Book Description
In the final volume of Anne Rice's deliciously tantalizing erotic trilogy, Beauty's adventures on the dark side of sexuality make her the bound captive of an Eastern Sultan and a prisoner in the exotic confines of the harem. In Beauty's Release, Anne Rice makes the forbidden side of passion a doorway into the hidden regions of the psyche and the heart.
Customer Reviews:
Light your smokes!.......2007-10-01
The ending was just as hot and wonderful as the beginning. This series is worth keeping as a collection item. I have not read anything this good since the Happy Hooker series. Anne Rice rocks!
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The third installment in Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy is more of the same. The device here is that a group of the slavelings are taken to an Arabian style harem setting and used there, in much the same way as they were used in the previous book.
Unsurprisingly, they like quite a bit of it. At the end, Beauty has to decide who she will settle down with.
Utterly erotic and intriguing.......2007-08-21
Wonderful conclusion to a very sexy trilogy. I could not put it down and have re-read the series 3 times now. Yes it is very graphic erotica, however, it still bears Anne's signature writing style. So eloquent, so delishiously wicked. I could go on and on...
So Inteaging.......2007-08-18
i love the psycology of what occurs in a persons inner self through BDsM. i loved the series of Claiming Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment and Beauty's Release. And it ends perfectly.
Oh my Beauty is released!.......2007-04-20
Finally the end of the sexcapades for beauty or is it..Although I enjoyed the trilogy..Im glad that it's over. I'm almost embarrassed by the thought of actually enjoying these books. But like I said in the last reviews....if you are timid don't bother reading this books. The vampire chronicles it is not.
Customer Reviews:
timeless stories for children.......2007-03-09
These stories from Gertrude Chandler Warner are a wonderful escape into a child right dream world. My children (7 and 8 years old) love them and listen to them over and over again.
I really do recommend them as a great alternative to too much TV and video games. The beautiful thing is that the children can play with something, like model magic, and listen to the stories.
Try it!!!
Average customer rating:
- You've seen Karloff, now read the original
- Free SF Reader
- Frankenstein: The Good and the Bad
- Still the best
- Gothic at its best
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Frankenstein (Bantam Classics)
Mary Shelley
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
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1984 (Signet Classics)
ASIN: 0553212478
Release Date: 1984-05-01 |
Amazon.com
Frankenstein, loved by many decades of readers and praised by such eminent literary critics as Harold Bloom, seems hardly to need a recommendation. If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece. As fantasy writer Jane Yolen writes of this (the reviewer's favorite) edition, "The strong black and whites of the main text [illustrations] are dark and brooding, with unremitting shadows and stark contrasts. But the central conversation with the monster--who owes nothing to the overused movie image … but is rather the novel's charnel-house composite--is where [Barry] Moser's illustrations show their greatest power ... The viewer can all but smell the powerful stench of the monster's breath as its words spill out across the page. Strong book-making for one of the world's strongest and most remarkable books." Includes an illuminating afterword by Joyce Carol Oates.
Book Description
"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a runaway imagination--fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life--conspired to produce for Marry Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, Frankenstein.
Written in 1816 when she was only nineteen, Mary Shelley's novel of "The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, Frankenstein remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind.
Customer Reviews:
You've seen Karloff, now read the original.......2007-10-08
Once you read Shelley's classic you're going to scratch your head and wonder: Is this really the book that gave us the Karloff movie? Not to mention Herman Munster and Frankenberry. For over a century and half people have been cannibalizing this book for ideas, movies, other books, and products of every size, shape and type that our modern concept of Frankenstein holds little to no resemblence to the master work. While occasionally these bastardizations have had enjoyable results, like Young Frankenstein, it's criminal that so few people are unfamiliar with the source. Do yourself a favor and find out where it all came from. It's not nearly as creepy as you may think, but it's infinitely more thought provoking and it certainly doesn't hurt that this version is beautifully published at a very reasonable price.
Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
It is pretty surprising that something come up with almost on a whim to
provide a diversion has come to be such an important text for two
genres, both horror and science fiction.
Victor Frankenstein's obsession with the creation of life ultimately ends in tragedy and death for those around him.
Frankenstein: The Good and the Bad.......2007-04-29
One reason why I don't like this book is because I don;t like scarcy books, but this is a very interesting book. I also think that it is totally cool that a woman wrote it because that proves that women can like spooky stories even if most don't.
Still the best.......2007-04-15
Somehow, 175 years after it was first written, this story keeps holding our attention. Not just that, it says more to our modern world than it ever said before.
Popularized versions of this story lack all the depth of Shelley's original. Yes, her monster was physically huge, powerful, and respulsive. In her version, though, he's a thinking, feeling, and deeply intelligent person. He is deeply hurt by the universal, unreasoning loathing that judges only his face - even from the man who created him. The creation has a majestic capacity for affection but, in a credible transformation of emotional alchemy, that whole capacity turns to rage. He is not an image of hate, but a mirror of it.
The hubristic biotechnologist has an immediacy today that Shelley could scarcely have imagined. So, I think, does the vengeful lashing out by people who feel they have suffered grievous wrongs, leading to a deadly spiral of increasing hatred by all parties. I just hope that current readers will take the time needed to absorb this book properly - it was never paced for today's ADD-driven generation.
//wiredweird
Gothic at its best.......2006-12-16
Mary Shelley was the daughter of the famous feminist and author, Mary Wollstonecraft, who is best known for her work The Vindication of the Rights of Women. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a young university student, Victor Frankenstein, obsesses with wanting to know the secret to life. He studies chemistry and natural philosophy with the goal of being able to create a human out of spare body parts. After months of constant work in his laboratory, Frankenstein attains his goal and brings his creation to life. Frankenstein is immediately overwrought by fear and remorse at the sight of his creation, a "monster." The next morning, he decides to destroy his creation but finds that the monster has escaped. The monster, unlike other humans, has no social preparation or education; thus, it is unequipped to take care of itself either physically or emotionally. The monster lives in the forest like an animal without knowledge of "self" or understanding of its surroundings. The monster happens upon a hut inhabited by a poor family and is able to find shelter in a shed adjacent to the hut. For several months, the monster starts to gain knowledge of human life by observing the daily life of the hut's inhabitants through a crack in the wall. The monster's education of language and letters begins when he listens to one of them learning the French language. During this period, the monster also learns of human society and comes to the realization that he is grotesque and alone in the world. Armed with his newfound ability to read, he reads three books that he found in a leather satchel in the woods. Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther, Milton's Paradise Lost, and a volume of Plutarch's Lives. The monster, not knowing any better, read these books thinking them to be facts about human history. From Plutarch's works, he learns of humankind's virtues. However, it is Paradise Lost that has a most interesting effect on the monster's understanding of self. The monster at first identifies with Adam, "I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence." The monster, armed only with his limited education, thought that he would introduce himself to the cottagers and depend on their virtue and benevolence; traits he believed from his readings that all humans possessed. However, soon after his first encounter with the cottagers, he is beaten and chased off because his ugliness frightens people. The monster is overwrought by a feeling of perplexity by this reaction, since he thought he would gain their trust and love, which he observed them generously give to each other on so many occasions. He receives further confirmation of how his ugliness repels people when, sometime later, he saves a young girl from drowning and the girl's father shoots at him because he is frightful to look at. The monster quickly realizes that the books really lied to him. He found no benevolence or virtue among humans, even from his creator. At every turn in his life, humans are judging him solely based on his looks. The monster soon realizes that it is not Adam, the perfect being enjoying the world, which he is most alike. Instead, he comes to realize that he most represents Satan. The monster is jealous of the happiness he sees humans enjoy that he has never attained for himself. The monster tells Frankenstein that he found his lab journal in his coat pocket and read it with increasing hate and despair as he came to understand what Frankenstein's intent was in creating him. The monster curses Frankenstein for making a creature so hideous that even his creator turned from him in disgust.
Shelley's intent here is plain to see. "The fate of the monster suggests that proficiency in `the art of language' as he calls it, may not ensure one's position as a member of the `human kingdom." In a sense, she is showing that both her parents were mistaken when they advocated greater education reform for people. They thought education would make people better, which in turn would improve society for all. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein contradicts this belief.
Starting with the full title of Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus one can instantly see that mythology was integral to her book. Lord Byron, poet and friend of the Shelley's was writing a poem entitled Prometheus, and Mary was reading the Prometheus legend in Aeschylus' works when she had a dream, which was the impetus for her book. The Greek god Prometheus, is known for two important tasks that he performed, he created man from clay, and he stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The stealing of fire really angered Zeus because the giving of fire began an era of enlightenment for humankind. Zeus punished Prometheus by having him carried to a mountain, where an eagle would pick at his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again
.
The presence of fire and light in this gothic story helps to point to the similarities to Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, in Shelley's book. The book uses light as a symbol of discovery, knowledge, and enlightenment. The natural world is full of hidden passages, and dark unknown scientific secrets; Victor's goal as a scientist is to grasp towards the light. Light is a by-product of fire that the monster learned quickly when he is living on his own. The monster experienced fires' duality when he first encountered it in an unattended fire in the woods. He is mesmerized by the fact that fire produces light in the darkness in the woods, but is shocked at the sensation of pain it gives him when he touches it. Victor is defiant of god in the same way that Prometheus was defiant of Zeus. Victor steals the secret of life from god and creates a human out of spare body parts. He does this out of an altruistic wish to spare humankind from the pain and suffering of death. Thus, Victor Frankenstein embodies both aspects of the Promethean myth creation and fire. Victor in a sense has the same experience with the fire of enlightenment similar to his monster; he is "burned" by the fire of enlightenment. Victor also suffers from the classic Greek tragic condition of hubris for his transgression against god and nature.
The book also adopts two other great mythic legends. One is Adam from the Bible. Victor Frankenstein bears striking resemblance to Adam and his fall from grace for eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The other is Satan, a mythic figure that Shelley admired from her readings in Milton's book Paradise Lost. In an interesting juxtaposition of booth myths, she expands on the motif of the fall from grace in her book when she portrays the monster comparing himself to Adam; after he read, Milton's book Paradise Lost. The monster tells Victor, that he at first identifies with Adam God's first creation. "I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence." However, after several incidents of mistreatment that he suffered from the humans he encountered in his travels; the monster soon realized that it is not Adam, the perfect being enjoying the world, which he was most alike. Instead, he came to realize that he most represented Satan. The monster's feelings of hatred and despair stem from the fact that humans found him grotesque to look at and would not accept him as a member of human society. The monster cursed Victor for making a creature so hideous that even his creator turned from him in disgust. Thus, it is obvious for all to see that Shelley's Frankenstein is replete with mythological references and they are central to the plot.
This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy, and literature.
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- Scheherazade-orama
- "Like an Echo in the Engulfing Darkness"
- Fired out of the canon?
- Many layered tales
- Best 19th Century Stories written in the 20th Century
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Seven Gothic Tales (Modern Library)
Isak Dinesen
Manufacturer: Modern Library
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Winter's Tales
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ASIN: 0679600868
Release Date: 1994-03-15 |
Book Description
Originally published in 1934, Seven Gothic Tales, the first book by "one of the finest and most singular artists of our time" (The Atlantic), is a modern classic. Here are seven exquisite tales combining the keen psychological insight characteristic of the modern short story with the haunting mystery of the nineteenth-century Gothic tale, in the tradition of writers such as Goethe, Hoffmann, and Poe.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Scheherazade-orama.......2007-08-08
dinesen/blixen was a true, living Scheherazade. this is an astounding collection of stories within stories within stories within stories. beautifully, elegantly written and set in various european locales, starring wonderfully alive characters straight out of fairytales, dreams and myth. these are strange, magical narratives (novellas, to be a stickler) with a modern sensibility. brimming with metaphors that will make you pause. kind of a cross between e.t.a. hoffman and a.s. byatt. definitely going to read more of her stuff.
"Like an Echo in the Engulfing Darkness".......2006-01-31
These are strangely compelling stories, all of which evoke a sense of mystery and poetry. Floods and monkeys, skulls and puppet shows, vie with each other and figure here in short works that are too realistic for fables but too bizarre to be mistaken for reality.
Gothic surrealism might be the best way to describe the tone achieved by the author, whose real name was Karen Blixen (made familiar to modern audiences by the film "Out of Africa"). This is a reissue of a volume that first appeared in 1934.
Borrowing the author's phrase, each story is "like an echo in the engulfing darkness." Atmospheric and brooding, these tales are part Poe and part Brothers Grimm. Exotic in characterization as well as setting, we are introduced to a polyglot collection of virgin nuns and wandering n'er do wells, who cling to rooftops and journey on rhino-horn laden dhows.
Escape from the ordinary world is promised and delivered, but somehow, the people in these stories also remind us of people we know and situations that might not be as straightforward as we have assumed. A scarf may not be a scarf. The wind may be more than the wind. A scarf blown in the wind recalls to one character the memory of a little white snake -- madness is hinted at, at every turn.
They are seven distinctive tales. Yet, the evocation of place, the depiction of eccentricity, the precariousness of life, suffuse them all. They are magnetic and memorable. Even so, some readers may find the tales a bit too weird for their tastes.
If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.
Fired out of the canon?.......2005-03-21
Why isn't I. Dinesen's work more widely known and accepted in the modernist pantheon? Her reputation seems to have settled into that of oddball literary personality and vehicle for Meryl Streep, however the work itself would have eluded me, despite a decent education in high school and university (for example, I was given Hesse and Camus to read in 10th grade, why not Isak?)had I not been attracted to this title in a dusty library. The work is about as anti-Hollywood as I could possibly imagine. Perhaps the answer is, she is not really a modernist but some sort of high baroque romanticist belonging more in the 19th century world of German prose; the "layering of stories" effect, especially in "Roads to Pisa", reads like she is channeling the world of Jan Potocki, enigmatic author of "The Saragossa Manuscript," who like Casanova moved in that incredible world of the international bohemian intellectual elite that Rexroth describes so well somewhere in one of his essays; that world of post-chaises and midnight rendezvous and military officers with seemingly endless resources of money, brains, education and cunning ... in fact "Saragossa" and Casanova's "Memoirs" were the books that came to my mind as I read her...reading this stuff is like eating a chocolate eclair with a brain more powerful than yours will ever be...why aren't there writers like this anymore? Was it all only a dream?
Many layered tales.......2004-03-17
This is a demanding work of seven multilayered and esoteric stories in this, Dinesen's first book.
We know of Dinesen more commonly by way of Meryl Streep, who played Dinesen, or the Baroness Karen Blixen, in "Out of Africa." But the woman we find here as the author of these stories is no easily-understood, Hollywood character. Her stories within stories are rich in symbolism, imagination, and a "long ago and far away" feeling that is carefully, carefully, controlled by the author. Dinesen wrote some of these tales in Africa, and finished others along with ordering the book back home in Denmark, after her farm had failed. She wrote, interestingly, in English (and did her own translations back into Danish later on). Many books follow this one, including LAST TALES and, of course, OUT OF AFRICA. Dinesen, while the heroic, strong, individualist of Streep's portrayal, is also kind of strange, introspective, and fabulously bizarre. She uses her stories' plot lines as a means, one feels, to work out her life philosophies, reshape and recast ideas and symbolic imagery, and impart creative insights. After getting to about the fourth or fifth story, one can see that she uses the same imagery repeatedly and even the same turns of phrase.
I have read this volume at least once before, and wanted to go through it again knowing just that much more literature and biblical references. (It helps to be well read in the classics when reading Dinesen.) Anything is up for her use, and if you don't see it, something will be lost to you as you interpret the stories and what they meant, or even, what happened. She loves Shakespeare (OUT OF AFRICA was written in five sections, after the five-act structure of Shakespearian drama), and Don Giovanni, she has interesting ideas about femininity and independent women, and symbolizes these issues with women who are doll-like, women who seem as if they can fly, women who are witches in some way or another, etc. She likes to toy with the mind of God, as well, having characters pronounce his proclivities, likes and dislikes, etc., quite often. I found these to be some of the most interesting passages, after some of the gender-defining ones, that is. (She chose her pseudonym, "Isak," as it is Hebrew for "He who laughs" and she definitely plays with many ideas here, many humorously.)
Of the seven tales (The Old Chevalier, The Roads Round Pisa, The Monkey, The Supper at Elsinore, The Dreamers, The Poet, and The Deluge at Norderney), The Roads Round Pisa is my favorite, and I have studied it for a graduate class. In the book, a mistake is the central event, and we learn of it only at the end. Our main character, Count Augustus Von Schimmelmann, is writing a letter to a friend, when a carriage accident occurs in front of him. An old woman, who seemed at first to him to be a man, is injured and asks that he go and seek out her granddaughter so that she may forgive her for an estrangement before she dies, as she believes she will do shortly. Augustus sets out for Pisa and in an inn meets a young man, with whom he engages in an interesting conversation. Soon, however, he finds out that this man is a woman, and whereas before he had been asking "him" for help in finding his way into the city, now he offers her his assistance as a gentleman. Their subsequent conversation holds a particularly compelling passage I have never forgotten. In it, Dinesen explicates a concept of women's differences, physically, psychologically and societally, from men through the artful use of the host and guest metaphor.
This passage is a key to the story's mood when toward the end the mistake around which the characters swirl is revealed. But the passage is also an interesting philosophical and societal analogy that provokes thought and discussion. This is, then, quintessential Dinesen.
The other stories deal with identity and loss (The Dreamers), a ghost who is allowed to rise up from hell whenever the sound between Denmark and Sweden freezes over (Supper at Elsinore), the mirage of lost love (The Old Chevalier), poetry and power (The Poet), the societal roles of women (The Monkey), and identity (The Deluge at Norderney), but these are very brief and basic categorizations. One could safely say that all the stories deal with many of the others' main themes. The book as a whole is an excellent study of the power of fiction to suggest and manipulate, with beautiful, evocative writing and deep and stirring underlying meanings. I recommend it.
Best 19th Century Stories written in the 20th Century.......2003-05-16
Years ago, I wrote a review on Amazon for Karen Blixen's _Winter's Tales_, where I observed that it was the equal of this book. I have no reason to revise that estimate, but feel I should point out that this book is extremely fine, and should not be ignored by people who like good writing and aren't scared off by a bit of melodrama.
The title of this review tries to make a small point: Blixen didn't write her stories with notions of the prevailing literary fashions in mind. She wrote them as she felt them, and she used a style and technique that harken back to earlier writers. In her introduction to the book, Dorothy Canfield, attempting to characterise this style, made reference to an array of writers from E.T.A. Hoffmann to Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas Mann. Although I think the reference to Mann has merit, the truth is Blixen was genuinely unique. She doesn't really have any real imitators, either, although I've seen a number of writers allude to being influenced by her.
Back to this book: it was her first volume of short stories. Not many writers hit gold on their first book, but Blixen managed it. There was no 'prentice work as prelude, just a stream of mature works of art from this book onward.
And, goodness, she could *write*. The prose is eloquent, forceful, and full of striking phrases and observations. The stories are all set in the 19th Century, and many contains elements of the gothic (hence the title) and sometimes the gruesome, as well as modernist irony and psychological insight. When it comes to characters, plots, and situations, virtually everything in the book seems beyond the ordinary. Clearly, the writer wasn't afraid to take chances. The amazing thing is that she wins most of her fictional gambles.
The first story in the book is "The Deluge at Norderney," where we have a cast of characters that seem out of Hoffmann by way of Byron, put into an extreme situation, and forced to come to terms with questions of illusion and reality in life. This story is my absolute favorite; it may not be the "best." It certainly sets the tone.
Besides "The Deluge...", the stories I'd single out for special praise are "The Monkey," "The Poet," "The Supper at Elsinore," and "The Roads Round Pisa." The remaining 2 stories in the book are a pleasure to read, although I don't feel that "The Dreamers" entirely comes off; Blixen reused the heroine of this story later in ways that lead me to think she was invested with some sort of personal significance for the author; perhaps that's why it seems less well controlled. The shortest story, "The Old Chevalier," is pleasant but feels slighter both in size and content than its companions.
Blixen's other books of stories are interesting-to-fascinating. Each book has its attractions. Admirers of this book might find _Winter's Tales_ worth their time. _Anecdotes of Destiny_, which contains "Babette's Feast" and "Tempests," is fine collection, too, and has grown on me with the years. It isn't quite at the level of achievement of _Seven Gothic Tales_ or _Winter's Tales_, but then, how many books of stories are?
Book Description
This selection of twenty-one short stories by M.R. James--a first-class writer of supernatural fiction--represents his best work, including "Count Magnus," "The Rose Garden," "The Uncommon Prayer-book," "Rats," "The Malice of Inanimate Objects," and "A Vignette," as well as the title
story.
Customer Reviews:
Write a Review, and I'll Come to You, My Lad........2007-02-01
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
Tho' father and mither should baith gae mad,
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad.
(Burns.)
Over the last Twenty years I've purchased many books and got rid of many (After reading them then donating them to charity shops),but this is the only one I've repurchased.
I could never get the scenarios and characters out of my head,the way M R James succinctly describes a scene or a, "terrifying agent of supernatural malice" have resided in my head as much as I would have liked them to leave.
If lots of Gore is your thing you may be disappointed by these stories, but for those of us who like a well written story told with panache and subtlety,then these are for us.
~~~~
For several years in the early 70's when the BBC made "A Ghost Story for Christmas" it was always the M R James stories that disturbed me the most. But even though I was disturbed by them I was always too fascinated to switch the TV off,and whilst the BBC interpretations were good they never quite captured the atmosphere of the written page.
Most of the "Heroes"(For want of a better word)of these stories are intellectuals from the dusty halls of some Academy or other,who are afflicted by intellectual pride or the even graver sin (In M R James stories)of curiosity!
My personal favourites are "The Mezzotint",and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to you, my Lad".
The endings of a few of these stories are not completely resolved, and it's because of that, they stay in the mind longer.
It has always amused me that some of the most creepy and ungodly stories ever written in the English language were written by this most devout Christian.
For maximum effect to be read late at night, and by candlelight!
Spooky as all get up.......2005-03-03
I bought this book in Paris. It was the cheapest most interesting book in English, so I grabbed it for the flight. It's one of the best book buys I've ever had.
This stuff is genuinely spooky. There are images here
that will stick with you for a long time, and this guy puts in a lot of interesting historical details that make
the stories seem all the more plausible. Can't
recommend this book enough.
Perfect.......2004-11-22
I first read these stories when I was 13, and after 40 years, they still flash into my mind if I have to walk a dark road at night. Where authors like King and Straub (excellent in their own ways in the genre)need to float gruesome stuff our way to be effective, James does it all with mood. Even if ghost stories are not something you like, these are worth reading just to observe his beautiful use of the English language. I recommend this collection highly.
Most but not all of MRJ's supernatural stories.......2003-08-10
If you don't want to pay big bucks for Ash-Tree Press's "A Pleasing Terror" (2001), the complete and heavily annotated supernatural writings of M. R. James (MRJ), then this book might be the next best thing. Cox has collected most of MRJ's stories in this volume and has added a short but decent introduction to this master of the antiquarian ghost story.
The following stories are included in this book:
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book"--The classical MRJ invocation of a scholar who unwittingly opens the wrong book and pays horribly for his misadventure.
"The Mezzotint"--A collector of topographical pictures purchases a mezzotint with a view of a manor-house from the early part of the eighteenth century. The picture slowly evolves through a story of murder and revenge from beyond the grave.
"Number 13"--A scholar settles into a Danish hotel to research the town's ecclesiastical history and learns more than he ever wanted to know about a bishop who sold his soul to Satan.
"Count Magnus"-- Another story (along with "Number 13") that may have had its origin in MRJ's trips to Scandinavia. Mr. Wraxall, the scholarly hero of this tale dooms himself by reading a forbidden treatise of alchemy and expressing a wish to meet its long-dead (or not so dead) Swedish author.
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'"-- A Professor takes a golfing vacation on England's East Coast, and agrees to take a look at the site of an ancient Templars' preceptory for an archeologically-inclined friend of his. He finds a whistle inscribed in medieval Latin.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas"-- Mr. Somerton deciphers a text from a medieval Latin history and an inscription in the painted-glass window of a private chapel, then goes on a treasure hunt in Germany.
"A School Story"-- MRJ was a dean at King's College, Cambridge and he supposedly wrote this story to entertain the King's College Choir. In this tale two middle-aged men are reminiscing about ghosts at boys' schools, and one relates a story of a schoolboy's revenge on a murderous master.
"The Rose Garden"-- Features one of MRJ's less sympathetic female characters. The overbearing Mrs. Anstruther gets her supernatural comeuppance when she insists upon the removal of an old oak post in the rose garden.
"The Tractate Middoth"-- The young Mr. Garrett is asked to find a copy of the "Tractate Middoth" in a "certain famous library" and stumbles upon a cobwebby mystery. Find yourself a quiet, unpopulated corner in the stacks of an old library and see if you can read this story without looking behind you.
"Casting the Runes"-- One of MRJ's most collected stories along with "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad." This is a tale of a man who unwittingly angers a sorcerer, who is assumed by some Monty scholars to be based on the self-styled 'Great Beast,' occultist Aleister Crowley.
"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral"-- The Venerable John Benwell Haynes succeeds to his new ecclesiastical position upon the mysterious demise of Archdeacon Pulteney in 1810, but does not find much enjoyment in his new job. In fact, the archdeacon's stall with its carvings of a cat, the King of Hell, and Death becomes a particularly haunting spot for the new prelate.
"Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance"-- Once installed as the new master of his deceased uncle's estate, Mr. Humphreys discovers the plan to an overgrown maze on his property. He decides to investigate the old landscaping feature after stumbling across a set of stone blocks that were once part of the maze. He reconstructs the inscription on them to read: "Penetrans Ad Interior Mortis."
"The Diary of Mr Poynter"--A book collector finds a sample of fabric in an old diary and decides to have it reproduced as curtains for his bedroom.
"An Episode of Cathedral History"--Mr. Lake is deputed to examine the archives of the Cathedral of Southminster, and is curious to see what the ancient building looks like at night. He hears the tale of a rather plain altar-tomb and what transpired when a Victorian Dean attempted to move it.
"The Uncommon Prayer-book"-- Mr. Davidson strikes up a conversation with an old gentleman on a train and is invited to view a disused Chapel. MRJ engulfs his reader in quaint British dialects in this story of a prayer book that would not stay shut.
"A Neighbour's Landmark"-- A gentleman spends a wet August afternoon in his host's library and discovers an old pamphlet with two lines from a country song, "That which walks in Betton Wood/ Knows why it walks or why it cries." When the weather clears, he explores the part of his friend's property that used to be called 'Betton Wood.'
"A Warning to the Curious"--A young man discovers the hiding place of an ancient crown of East Anglia and is haunted by his finding. As in many of MRJ's stories, curiosity is severely punished.
"Rats"--This story almost ruined quaint English inns for me. It has nothing to do with rats and you will wish that it had.
"The Experiment"-- First published in "The Morning Post" in 1931 and uncollected in MRJ's lifetime. A horrid little tale of murder and buried treasure.
"The Malice of Inanimate Objects"--Morbidly humorous story that starts out with the retelling of a fairy tale and ends in death.
"A Vignette"-- This might be a childhood recollection rather than a work of fiction. It has no plot and the setting very much resembles the rectory at Livermere Park where MRJ grew up.
Chilling Tales for a Winter's Night.......2002-01-08
As a fan of Victorian gothic fiction, this anthology delivers all that it promises. M.R. James is the king of creating a world of unexplainable situations. However, his endings leave the reader with many questions. Thus, when the reader puts the book down, she is left with the pleasant, tingling feeling of fear. If you like understatement and are a Radcliffe or Monk Lewis fan, then give M.R. James a chance.
Book Description
The Haunted Looking Glass is the late Edward Gorey's selection of his favorite tales of ghosts, ghouls, and grisly goings-on. It includes stories by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, M. R. James, W. W. Jacobs, and L. P. Hartley, among other masters of the fine art of making the flesh creep, all accompanied by Gorey's inimitable illustrations.
ALGERNON BLACKWOOD, "The Empty House"
W.F. HARVEY, "August Heat"
CHARLES DICKENS, "The Signalman"
L.P. HARTLEY, "A Visitor from Down Under"
R.H. MALDEN, "The Thirteenth Tree"
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, "The Body-Snatcher"
E. NESBIT, "Man-Size in Marble"
BRAM STOKER, "The Judge's House"
TOM HOOD, "The Shadow of a Shade"
W.W. JACOBS, "The Monkey's Paw,"
WILKIE COLLINS, "The Dream Woman"
M.R. JAMES, "Casting the Runes"
Customer Reviews:
Edward Gorey's favorite Ghost Stories.......2007-01-04
C'mon. Handpicked by Edward Gorey. Served up on a silver spoon.
What are you waiting for?
Great Collection of Ghost Stories - Enhanced with Gorey's Illustrations.......2005-09-21
Edward Gorey's Haunted Looking Glass may be my all time favorite collection of ghost stories. All twelve selections are well-crafted, frightening tales. With the exception of two classics, The Body-Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Signalman by Charles Dickens, these stories are not unduly familiar. Each story is enhanced by a haunting illustration in the inimitable style of Edward Gorey himself.
The other ten stories include The Empty House (Algernon Blackwood), August Heat (W. F. Harvey), A Visitor from Down Under (L. P. Hartley), The Thirteenth Tree (R. H. Malden), Man-Size in Marble (E. Nesbit), The Judge's House (Bram Stoker), The Shadow of a Shade (Tom Hood), The Monkey's Paw (W. W. Jacobs), The Dream Woman (Wilkie Collins), and Casting the Runes (M. R. James).
These stories all qualify as truly frightening stories, ones that you will remember. Many anthologies of ghost stories suffer from one of three problems: the stories are not very frightening, the selections are uneven in quality, or the stories are good, but they are all familiar classics. Edward Gorey avoided all three pitfalls.
Edward Gorey's Haunted Looking Glass was first published in 1959, then reprinted in 1984 by Avenel Books (my copy), and is now available as a New York Review of Books Classic (2001). This book would make a great gift for Halloween, or for that matter any time of the year.
Spooky Tales for a Late Night.......2003-05-11
This is one of the most interesting books I've read of late, I must say. It's a collection of short fiction from the turn of the last century, writer Edward Gorey's favorites, and they range from odd to downright spooky. It begins with explorers in a haunted house, and over 250 pages manages to cover much of the breadth of late Victorian English ghost stories.
Each tale is definitely unique. A couple involve haunted houses, some demons from hell, mysterious magic, ancient curses, strange events, and normal humans on the underbelly of society, afflicted with a dose of the supernatural. There are both long ones, nearly novellas, and more succinct pieces. None are truly gruesome or horrifying, with the exception of "The Body-Snatcher", but rare are the pages that will not send chills down your spine. These writers were the masters of their times, thrilling audiences from newspapers and bookstands. These are tales to be told in the cover of darkness, where the shadow takes firm grip upon the soul of the unwary, tales to be told aloud, for the chuckle and boom of a voice will bring their ghosts to life.
To those who would enjoy such tales, and I believe that includes a very wide range, this book is probably one of the best samplers of the genre, a solid footstep from which more can be found. Certainly several of the authors I've already sought out more from. At least some of the stories are bound to appeal to almost anyone, especially on a foggy night around a fireplace. Some are better than anything I've ever read from Stephen King and other modern dealers of this type. Not to mention that I simply enjoyed the archaic dialect of these, being a fan of the old styles. You will not regret picking this book up, as it so forcefully captures the imagination. Not all so captured me, but as I said, variety is the key here, and something is bound to appeal to everyone.
My personal favorites were probably Harvey's "August Heat" and James' "Casting the Runes", on opposite ends of the book, nicely pulling me in and leading me out. "Heat" is short, sweltering, and eerie, ending in such a way that is simply too powerful; "Runes" about a the thrilling unraveling of a mystery surrounding a warlock who hexed a man. "The Thirteenth Tree" is perhaps not the most exciting, but definitely is mysterious. The title of "A Visitor From Down Under" has a double meaning, and the story embodies the psychadelia and madness of the period. Rats both haunt and protect a university student in "The Judges House", but little can stop the real horror that lives there. In "The Monkey's Paw" one wish brings ruin on a family, and a second used in desperation seems to bode more... "The Empty House" casts its siren call over an old woman, who brings her nephew in only to witness an invisible murder. The namesake of "The Signalman" has some ability to see future accidents. And in the bloody "Body-Snatcher", medical college students must take criminal steps to ensure a supply of cadavers, until one turns on them.
The Gorey Looking Glass.......2001-08-19
I bought my copy of, The Haunted Looking Glass, when it was first published in 1959. I still read out of it but the pages are brittle and yellowed. As a teacher I recommended it to my kids for halloween reading and they managed to find hardbound copies for 5 bucks each and they devoured it just as I did. Edward Gorey published several books under the "Looking Glass Library" label and I regret not buying them up. It is a collection of pretty strong ghost stories that provide a good start for a young ghost story reader. It is also a set of ghost story classics that belongs on the shelf of any genre collector. Many of the stories such as W.F. Harvey's, "August Heat," are frequently anthologized but some like E. Nesbit's, "Man Sized in Marble," are rare and truely eerie. I am sorry that the new edition of The Haunted Looking Glass was not was not printed in hardback. My copy crumbles a little every time I touch it and with Halloween coming it has stories that beg to be read. Savor M. R. James' "Casting the Runes" and experience the three-wish-curse formula in W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw."
Victorian Creepy Crawlies.......2001-08-05
Edward Gorey's quirky and often macabre drawings have been delighting his fans for two generations. In "The Haunted Looking Glass," we find another set of apposite illustrations to accompany his collection of his favourite ghost stories. Recently re-released in the excellent New York Review of Books Classics series, readers will find it to be an agreeably discomforting guided tour through some of the high spots of the golden age of ghost story writing, the Victorian and Edwardian period. There are worthy old chesnuts such as "Casting the Runes" and "The Monkey's Paw" and "August Heat," as well as unexpected gems from E. Nesbit ("Man-size in Marble") and Bram Stoker ("The Judge's House"). A contribution from Charles Dickens ("The Signalman") is especially memorable. This is a wonderful collection of stories, and readers are urged to find out for themselves what lurks within the haunted looking glass!
Book Description
An unparalleled selection of fiction from H. P. Lovecraft, master of the American horror tale
Long after his death, H. P. Lovecraft continues to enthrall readers with his gripping tales of madness and cosmic terror, and his effect on modern horror fiction continues to be felt-- Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker have acknowledged his influence. His unique contribution to American literature was a melding of Poe's traditional supernaturalism with the emerging genre of science fiction. Originally appearing in pulp magazines like Weird Tales in the 1920s and 1930s, Lovecraft's work is now being regarded as the most important supernatural fiction of the twentieth century.
Lovecraft's biographer and preeminent interpreter, S. T. Joshi, has prepared this volume of eighteen stories--from the early classics like "The Outsider" and "Rats in the Wall" to his mature masterworks, "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." The first paperback to include the definitive corrected texts, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style, and establishes him as a canonical--and visionary--American writer.
"I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale." --Stephen King
Customer Reviews:
Skillfully anthologized and skillfully written. Haunting tales that encompass the Cthulhu mythos. Highly recommended.......2007-10-01
NOTE: This review is specific to "The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)".
As one of the three Penguin Classic Lovecraft anthologies, The Call of Cthulhu collects the stories that lead up to and include the Cthulhu Mythos, arranged in chronological order with introduction and explanatory notes for each story from the anthologizer, S.T. Joshi. Joshi does an exceptional job selecting stories that create a coherent narrative through Lovecraft's early work, developing themes, and final strong stories; his annotations are interesting and useful both to the casual and studious reader. Lovecraft's writing itself is also exceptional: in this wide selection of short stories, he explores issues of miscegenation, scientific exploration, and the discoveries of the great beyond--from the reaches out outer space to the depths of the sea, wherein ancient inhuman forces lurk, threatening those that come too close to the truth. Skill and quality differs from story to story but is universally high, and Lovecraft's tones are delightfully dark and threatening, occasionally humorous, and always otherworldy. This collection is greatly enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
The Penguin Classics anthologies divide Lovecraft's work into three collections, all edited by S.T. Joshi, all collecting short stories that address central themes in Lovecraft's work. Obviously, this compilation focuses on the Cthulhu Mythos, beginning with Dagon and moving through stories of life beyond death (Herbert West--Reeanimator), miscregation (The Shadow over Innsmouth), life from space (The Whisperer in the Dark), and life from the depths (The Call of Cthulhu). The collection is complete, with a clear focus, and indicates an active development of the theme as Lovecraft's writing matures. Joshi's additions are skillful: each story is given an introduction in the notes, mentioning its place in Lovecraft's career, relevant information, and present themes; the annotations (through numbered footnotes) are removed to the end of the text, maintaining the coherency of the printed stories and giving the reader the option of ignoring them altogether. The annotations run a bit overly-detailed and even off topic at times, but on the whole they are both interesting and useful. In short, Joshi's editing is exceptional, making this an accessible anthology as well as a useful resource.
More important than Joshi's editing is of course Lovecraft's writing. Lovecraft is a true artist of the horror genre; his work is considered classic for a reason. And perhaps none of it is more famous than the Cthulhu mythos, making this a true classic of the genre and a wonderful read. But my recommendation does not rest on how famous Lovecraft or these stories happen to be; rather, it rests on the fact that the writing is exceptional, enjoyable, and haunting. Some of the tropes become repetitive, and not all of the stories match others in quality or lasting impact, but on the whole this is an impressive collection of consistently high quality. The forces present in Lovecraft's writing are dark and insidious, hidden on the edges and in the crevices of human consciousness; those that seek them out find more than they bargain for--some are killed, some driven to madness or suicide. Lovecraft's stories move accordingly, building up auras of suspense, slowly revealing more ominous information, and often climaxing in names, entities, and fates that are all the more frightening for our own inability to comprehend them, pronounce, or describe them. Lovecraft uses words to introduce concepts that are beyond words, concepts that escape description. His writing is atmospheric, haunting, and skillful, and a true delight to read.
I came upon this text as a curious reader that had heard much about Lovecraft but never read his work and did not know where to begin. I was exceptionally pleased with this book, and believe it was an ideal introduction. The combination of Joshi's superb selections and editing and Lovecraft's exceptional writing make this a wonderful starting place, introducing some of Lovecraft's strongest themes, exploring them through his career, and including all number of classic stories. I was impressed with and greatly enjoyed this text, and I highly recommend it.
Great intro to HPL.......2007-08-15
This volume is the perfect introduction to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The Shadow Over Insmouth which was the inspiration for the movie Dagon is worth buying the entire volume. These stories chill you to the bone without being graphic and going for the cheap scare like modern horror tales. Lovecraft lets you use your imagination to let the tension build, and it leaves you thinking of fantastic possibilities long after you put the book down. I highly recommend this volume and the 2 additional Penguin Classic volumes which take in almost all of Lovecrafts major writings.
experience of reading.......2007-07-18
It took me a great deal of time to actually purchase some of Lovecraft's work. I was hearing a lot about it from numerous sources, mostly connected with science fiction, horror, weird imaginative cults and such things. Comic books often immersed themselves into the world that Lovecraft created. Being what it is it offered great many possibilities to explore, create, destroy or modify and never actually lose connection with Lovecraft's vision.
I find this vision strangely fascinating. There is certain richness in those maddening vision, in out-of-this-world words, in whispers from the darkness that makes the sane mane go insane. One can almost feel growing horror of Lovecraft's characters, one can feel threads of sanity breaking, one can feel paranoia, psychosis, fear, and one can connect with these characters.
Lovecraft is master of creating atmosphere. Deserted places, god forsaken cliffs and roads, lost secrets, all are there for reader to feel the weight of nightmares, heaviness of horror that may creep upon ones mind.
Yes, some of these stories are naive, some of them are really bad writing, most of them are predictable in terms of narrative. Yet, there are some which are strangely poetic and beautiful, like Nyarlathotep, and some which, despite great amount of naivete, portrays that feelings of no escape which are maddening and sad like Whisperer in the Darkness.
This edition is indeed "overly-edited" as someone said before, and many of the explanatory notes could be, without any damage to the edition, thrown out. Nevertheless, editor - S.T. Joshi, did great ammount of work and, for anyone who is looking into Lovecraft for reasons other than joy of readin, should start with this edition. It offers secondary literature, and thorough introduction.
So, if you don't mind sometimes peculiar language (after all this was written at the early 20th century), sometimes banal construction, and other kind of structural inadequacies and if you like strong visions, poetic heights, disturbing scenery, and hint of supernatural in everyday banality, than stories of H.P. Lovecraft are just what are you looking for,
AAAARRRGHHHH!!!!! JUST TELL ME THE ENDING!!!!!!!!.......2007-04-09
Well, this book covers just about every Lovecraft story you could want. I bought this book mainly for the story "The Call Of Cthulhu", after hearing about it in the movie "Dagon", and hearing stuff about it in a song or two. I'm not a big fan of reading, but it kept my attention. The only drawback is the damn cliff hangers! Yes, it makes for a dramatic ending, but also after a while kind of gets annoying (hence 4 stars instead of 5). Lovecraft's style of writing is quite different from other authors. But for me, it worked. The title is very accurate when it says "And Other Weird Stories". So be prepared. It's also a nice deviation from most of the other horror books out there today. About 98% of which seem to be about vampires. Each story is unique, in every aspect of the word.
Classic .......2007-03-24
H.P. Lovecraft is, in my opinion, on the same level as Edgar Allan Poe as far as short horror story writers are concerned. This book was the first material by him that I ever read, and I must proclaim that his writing style is nothing short of superb. The words he uses when constructing his elaborate sentences just seem so perfect that I can't help but be in awe. Another thing I love about Lovecraft is that he often describes the monster, but never too much. That way, the reader can create their own interpretation of what the monster looks like. My favorite stories here are "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," and of course, "The Call Of Cthulhu." Horror fans will love this.
Book Description
First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu.
The title Ugetsu monogatari (literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense.
The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rain has become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose.
Customer Reviews:
A Moonlight Drive with Ueda Akinari.......2007-01-10
Ueda Akinari's classic work of eerie fiction has been translated before quite a few times and always with obvious dedication and care, but when it comes right down to it this version by Anthony Chambers outdoes the others and will doubtlessly remain the definitive English "Tales of Moonlight and Rain" for some time. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with such a fine series of stories, each of which is really a masterpiece of storytelling; they may be strange, haunting, macabre, mysterious, or whimsical, but they're never dull, and it's no mystery why this Tokugawa classic still grips readers centuries later in Japan and abroad. Still, Chambers' rendition stands out in faithfully capturing Ueda's densely allusive, rich prose style with meticulous care, and indeed this is a key factor in elevating "Ugetsu Monogatari" above a host of other, similar works of the time. In so doing, Chambers has deliberately avoided overtranslating Ueda to sound English or twentieth-century, allowing the 18th-century Japanese flavor of the original to come to the fore. Paradoxically as it may seem at first blush, this makes the stories much more compelling actually. Just compare this passage as rendered by Leon Zolbrod (whose translation I've read and treasured for many years, so please no offense) with Chambers' more accurate rendition:
[ No sooner did he open the door of the sleeping chamber, than a demon thrust its head out at the priest. The projecting extremity was so huge that it filled the doorway, gleaming even whiter than newly fallen snow, with eyes like mirrors and horns like the bare boughs of a tree. The creature opened its mouth more than three feet wide; its crimson tongue darted, as if to swallow the priest in a single gulp.
'Horror!' cried the holy man, as he dropped the flask that he held in his hand. His legs no longer able to support him, he fell over backwards and crawled away, barely managing to escape.
'It's awful. The creature is a god of evil; my prayers are useless. If I hadn't got away on hands and knees, I'd surely have lost my life,' he said, losing consciousness.] (Zolbrod, page 180)
[He advanced toward the bedroom. The moment he opened the door, a giant snake thrust out its head and confronted him. And what a head this was! Filling the door frame, gleaming whiter than a pile of snow, its eyes like mirrors, its horns like leafless trees, its gaping mouth three feet across with a crimson tongue protruding, it seemed about to swallow him in a single furious gulp. He screamed and threw down the flask. Since his legs would not support him, he rolled about and then crawled and stumbled away, barely making his escape. To the others he said, "Terrible! It is a calamitous deity; how can a monk like me exorcise it? Were it not for these hands and feet, I would have lost my life." Even as he spoke, he lost consciousness.] (Chambers, page 178)
The first gets the point across fine, but the second just sort of grabs you somehow.
The extensive and exhaustive annotations, the interesting and informative introduction, and the fine reproductions of the original woodcut illustrations from the 1776 edition all add to the overall reading experience. I found the intro especially interesting in analyzing the total structure of the work, demonstrating that it's far from a random assortment tossed together; kind of like a symphony or a good concept album, each story reflects on and informs the others for a total effect. And in general, this book manages a wonderful synthesis of the scholarly and the literary that does full justice to Ueda's erudite and engaging moonlit, rainy tales.
A valuable translation, badly edited........2007-01-08
I was excited to see these stories were translated and waited six months for it to be finally published. I liked the scholarly and detailed introductions to each. The stories are subtle and engaging in a typical Japanese manner. I'd like to know who made the editorial decision to split the footnotes into two sections, one at the bottom of the page and the others at the end of the chapter. It makes for maddening reading, contantly have to refer to both in order to fully comprehend the story.
Average customer rating:
- Free SF Reader
- Merry Christmas Everyone!
- Charles Dickens for Children
- Patrick Stewart is perfect in this reading!
- Nasty McGreedy!
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A Christmas Carol (Bantam Classic)
Charles Dickens
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
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Binding: Paperback
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A Christmas Carol
ASIN: 0553212443
Release Date: 1986-11-01 |
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Patrick Stewart's one-man production of Dickens's A Christmas Carol played to sold-out audiences in New York and Los Angeles. In this studio recording based on those performances, Stewart is in rare form, using his considerable range of voices to play all roles, from the Ghost of Christmas past to Tiny Tim. It must be said that Stewart clearly enjoys playing Scrooge best of all--but isn't the villain always the most compelling character? Even if you feel that "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart," this rendition of Dickens's classic will get you in a Yuletide mood. (Running time: 2 hours, 2 cassettes) --C.B. Delaney
Book Description
Merry Christmas, everyone!
“Bah!” said Scrooge. “Humbug!”
With those famous words unfolds a tale that renews the joy and caring that are Christmas. Whether we read it aloud with our family and friends or open the pages on a chill winter evening to savor the story in solitude, Charles Dickens’s
A Christmas Carol is a very special holiday experience.
It is the one book that every year will warm our hearts with favorite memories of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future — and will remind us with laughter and tears that the true Christmas spirit comes from giving with love.
With a heartwarming account of Dickens’s first reading of the Carol, and a biographical sketch.
Customer Reviews:
Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The best of Charles Dickens' work. Ebenezer Scrooge is a bloke that pretty much anybody who came across him would classify as a miserable old coot.
