely most anthologized, is "The Red Lodge", wherein an artist and his family rent a house...only to discover it has inimical permanent occupants.....
"Guards" is a collection of perhaps Wakefield's best output...15 tales of unease. I hesitate to call them ghost stories...as not all are...several constitute what we know as "folk horror" today (Lucky's Grove, The First Sheaf, and The Nurse's Tale, among others).
Wakefield mentioned James in his story "The Nurses Story), as a young child under her care remarks he liked "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You". And I have always wondered about Wakefield's "He Cometh and He Passeth By" - which seems to borrow the basic plot from James' "Casting the Runes".....
But, at any rate...a solid collection from a master of the genre...
Jeff McIntosh
"Guards" is a collection of perhaps Wakefield's best output...15 tales of unease. I hesitate to call them ghost stories...as not all are...several constitute what we know as "folk horror" today (Lucky's Grove, The First Sheaf, and The Nurse's Tale, among others).
Wakefield mentioned James in his story "The Nurses Story), as a young child under her care remarks he liked "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You". And I have always wondered about Wakefield's "He Cometh and He Passeth By" - which seems to borrow the basic plot from James' "Casting the Runes".....
But, at any rate...a solid collection from a master of the genre...
Jeff McIntosh
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December 3, 2024From "From the Great Library of Dreams"
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews