"A short . . . but most masterly story, [with] The Room in the Dragon Volant, he touched the springs of terror and suspense, as perhaps no other writer of fiction in the language has been able to do. His fine scholarship, poetic sense, and strong, yet delicate handling of language and of incident give these tales a place quite apart among works of sensational fiction. --THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE "The immobilized consciousness of young Beckett in 'The Room in the Dragon Volant' should be read as the counterpart of a lascivious and protean immortality in 'Carmilla'." -- J.W. McCormack
Joseph 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.
This one isn't a paranormal story at all but it does have that psychological The Pit and the Pendulum feel to it, especially at the end.
Basically, a baby-faced idiot falls for a very bad woman that he thinks needs rescuing. You can see it coming from a mile away, but that makes it even more fun to watch. I mean, who doesn't like a good train wreck? And watching some youthful Romeo make an ass out of himself over a married woman is the kind of thing that ignites itself into just the best kind of flaming wreckage, imho.
The ending was a nail-biter and I thought Le Fanu did a great job of stringing out the tension! Recommended.
A gothic novella that put me in mind of Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, having the same atmosphere and underlying horrors. The story is that of Richard Beckett, a young Englishman on holiday in France, who runs into a rather wicked situation in his efforts to save an unhappy young wife from her jealous elderly husband.
Like so much gothic writing, it is patently predictable, but that would hardly have been the case at the time it was written. We have simply seen the plots of this time recycled too often for them to any longer hold surprise. What is delightful about a story such as this is the writing itself. Superb.
A few feet in front of the steps a fountain, fed from the great ponds at the other side of the chateau, was making a constant tinkle and plashing in a wide marble basin, and the jet of water glimmered like a shower of diamonds in the broken moonlight. The very neglect and half-ruinous state of all this made it only the prettier, as well as sadder. I was too intently watching for the arrival of the lady, in the direction of the chateau, to study these things; but the half-noted effect of them was romantic, and suggested somehow the grotto and the fountain, and the apparition of Egeria.
Sheridan le Fanu is just about my favourite 19th century writer of supernatural and gothic tales. The Room in the Dragon Volant is somewhat unusual for le Fanu, since it’s not really a supernatural tale. It does however have plenty of gothic elements and some genuine horror, and it’s an ingenious and entertaining tale. It’s set in France just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and involves a young rich Englishman who falls in love with a beautiful but mysterious, and unhappily married, countess. It also involves a room at the inn, The Dragon Volant, which has been the scene of mysterious disappearances.
Did Le Fanu mean for us to be surprised? Perhaps the plot was innovative at the time, but I found it irritating knowing what was coming while the protagonist was oblivious. Not Le Fanu's best work.
A fun setup with a mysterious room in an inn that people keep disappearing from. But the protagonist is stupidly gullible and delivered from the threat against him by 0% of his own ability.
Não me apeguei ao livro; a ideia da história até tinha potencial, mas a execução foi fraca. O autor “segurou” demais o mistério, e quando finalmente chegou o clímax, foi decepcionante. Além de tudo, uma história com nuances góticas ter um final razoavelmente* feliz é um absurdo kkkkk
10 chapters in and I just can’t go on! I refuse to believe anyone is foolish enough to trust a random man they meet in a foreign country who warns him often not to trust strangers 👀👀
This is a brilliant Victorian crime mystery, very early in the timeline of crime fiction as a genre. Le Fanu never disappoints. One can always trust him to deliver the most creepy, twisty, and (most importantly) satisfying plot possible. He was one of the best Victorian writers around.
This is about a man who falls in love with a mysterious and beautiful damsel in distress while on holiday in Paris.
The usual gothic themes are present here: the mixing of lust and desire with the sublimity of nature (the moonlight shining off the water, etc) but also with terror and evil (those moments are often associated with the Countess). The narrator talks of being down a 'labyrinth' that is leading him further towards evil. The Gothic often discusses the 'terror' of the sublime - just because something (often Nature) is beautiful, doesn't make it any less dangerous or awe-inspiring - and this story shows that. He is tempted by lust, desire and the moonlit atmosphere down an incredibly dark, dangerous path. That said, this story doesn't have the usual Gothic moral ambiguity or unanswered questions. Rather, it's a more tied-up proto-Golden-Age murder mystery where the clues are interwoven throughout and there is ultimately a restoration of order.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
So much more presence of mind and histrionic resource have women than fall to the lot of our clumsy sex
El título de esta novella provee una pista de lo que descubrimos al final de la historia. En el idioma francés, volant es una conjugación del verbo voler, que posee dos acepciones completamente distintas: significa, por un lado, volar; y, por otro, robar. No puedo revelar más, pero ahí lo tienen.
The Room in the Dragon Volant no es lo mejor de Sheridan Le Fanu (esa distinción se la otorgo a otros cuentos del autor); sin embargo, es una entretenidísima--aunque, a ratos, tediosa--narración decimonónica. Está escrita en el estilo elevado, florido de los autores Románticos de aquella época. La prosa recargada de Le Fanu puede resultar pesada para los oídos modernos, aunque algunos disfrutarán la poesía de su lenguaje.
The Room in the Dragon Volant By Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was first published 1872 This gothic mystery story was about a Long con of a wealthy young Englishman named Richard Beckett. Beckett helps the Count de St Alyre and his younger wife the Countess de St Alyre (with her exotic Violet eyes). He then is infatuated with the married woman and plans to run off with her. For most of the novel I kept trying to figure out who was in on the con. After the Napoleonic Wars the French resented English Tourists, and I suspected every French person Beckett came in contact with was in on the confidence game. A really enjoyable read from one of my new favorite authors!
This was an entertaining short story, even if very predictable.
I liked the atmosphere and the sense of impending danger, and the cast of characters was interesting. They were all mysterious and
The ending was really quite predictable. I saw it coming right from the beginning. Maybe it was considered shocking at the time it was written, but, having read many mysteries, it didn't surprise me.
Still, it was a good read to pass a few hours, and the narration of the audiobook was great.
Me gusto la historia, el lenguaje es algo clásico para mi gusto, la trama es un misterio / thriller que sucede cuando el protagonista, un inglés, va de visita a Francia post-Napoleónica; el protagonista narra toda su experiencia en el viaje.
Um escritor ou sabe contar uma história ou não sabe. J. Sheridan Le Fanu sabe. O único defeito de "A Estalagem do Dragão Voador" é um excesso que no início denuncia o desenlace. Não posso dizer mais, porque a rede social Goodreads não aprecia os spoilers.
A Estalagem do Dragão Voador (Sheridan Le Fanu). Não sei se haverá colecção mais 'de culto' do que esta - Livro B, livro maldito, histórias góticas, fantásticas e do horror de fim de século, em livros altos e estreitos de páginas azuis, que cabem no bolso do casaco ou da gabardina, para ler numa taberna em frente a uma aguardente, ou de noite, quando todos se foram deitar, esse tempo de "fantasmas nocturnos visionários, ou desfilar de espectros mortuários" de que fala Antero de Quental. Le Fanu é um vários autores que, em todo o séc.XIX e XX, escreveram contos naquele limiar entre a ciência e o sobrenatural, e em que novidades em certas disciplinas como o magnetismo, a electricidade, o estudo da mente, a medicina, a química, a farmácia e os efeitos das drogas, enchiam o mundo de uma realidade tão fantástica como a mais pura fantasia. Assim surgem obras como esta, em que (sem querer revelar nada que possa estragar o prazer de quem for ler o livro) até mais de metade do livro sem que se passe a menor sugestão de algo sobrenatural, apenas a elegante e prazerosa escrita que nos transporta para outros tempos, de carruagens e estalagens, de bailes e saraus, de paixões e traições, bandidos e actos de cavalheirismo, e de incidentes que desafiam os sentidos e exigem o maior sangue-frio e coragem.
Es de esos libros que leí en mi adolescencia y noté que me había pasado de noche. Así que decidí darle una segunda leída y en efecto, fue como leerlo por primera vez.
Le Fanu es un clásico del género. Aunque a veces sus andanzas literarias pecan de cierta ingenuidad romántica (propia del su siglo), la atmósfera brumosa que recrea en sus narraciones es digna representante del gótico literario.
Claro, aunque en esta breve y entretenida historia, quizá el problema es que la anécdota se prestaba para algo más macabro y termina por quedarse "corto" en algo más cercano a una Moleriesca situación de enredos con un tinte oscuro.
Puntos extra por el punto climático. Realmente claustrofóbico.
Realmente no es una lectura TAN importante, pero confío en que en esta ocasión no la voy a olvidar otra vez.
Loaded with mystery and suspense and ready for anyone who likes classics in these genres, the 'Dragon Volant' can be summed up thus... 'having a handsome fortune and maybe also seeking a bit of adventure, a young man leaves his home country to do some travels but is enraptured by a beautiful woman who causes him to become as his slave, who makes him a victim of her poisons, whose actions only lead to death...'
I listened to this book on the Classic Tales podcast. While it was interesting enough for me to make it through the whole 5-6 hours or so, the plot is very melodramatic and fairly transparent. Except for one or two small surprises, it's pretty easy to guess who is friend or foe pretty early on.
To sum up: it has some merits, but there's so much that's better out there that I wouldn't recommend it.
Eh. Long lead-in; predictably the main character was being set up to be robbed and murdered (and had no suspicions of it whatsoever). Also the paralyzing agent they slipped him that apparently stopped his lungs really bothered me. He was paralyzed for over three hours and came out of it perfectly fine. The only mystery in it for me was trying to figure out how many of the other characters were working together to con him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Reminded me of Poe in parts - a love struck young idiot is drawn into a plot to steal all his money and bury him alive. Clever and with a great dramatic ending. The plot slowly dawns on you as you read. Some wonderful and fantastic descriptions of a masquerade and fabulous costumes, groves with ivy choked ruins etc.
This short novella is a hidden gem. Very entertaining.
After the defeat of Napoleon all of the wealthy of England descend upon Paris to have a poke around, including our narrator, Richard Beckett. Richard a rich, young, naive dum dum heads to Paris for a good time. On the way, he helps a couple in an overturned carriage, an older gentleman and his incredibly young wife. She turns her “violet eyes” upon him and he is in love. From that moment, he is determined to rescue the lady from her unhappy marriage.
If the protagonist was a modern day person, he would definitely give all his money to the emailing Nigerian Prince, and get catfished on the regular. Five minutes into the story I thought, “this kid is getting scammed.” That seems pretty obvious but I stayed to find out how.
Le Fanu created a character that I either rolled my eyes at his overconfidence or shook my head at his naïveté. At one point he meets a policeman for supper and he tells Richard of three separate incidents of people disappearing from his room in the Dragon Volant. He thinks, “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” The red flags couldn’t be bigger.
I did end up feeling bad for this fool though. You’ll have to read it to find out how it all turns out for poor Richard.
About the Audio: This was a recording I found on Hoopla by BJ Harrison. It’s very good! He does a variety of voices. Sometimes he reminded me of Lazslo from What We Do in the Shadows.
Τον Νοέμβριο του 2011 διάβασα το πιο γνωστό έργο του Λε Φανού, το "Καρμίλα", ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον και ψυχαγωγικό αλλά μικρό σε έκταση μυθιστόρημα τρόμου με βρικόλακες, που σε μεγάλο βαθμό το απόλαυσα (κάποια στιγμή σίγουρα θα ήθελα να το ξαναδιαβάσω). Οπότε το "Το δωμάτιο στον Ιπτάμενο Δράκο" είναι το δεύτερο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα που διαβάζω. Λοιπόν, μπορώ να πω ότι μου άρεσε και αυτό, το βρήκα αρκετά καλογραμμένο (αν και εμφανώς δείχνει τα εκατόν πενήντα χρόνια του) και ατμοσφαιρικό, με κάποια ωραία σκηνικά που μπορούν να καθηλώσουν τους αναγνώστες, όμως επίσης σε σημεία το βρήκα ολίγον τι βαρετό, αργό, καθώς επίσης γενικά μάλλον προβλέψιμο. Και θα χαρακτήριζα τον βασικό πρωταγωνιστή υπερβολικά αφελή, για την ακρίβεια εγκληματικά αφελή. Πάντως γενικά πέρασα καλά, απόλαυσα τα μάλα την όλη ατμόσφαιρα και το ταξίδι στον χρόνο που μου προσέφερε, αλλά σίγουρα από άποψη πλοκής και χαρακτήρων έχει τα προβληματάκια του. Υ.Γ. Είναι πραγματικά κρίμα που δεν έχει μεταφραστεί στα ελληνικά το πολυσέλιδο "Uncle Silas", ένα από τα πολύ κλασικά γοτθικά μυθιστορήματα του 19ου αιώνα. Ελπίζω κάποια στιγμή να το δούμε και στη γλώσσα μας.
Sheridan le Fanu is known for his supernatural and horror novels, but this 1872 novel is more a novel of sordid crime and mystery, involving one of the murderous gangs that infested Paris soon after Waterloo and the Restoration of Louis XVIII, which brought back some of the old nobility. A foolish and wealthy young man travelling alone through Paris is infatuated by a lovely young woman. But she, alas, Belongs to Another. And though the young man is warned several times by kindly and disinterested persons to beware of the glitter of a renascent Paris, he stumbles blindly and naively to his doom, awakening to his danger when it is literally too late.
For all its exaggeration and stage trickery, le Fanu captures the mood of the city immediately after Waterloo: the triumphant gloating of the Allied tourists, the bitter hostility of the French (excepting for the merchants, who saw only profits in the cultural invasion following the military), the liveliness and splendour of the newly restored court as well the sinister houses abandoned at the time of the Terror.
Este libro incluye dos de las cinco historias que Sheridan Le Fanu publicó en su libro "In a Glass Darkly" y que dedica a su personaje el doctor Martin Hesselius. Las otras tres historias se pueden encontrar en esta misma colección con el título de "Carmilla". En este volumen encontramos el relato "el juez Harbottle" y el cuento "La posada del dragón volador". El primero es un relato de fantasmas donde un implacable juez se convierte en acusado frente a una corte de entidades que no son de este mundo. Este relato debo reconocer que no es uno de mis favoritos de la serie ya que me aburrió leerlo. El segundo es una pequeña novela de mayor extensión y que cumple con muchos esteriotipos del relato gótico, la mujer bella y misteriosa, edificios decadentes llenos de sombras y secretos, paseos bajo la luz de la luna y evocadoras ruinas. Este lo disfruté más y sin duda lo recomiendo.