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Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories
Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1871
About the author
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
1,342 books1,501 followersJoseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M.R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
December 10, 2015
The Victorians wrote some of the best ghost stories still in print, and Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was widely considered to be one of the best tellers of the ghost tale ever to put pen to paper. Novels like Uncle Silas. Carmilla (which I read last year), and The House by the Churchyard are some of his best and best-known writings, but Le Fanu also wrote dozens of shorter stories, Gothic tales and supernatural mysteries, hauntings and deals with the devil. Four of the best have been collected in a slim Dover Thrift Editon for years now; in the mood to rekindle the long-lost past-time of telling ghost stories around yuletide, it’s one of two ghost story collections by Dover I picked up.
The first story, “Green Tea” (1872), spends a bit too much time on setup before arriving at a very interesting idea. It’s one of the stories about occult detective Dr Hesselius, who’s approached by a preacher with a unique affliction: wherever he goes, he’s followed by a spectral demon that takes the form of a dark, red-eyed monkey. It’s even began to speak to him, urging him to evil deeds and shrieking during his sermons, and the man is having trouble holding it together. Is this patient doomed by the sinister apparition—or is there a more mundane explanation for his visions? There’s a bit of pseudo-scientific babble here, but it shows Le Fanu’s keen psychological insight and subtle ability to build dread. It was called one of the best ghost stories at the time, and remains a decent tale.
The next one is not just one I prefer, it’s one of my faves. “Squire Toby’s Will” (1868) has the Gothic atmosphere and eerie creep-factor that Le Fanu does best. When Squire Toby Marston passes on, he leaves his manor not to his eldest son—the disfigured and hostile Scroope—instead, younger son Handsome Charlie inherits the estate. The two brothers get to feuding, and by the end, Scroope’s lost everything in court fees, and while Charlie retains the ancestral home, he’s also crippled in a hunting accident. A few months later, living in the old manor with but a few of his father’s loyal servants, he finds a strange but subservient dog moping around. The head butler urges him to destroy the animal, but Charlie enjoys its subservience and takes it into his care. And that’s when his dreams turn to nightmares, and images of his brother and dead father surround the strange hound… A creepy and effective story, with some interesting developments and a rich atmosphere of ancestral decay.
“The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh” is the first of two consecutive tales featuring deals with the devil, and the inevitable downfall that such deals lead to. Robert Ardagh is an Irish lord with a penchant for gambling; he always seems to win, based on a Faustian bargain he’s made with a mysterious stranger. When the stranger returns to Ardagh’s castle, he brings ruin in his wake. There’s some good atmosphere here, set in the Gothic castle in rural Ireland; it’s a fascinating twice-told-tale where Le Fanu first tells the “traditional” legend before telling a more intimate version “authenticated by human testimony.” That makes the tale intentionally enigmatic, withholding or obscuring some necessary facts.
“Sir Dominick’s Bargain” is a bit too similar to the preceding story, which is a shame as it’s the better of the two. Our unnamed protagonist is traveling through Ireland, stopping at a wayside inn to rest his horses. A curious chap, he spends part of the afternoon inspecting the dilapidated ruins of a manor-house, wherein he finds a hunchback who tells its ancient story—the tale of Sir Dominick, a man falling into debt. In desperation, Sir Dominick agreed to serve the devil for seven years, after having the devil serve him for seven years first. As the end of the first seven years draws to a close, Sir Dominick attempts to evade his end of the bargain—but these deals always have strings attached, and escape does not come easy. Another tale with lush atmosphere—here, the Irish wilds and the ruined estate—as well as a fine sense of eerie unease and a chilling twist. It’s one of the finest ghost stories of its time.
If you’re familiar with writers like Robert Chambers, Algernon Blackwood, or M. R. James but have yet to read anything by Le Fanu, you really ought to pick up one of his volumes and see what you’re missing. Jumping into Victorian lit can be a sharp change of pace for modern readers, but the Victorians had such beautiful finesse when handling dark Gothic themes. And Le Fanu remains one of the best, his atmosphere rich and decadent, his settings eerie, his mysteries left unexplained—as it should be.
The first story, “Green Tea” (1872), spends a bit too much time on setup before arriving at a very interesting idea. It’s one of the stories about occult detective Dr Hesselius, who’s approached by a preacher with a unique affliction: wherever he goes, he’s followed by a spectral demon that takes the form of a dark, red-eyed monkey. It’s even began to speak to him, urging him to evil deeds and shrieking during his sermons, and the man is having trouble holding it together. Is this patient doomed by the sinister apparition—or is there a more mundane explanation for his visions? There’s a bit of pseudo-scientific babble here, but it shows Le Fanu’s keen psychological insight and subtle ability to build dread. It was called one of the best ghost stories at the time, and remains a decent tale.
The next one is not just one I prefer, it’s one of my faves. “Squire Toby’s Will” (1868) has the Gothic atmosphere and eerie creep-factor that Le Fanu does best. When Squire Toby Marston passes on, he leaves his manor not to his eldest son—the disfigured and hostile Scroope—instead, younger son Handsome Charlie inherits the estate. The two brothers get to feuding, and by the end, Scroope’s lost everything in court fees, and while Charlie retains the ancestral home, he’s also crippled in a hunting accident. A few months later, living in the old manor with but a few of his father’s loyal servants, he finds a strange but subservient dog moping around. The head butler urges him to destroy the animal, but Charlie enjoys its subservience and takes it into his care. And that’s when his dreams turn to nightmares, and images of his brother and dead father surround the strange hound… A creepy and effective story, with some interesting developments and a rich atmosphere of ancestral decay.
“The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh” is the first of two consecutive tales featuring deals with the devil, and the inevitable downfall that such deals lead to. Robert Ardagh is an Irish lord with a penchant for gambling; he always seems to win, based on a Faustian bargain he’s made with a mysterious stranger. When the stranger returns to Ardagh’s castle, he brings ruin in his wake. There’s some good atmosphere here, set in the Gothic castle in rural Ireland; it’s a fascinating twice-told-tale where Le Fanu first tells the “traditional” legend before telling a more intimate version “authenticated by human testimony.” That makes the tale intentionally enigmatic, withholding or obscuring some necessary facts.
“Sir Dominick’s Bargain” is a bit too similar to the preceding story, which is a shame as it’s the better of the two. Our unnamed protagonist is traveling through Ireland, stopping at a wayside inn to rest his horses. A curious chap, he spends part of the afternoon inspecting the dilapidated ruins of a manor-house, wherein he finds a hunchback who tells its ancient story—the tale of Sir Dominick, a man falling into debt. In desperation, Sir Dominick agreed to serve the devil for seven years, after having the devil serve him for seven years first. As the end of the first seven years draws to a close, Sir Dominick attempts to evade his end of the bargain—but these deals always have strings attached, and escape does not come easy. Another tale with lush atmosphere—here, the Irish wilds and the ruined estate—as well as a fine sense of eerie unease and a chilling twist. It’s one of the finest ghost stories of its time.
If you’re familiar with writers like Robert Chambers, Algernon Blackwood, or M. R. James but have yet to read anything by Le Fanu, you really ought to pick up one of his volumes and see what you’re missing. Jumping into Victorian lit can be a sharp change of pace for modern readers, but the Victorians had such beautiful finesse when handling dark Gothic themes. And Le Fanu remains one of the best, his atmosphere rich and decadent, his settings eerie, his mysteries left unexplained—as it should be.
January 21, 2016
A collection of four long, short stories by the great Victorian writer most known for his ghost stories though he did write over a dozen Gothic novels. I like LeFanu though I've only been reading him for several years. He's a bit hit and miss with me. I love his signature ghost stories, his stories of the macabre and those that fall under the label Gothic. His writing can be a bit too descriptive for my tastes and topics too metaphysical for my likes, but I'll always give him a go. This collection is a good sampling of what he has to offer, especially if you are not familiar with him. It's certainly not a "Best of" but does showcase some different plots (as I've mentioned) and lengths of his tales.
1. Green Tea (1869)- Well, I can't say I'm too taken with this one. A man starts seeing a little monkey, who eventually gets aggressive and speaks telling him what to do. (an imp? a demon?). A doctor believes it to be some sort of spiritual manifestation which we bring upon ourselves and, in this case, the man opens his sight to this world through overdrinking green tea. Weird and strange but not in a way that entertained me. (2/5)
2. Squire Toby's Will: A Ghost Story (1868) - Now this is more like it! Much too dense of a tale to summarize but briefly; an old Squire prefers his youngest son over his eldest, he's a drunken, hateful old man and dies the same. Leaving his almost impoverished estate to his youngest brings about a vicious feud between the brothers; but in his death, the old Squire seems to have seen the error of his ways toward his eldest yet hasn't lost his meanness. He haunts his youngest son and after an accident, the eldest joins him and the youngest lives a life of terror haunted by these nasty ghosts. Very well done. (5/5)
3. The Fortune's of Sir Robert Ardagh, Being a Second Extract from the Papers of the late Father Purcell (1838) - This is more of a Gothic ghost story with an old atmospheric house and a dark, moody, brooding man. The first half of the story is a narrative of the legend of Sir Ardagh's mysterious reclusive life and strange death while the second half is a retelling of the truth from an eyewitness of his normal life, how he became reclusive and strange death. The truth is very different from the legend and yet each is no stranger nor mysterious than the other. This is all very creepy with no explanations whatever, which I wish there were. (4/5)
4. Sir Dominick's Bargain: A Legend of Dunoran (1872) - This is the shortest story in the collection but LeFanu is a master dramatist at filling his tales to overflowing with plots. A bit of a tale within a tale, our narrator comes upon a rundown house in the woods and meets an old hunchback who proceeds to tell him a story of the last owner of the house, a man who sold his soul to the devil. The beginning is a bit too flowery with description for my tastes but once the plot gets underway LeFanu has me in his hands. (3/5)
1. Green Tea (1869)- Well, I can't say I'm too taken with this one. A man starts seeing a little monkey, who eventually gets aggressive and speaks telling him what to do. (an imp? a demon?). A doctor believes it to be some sort of spiritual manifestation which we bring upon ourselves and, in this case, the man opens his sight to this world through overdrinking green tea. Weird and strange but not in a way that entertained me. (2/5)
2. Squire Toby's Will: A Ghost Story (1868) - Now this is more like it! Much too dense of a tale to summarize but briefly; an old Squire prefers his youngest son over his eldest, he's a drunken, hateful old man and dies the same. Leaving his almost impoverished estate to his youngest brings about a vicious feud between the brothers; but in his death, the old Squire seems to have seen the error of his ways toward his eldest yet hasn't lost his meanness. He haunts his youngest son and after an accident, the eldest joins him and the youngest lives a life of terror haunted by these nasty ghosts. Very well done. (5/5)
3. The Fortune's of Sir Robert Ardagh, Being a Second Extract from the Papers of the late Father Purcell (1838) - This is more of a Gothic ghost story with an old atmospheric house and a dark, moody, brooding man. The first half of the story is a narrative of the legend of Sir Ardagh's mysterious reclusive life and strange death while the second half is a retelling of the truth from an eyewitness of his normal life, how he became reclusive and strange death. The truth is very different from the legend and yet each is no stranger nor mysterious than the other. This is all very creepy with no explanations whatever, which I wish there were. (4/5)
4. Sir Dominick's Bargain: A Legend of Dunoran (1872) - This is the shortest story in the collection but LeFanu is a master dramatist at filling his tales to overflowing with plots. A bit of a tale within a tale, our narrator comes upon a rundown house in the woods and meets an old hunchback who proceeds to tell him a story of the last owner of the house, a man who sold his soul to the devil. The beginning is a bit too flowery with description for my tastes but once the plot gets underway LeFanu has me in his hands. (3/5)
April 20, 2018
J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is one of my all time favourite vampire stories. I knew he'd written novels, but NO ONE TOLD ME HE WROTE GHOST STORIES. I happened to find this at a second hand book sale today, purely by chance.
Atmospheric, not really suspenseful at all, they rely on slowly building dread for their effect. Very much in the line of M. R. James' style of ghost stories.
Atmospheric, not really suspenseful at all, they rely on slowly building dread for their effect. Very much in the line of M. R. James' style of ghost stories.
January 19, 2016
HELL FUCKING YES GIVE ME MORE.
Sorry but this is exactly my cup of (not green) tea: horror stories set in the 1700/1800, which gave me such a trill!
One thing I love about the horror of that time is that there were no real explanation. Modern horrors have to explain anything, every tiny thing, as if the author fears that it won't make sense if the zombie plague is not incredibly well explained on the how, when, and where.
People in the 1800s had no such problems. There were lots of things unknown, unexplained, no real true germ theory accepted for disease, no knowledge of the mind.
And so they were left wondering.
And so are we.
I am not giving away plot, but the tales expands on the concept of demons, demonic possession (forget the exorcist, this is MUCH subtler stuff) and injustice. While in three of them the evil come from an injustice, in the first one ("Green Tea" of the title) the evil is suggested to be everywhere, in any place and we are simple lucky enough not to see it...
Unless you drink a cup too many of green tea, of course.
*lifts own cup* cheer!
November 11, 2015
LeFanu is highly thought of by a lot of horror aficionados, so I was exciting to have a chance to read this book. Dover’s edition is not the full volume that was published in the 40s; this book has four stories in it. “Green Tea” is the tale of a man haunted because he’s overstimulated his brain and body with, well, green tea; a demon of sorts follows him everywhere. “Squire Toby’s Will” is the tale of a father and two sons, and what happens when a parent favors one child too much over the other, creating hatred that transcends the grave. “The Fortunes of Robert Ardagh” and “Sir Dominic’s Bargain” are both deals with the devil tales, the second being a superior story. ‘Ardagh’ fails to deliver the creepiness for some reason.
LeFanu’s prose is lovely, if slow, to read. It comes from the era where something being ‘a fast read’ wasn’t a concern. It’s ornamental and lyrical in high Gothic manner. It creates an air of extreme tension in ‘Green Tea’, and dread in the others. If you like old school horror, try these tales.
LeFanu’s prose is lovely, if slow, to read. It comes from the era where something being ‘a fast read’ wasn’t a concern. It’s ornamental and lyrical in high Gothic manner. It creates an air of extreme tension in ‘Green Tea’, and dread in the others. If you like old school horror, try these tales.
March 26, 2016
Just brilliant! So gripping & chilling. The title story in particular is fascinating and, in style, reminded me of Stoker's Dracula. The demonic monkey stays with you! I will certainly seek out more Le Fanu as a result - he is an under-appreciated Irish literary hero. By coincidence I first became interested in his writing when I wrote about his niece by marriage Rhoda Broughton: https://eafitzsimons.wordpress.com/20...
December 4, 2009
Gloriously gothic tales that build the atmosphere and tension layer by layer until your hanging off the edge of your seat before being shocked backward by the finale. Le Fanu has a of creating tension with words that will follow you even once you've finished the book, it even made me rethink the amount of tea I drink (although thankfully I favour the original everyday tea and not green tea).
November 2, 2017
This Dover book collects four supernatural horror stories by Sheridan Le Fanu: "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" (1838), "Squire Toby's Will" (1868), "Sir Dominick's Bargain" (1872) and "Green Tea" (1872).
"Green Tea", the title story, is about a priest who after delving too deep into the occult starts being followed around by a demonic monkey; similarly "Squire Toby's Will" is about a man, enrapt with guilt, who is haunted by a ghostly familiar and other such apparitions. Both are great in their use of ambiguity and suggestion of menace.
The final two stories concern Faustian pacts, the latter essentially another version of the former. Both describe the Mephistophelian character as "a low, square-built figure... wrapped in a large black cloak... with sooty-black hair" and "a short square fellow with a cloak on, and black hair"; likewise when the character reappears to claim his end of the bargain, he threatens in one story that "If Sir Robert will not come down to me, I must go up to him" while in the other it's said "unless you go down to him, he'll come up to you".
I found Le Fanu on my quest to read up on weird fiction and occult investigators, of which Dr. Hesselius is traditionally honored as the very first. But he's less of a character and more of a name and rank to whom the letters that narrate "Green Tea" are attributed (just as "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" comes from the manuscripts of one Reverend Purcell). Le Fanu frequently used Purcell and Hesselius as framing devices to give his stories an aura of veracity and ground the supernatural elements with the cool, collected objectivity of a seasoned professional, who recounts events long past and is himself long dead by the time his account is unearthed.
If you're looking for deftly written, supremely evocative ghost stories tinged with nostalgia, Le Fanu is your man.
"Green Tea", the title story, is about a priest who after delving too deep into the occult starts being followed around by a demonic monkey; similarly "Squire Toby's Will" is about a man, enrapt with guilt, who is haunted by a ghostly familiar and other such apparitions. Both are great in their use of ambiguity and suggestion of menace.
The final two stories concern Faustian pacts, the latter essentially another version of the former. Both describe the Mephistophelian character as "a low, square-built figure... wrapped in a large black cloak... with sooty-black hair" and "a short square fellow with a cloak on, and black hair"; likewise when the character reappears to claim his end of the bargain, he threatens in one story that "If Sir Robert will not come down to me, I must go up to him" while in the other it's said "unless you go down to him, he'll come up to you".
I found Le Fanu on my quest to read up on weird fiction and occult investigators, of which Dr. Hesselius is traditionally honored as the very first. But he's less of a character and more of a name and rank to whom the letters that narrate "Green Tea" are attributed (just as "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" comes from the manuscripts of one Reverend Purcell). Le Fanu frequently used Purcell and Hesselius as framing devices to give his stories an aura of veracity and ground the supernatural elements with the cool, collected objectivity of a seasoned professional, who recounts events long past and is himself long dead by the time his account is unearthed.
If you're looking for deftly written, supremely evocative ghost stories tinged with nostalgia, Le Fanu is your man.
January 2, 2022
Ah, Le Fanu. When I first read Carmilla last year, I stated that it was the only classic to ever scare me, and having read that same author's short story, "Green Tea", I can safely and confidently declare a second addition to that list of genuinely unnerving classics. Le Fanu is an author who, far greater than any of his time, knew how to instill fear in a reader. Modern and classical authors can tell fascinating stories, and some can even frighten at times, but few now can even claim to the kind of lasting horror that is brought upon reading Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's bibliography. His works pack a harder punch than any I've read before, and Green Tea is a startlingly brilliant work, taking an initially odd premise that shouldn't be scary, and turning it into a disturbing, horrific nightmare.
The plot follows Reverend Jennings, a man who sees a pitch black monkey with red eyes following him everywhere, speaking inside his head with suggestions of suicide, interrupting his sermons and prayers and gradually driving the man to insanity. He seeks the help of Dr. Martin Hesselius, a metaphysician and an early example of the paranormal detective archetype. This being his introductory story, the first chapter is dedicated to his introduction, but the rest largely focuses on Mr. Jennings' affliction, it's origins, and the effect it has on him, all leading to an ending that will haunt you long after reading it.
The plot follows Reverend Jennings, a man who sees a pitch black monkey with red eyes following him everywhere, speaking inside his head with suggestions of suicide, interrupting his sermons and prayers and gradually driving the man to insanity. He seeks the help of Dr. Martin Hesselius, a metaphysician and an early example of the paranormal detective archetype. This being his introductory story, the first chapter is dedicated to his introduction, but the rest largely focuses on Mr. Jennings' affliction, it's origins, and the effect it has on him, all leading to an ending that will haunt you long after reading it.
August 31, 2025
I really enjoyed Green Tea, but Other Ghost Stories not so much.
January 11, 2016
Before I read these stories I was curious to explore more about the author, J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Mr. Le Fanu was an Irish writer (1814-1873), gothic tales and mystery novels being his hallmarks. He is highly regarded among many as a premier writer of ghost stories in the nineteenth century. Le Fanu and his work is touted as one of many significant influencers of the genre during that era. He has many works, and I am pleased I got to read and be introduced to such an influential author's stories.
The first, "Green Tea" has an interesting root that unfolds into an absolutely strange and unnerving tale. The story builds and is cleverly delivered in ordinary vessels of tea and animal. Why does Mr. Jennings have that set of books? Why does the monkey come and go? What has driven Jennings into this delusional state? It comes upon you quickly and the conclusion made me ponder for quite a while about the method in which Dr. Hesselius "cured" his future patients and his belief system between body and soul. An overall engaging read.
Next in the book is "Squire Toby's Will" and I would surely classify this as a (quite literally) good old fashioned ghostly spook. The tale of family scorned, brother against brother and a father reaching out from beyond. Father is a rather creepy fellow, and the story is a hair raiser in a pleasing fashion during this current time of mostly no holds barred goop and gore ghosts.
The following two tales: "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" and "Sir Dominick's Bargain" are both what I interpret to be as stories about men and their pacts made with dark companions. In the first tale, the main character is perpetually hindered by a man called "Jack the Devil." Jack is described as a deformed and cruel man, and the dealings eventually lead to what one can assume to be Ardagh's unsavory choice at the dismal end. The second, "Sir Dominick's Bargain" is a tale about a man, gold, a pact with a strange fellow in the forest and a question about the man's fate after 7 years. It is a darker tale than the first and has a darker ending, but both are still interesting from their own unique points of narration. I enjoyed these stories and I recommend them to other readers who also enjoy gothic horror. It was a fun experience to delve into the past, and I think I will shy away from green tea for a short while.
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review
The first, "Green Tea" has an interesting root that unfolds into an absolutely strange and unnerving tale. The story builds and is cleverly delivered in ordinary vessels of tea and animal. Why does Mr. Jennings have that set of books? Why does the monkey come and go? What has driven Jennings into this delusional state? It comes upon you quickly and the conclusion made me ponder for quite a while about the method in which Dr. Hesselius "cured" his future patients and his belief system between body and soul. An overall engaging read.
Next in the book is "Squire Toby's Will" and I would surely classify this as a (quite literally) good old fashioned ghostly spook. The tale of family scorned, brother against brother and a father reaching out from beyond. Father is a rather creepy fellow, and the story is a hair raiser in a pleasing fashion during this current time of mostly no holds barred goop and gore ghosts.
The following two tales: "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" and "Sir Dominick's Bargain" are both what I interpret to be as stories about men and their pacts made with dark companions. In the first tale, the main character is perpetually hindered by a man called "Jack the Devil." Jack is described as a deformed and cruel man, and the dealings eventually lead to what one can assume to be Ardagh's unsavory choice at the dismal end. The second, "Sir Dominick's Bargain" is a tale about a man, gold, a pact with a strange fellow in the forest and a question about the man's fate after 7 years. It is a darker tale than the first and has a darker ending, but both are still interesting from their own unique points of narration. I enjoyed these stories and I recommend them to other readers who also enjoy gothic horror. It was a fun experience to delve into the past, and I think I will shy away from green tea for a short while.
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review
January 16, 2016
I was hoping for a bit of Henry James but instead got a bit of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" with sentences that just loop around themselves with no perceivable end. The writing is a perfectly serviceable example of its time but there are no eerie moments in this collection - green tea and spectral, red-eyed monkeys don't really put the hairs on my neck up. I mean, I find it hard to buy into a story when part of the big suspense/reveal is that drinking green tea thins the membranes between this world and the next in your brain. Although, maybe in 1872 this was a real "Oooooh" moment. I'm not intrigued enough to try and find that answer. Possessed dogs and deals with the devil round out the other short stories. I may try his longer works but this was a disappointing introduction to Le Fanu.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 23, 2014
I picked up this Dover Thrift Edition, circa 1993, at a used book store. LeFanu lived from 1814 to 1873. The first story, Green Tea, is reprinted from an 1886 collection of short stories called 'In a Glass Darkly.' Squire Toby's Will and Sir Dominick's Bargain are reprinted from the 1923 collection 'Madam Crowl's Ghost.' The last story, The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh, is a reprint from an 1838 copy of Dublin University Magazine.
The stories are fairly engaging and it's nice to see a writing style from that era. What passes as shocking for the time is rather ho-hum by today's measure. Some of the writing is drawn out in a way that makes it fairly arduous to read. Still, it was interesting.
The stories are fairly engaging and it's nice to see a writing style from that era. What passes as shocking for the time is rather ho-hum by today's measure. Some of the writing is drawn out in a way that makes it fairly arduous to read. Still, it was interesting.
November 4, 2015
If I mention Poe, Lovecraft, or Bierce, I end up having a long conversation on them but if I mention Le Fanu sometimes I get "who"? It is really a shame as he was a master of the gothic tale and his tales are just as wonderful as the other masters of classic horror. His stories are always original, and I love the style of writing. it takes a little getting used to but it worth it. I have to admit that I took my time with this one and read the stories late at night. Don't miss these wonderful tales of gothic horror. I received a copy of this book via the publishers and Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the treat.
January 20, 2009
Loved it. I love the language, which is in the tritely overwrought Gothic style; these are just well-written ghost stories. The only fault I have is with the person who collected the stories together in this compilation, because the last two stories -- The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh and Sir Dominic's Bargain are very similar, robbing the second story of its punch because the reader has already been there and done that. Which is unfortunate, because Sir Dominic's Bargain is actually the better one.
November 5, 2015
In general I'm not a huge fan of short stories, and I tend to think that scary stories work better when they're either a) long enough to really build the atmosphere and introduced the characters or b) short and right to the point of the scare. These stories fell somewhere in the middle, and I didn't feel like it worked terribly well for them. I didn't think the stories were particularly scary and I didn't find Le Fanu's style of writing to be engaging. Overall this was a fine quick read, but it wasn't anything special.
Received from NetGalley.
Received from NetGalley.
October 12, 2012
Having spent my book order money on Lucy Montgomery's ghost tales in my youth, I was very much prepared for this period short story. I found it fascinating, but not entrancing, and it seemed over before it had really begun. There was hardly an opportunity to connect to the extremely few characters. The "scientific" section at the end was good for a look into how the supernatural was viewed by the educated of the time, but it, too seemed...wordy, but short.
June 29, 2013
The blurb says that these four stories contain "a subtlety, awareness and psychological depth that elevate them far above most efforts in the genre," and that they offer "spine-tingling entertainment."
As Mark Twain said in Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses, "It seems to me that it was far from right [to] offer opinions... without having read some of it."
As Mark Twain said in Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses, "It seems to me that it was far from right [to] offer opinions... without having read some of it."
February 22, 2013
VERY disappointed in this. I was hoping for odd, grand old ghost stories. Instead most of these are about people who "sold their souls to the Devil". Really dull theme, badly handled. The unimaginative "Devil" figures in the stories don't even begin to be scary.
February 4, 2015
Four "ghost" stories from the early Victorian period (LeFanu was almost exactly contemporary with Dickens.) Not especially bad, but not really good either. But then I'm not a real fan of the supernatural.
December 18, 2009
Good stories!
Read
January 29, 2010Love! Filmy moonlight. Shadows. Tea the colour of absinthe. But why does the monkey get a bad rap?
September 14, 2012
The writing style of Le Fanu is wonderfully descriptive--I see what he describes. This Victorian storyteller reminds me of a cross between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, and George Eliot!
December 6, 2012
Too not my style!
January 2, 2009
Victorian era ghost stories, that go from being quaint to gruesome. Great!
June 20, 2020
Lookout for the devil, evil monkeys, messages from your dead relatives, and what you drink!
This is my second visit to horror master J. Sheridan LeFanu, this time in nice compact Dover Thrift edition. I was pretty psyched for this and I was not let down, these are four nicely done gothic supernatural horrors.
“The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardaugh” and “Sir Dominick's Bargain” both have landed gentry getting involved with gambling and then with Old Nick himself! These are full of rotting old manor houses and castles precariously teetering over choked ravines, in the unhealthy shadows of Ireland's dwindling ancient forests. One is even narrated by the hunchbacked grandson of the butler.
The title story is in the best traditions of horror tales, with a nice layered wrap-around, involving a doctor trying to help a priest who is cursed with a devilish monkey who is always with him but seen by no one else. A maddening aspect to this story, outside of the surface horror, is that it is all too relatable to anyone who has ever had a nebulous technological problem to deal with, as far a cry as that seems to be to this old yarn.
The familiar animal theme continues in “Squire Toby's Will” which involves two brothers feuding over an estate and a mysterious dog that appears which troubled dreams suggest to be a visitation by the dead squire himself. Walled up rooms, the family burial yard, trembling servants, and anonymous figures obscured in black flesh it out very nicely.
If I didn't make it clear, this meets with my approval.
This is my second visit to horror master J. Sheridan LeFanu, this time in nice compact Dover Thrift edition. I was pretty psyched for this and I was not let down, these are four nicely done gothic supernatural horrors.
“The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardaugh” and “Sir Dominick's Bargain” both have landed gentry getting involved with gambling and then with Old Nick himself! These are full of rotting old manor houses and castles precariously teetering over choked ravines, in the unhealthy shadows of Ireland's dwindling ancient forests. One is even narrated by the hunchbacked grandson of the butler.
The title story is in the best traditions of horror tales, with a nice layered wrap-around, involving a doctor trying to help a priest who is cursed with a devilish monkey who is always with him but seen by no one else. A maddening aspect to this story, outside of the surface horror, is that it is all too relatable to anyone who has ever had a nebulous technological problem to deal with, as far a cry as that seems to be to this old yarn.
The familiar animal theme continues in “Squire Toby's Will” which involves two brothers feuding over an estate and a mysterious dog that appears which troubled dreams suggest to be a visitation by the dead squire himself. Walled up rooms, the family burial yard, trembling servants, and anonymous figures obscured in black flesh it out very nicely.
If I didn't make it clear, this meets with my approval.
June 18, 2017
I loved all these stories except The fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh I liked the ending but the set up was so long I was wondering when the story was going to start.If you are looking for some short classic horror stories I would recommend this book.Green tea was by far my favorite it was absolutely amazing.
September 15, 2021
I'm glad I read this. I am not sure LeFanu has more to offer, really, than what was here. Somewhat repetitive four stories, all have similar elements, all have hefty Victorian writing. Setting is key, unexplained is key. I liked "Green Tea" and "Squire Toby's Will" the best. "Sir Dominick's Bargain" is pretty rough.
April 10, 2022
Finished reading Green Tea And Other Weird Stories by Sheridan Le Fanu. An excellent collection of the Gothic and the metaphysical. There is a coherent, ordered cosmic system and it is terrible and inexorable and full of Cartesian menace.
November 9, 2017
For "Green Tea" alone, I'm giving this book a 5/5. Le Fanu somehow managed to combine demons, monkeys and caffeine binging into a genuinely scary story.
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