When he is particularly miserable towards an employee at xmas, a few spooky spectral spirits take him to task.
Merry Christmas Everyone!.......2007-08-02
The classical unabridged version of this beloved Christmas tale is finally here!
Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' is the perfect holiday gift for a loved one! This book is recommeneded for kids of all ages!
:D Enjoy!
Charles Dickens for Children.......2007-06-22
After finishing the original text of "A Christmas Carol" my 6 yo child was begging for me to read the story to her. When searching for a version which would suitable for her I came across a copy of the DK Eyewitness Classic at our local public library. It was a hit with our child! The text is a close adaptation of the original text. Throughout the book there are sprinklings of historical facts which are linked to the story through "eyewitness" encounters. At the end of the book is a historical section which deals with the particular time period the story takes place. Plus there is a full page biography of the author. This is a fantastic way to introduce your children to classic literature.
Patrick Stewart is perfect in this reading!.......2007-05-18
Two of my most favorite things --- Patrick Stewart and A Christmas Carol. Now I get both in one! This CD was a remarkable rendition of A Christmas Carol. Given Patrick Stewart's English accent, it made it even better.
What can one say about this that isn't already known? Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol so there is no need to restate what it is about. If you have ever seen an episode of "Star Trek - Enterprise", you know what the voice of Patrick Stewart sounds like. So, I will only say imagine the English setting of the story and the English voice of Mr. Stewart and you have one of the best tellings of this story I have ever heard.
Nasty McGreedy!.......2007-02-03
One of the most amazing stories in western literature is Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. When brought to the stage, the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge from a horrid, lonely miser to benevolent, vibrant celebrator of Christmas can be an enthralling experience. The recent production of this show at GeVa Theatre attempted to take the audience on just such an adventure.
Amazon.com
Le Fanu is a Victorian writer who, along with Edgar A. Poe before him, invented the unity of mood and economy of means that characterizes the modern horror short story. Jack Sullivan, in Horror Literature, maintains that "Le Fanu was more revolutionary than Poe, for he began the process of dismantling the Gothic props and placing the supernatural tale in everyday settings." These quietly elegant tales include a female vampire who predates Dracula, a vicar troubled by a spectral monkey, a cruel hanging judge who gets his due and many other fine portents and hauntings.
Book Description
Here are 16 classic ghost stories: "Carmilla," (perhaps the classic vampire thriller), "Green Tea," "The Familiar," "The Haunted Baronet," "Madam Crowl's Ghost," "The Dead Sexton," "An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House," plus nine others. Half these stories never published before in U.S.
Customer Reviews:
TERRIFIC STORIES.......2006-08-19
These are great stories for bedtime reading. Compared to today's scary stories, these are elegant and inspired. If you have a taste for the fiction of bygone eras -- don't draw the line with today's best sellers -- you'll find a lot of magnificent writing. I'm still reading this book, and I plan to pass it around to all my pals. PBS and British Telly buffs will adore this book.
Bar none the best............2006-04-22
Le fanu is the BEST writer of supernatual fiction there is...no questions!
I am the biggest fan...I collect all his works...old and new when I can find them.
The stories collected here are some rare ones indeed. The Haunted Baronet (from the Golden Friars) is a stunning gem of a novellete. Included in this volume are some very hard to come by edtions. And they have been reprinted exactly from the periodicals they were originally in.
I am sure you will not be disappointed in this book....like me you will read it again and again. The evocative power of Le Fanu is unparalled.
Deceased judges, a vampire, & a nasty supernatural monkey.......2004-10-23
Until the Dover edition of Sheridan Le Fanu's stories appeared in 1964, this nineteenth-century Irish author's tales were almost impossible to find. This is a shame, since M.R. James considered Le Fanu the best of all ghost story writers (I would put M.R. James at the top of my list, and J. S. Le Fanu, second). According to Jack Sullivan in "Elegant Nightmares: The English Ghost Story from Le Fanu to Blackwood," "...Nearly all of the early twentieth-century writers in the [supernatural story] field paced and structured their narratives in the Le Fanu manner."
This edition has an introduction by E.F. Bleiler who limns a brief biography of the author, and his influence on the ghost story writers who followed him. The sixteen stories in this collection range from 1837 to 1871. One is an essay presented as non-fiction, i.e. "An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House." Concerning this essay, Bleiler states, "Personally, I am inclined to accept Le Fanu's strong statement that he was not writing fiction in the guise of fact, and that he is simple reproducing what others had told him."
Some of the stories are obscured by dialect, e.g. "Madame Crowl's Ghost" and parts of "The Haunted Baronet." Lines like "...twad gar ye dodder to hear him" can usually be worked out in the context of the plot and Le Fanu's stories are worth the extra effort. Quoting Jack Sullivan again, "Le Fanu's tales suggest a world in which we are unbearably alone in situations of escalating awfulness." The little maid is sleeping alone in one of Madame Crowl's chambers when the old beldame's ghost appears, "her eyes as wide as saucers, and her face like the fiend himself." Rose in "Schalken the Painter" is deserted by her guardian and minister after she begs them not to leave her alone, and she is doomed. In one of my favorite stories, "An Account of some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street," two medical students move into a house once owned by an infamous, hanging judge. They are afraid to tell each other about their supernatural encounters for fear of being mocked--at least until one of them almost dies.
This book is the finest collection of Le Fanu stories ever compiled, and all ghost story connoisseurs should hasten to read it.
Not your standard ghostly fare.......2003-09-14
Probably the most distinguishing characteristic of LeFanu's writing to me is that he doesn't explain why something is happening in his stories. Ghosts search through drawers, skeletons are dug up, heroes disappear, and barons die of unseen causes, and we are never told what happened. LeFanu doesn't necessarily explain the motives and occurrences of his stories and loose ends are not all tied up. At first, I was unsure about what to think; what kind of ghost story doesn't explain all the events at the end? How am I supposed to be terrified if I don't know the ultimate cause of Baron X's demise? The method of storytelling began to grow on me, though, and I now feel that a lack of resolution on every issue creates a better story. Why should the supernatural be fully explained in 20 pages? When the reader is demoted from an omniscient viewpoint to that of only an eyewitness, the tale is more compelling.
My favorite stories are probably "Sir Dominick's Bargain" and "An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House," the former for its mood and atmosphere, and the latter for its minimalist telling. "The Haunted Baronet" is another excellent story, with strong attention to detail and background that help in the story-telling; it was a very satisfactory read. "The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh" is the same story told sans background and detail, and is clearly inferior. The other stories I enjoyed based on the setting, which is 19th century Ireland, which evokes a mood much like James'. Overall, it is the sort of book that makes you wish for a warm fireplace and a stormy night.
Enjoy!
stories from "the builder".......2003-03-17
when it came to building a ghost story, through dialogues and occurences, noone matches Lefanu. At this, he is a master. he describes the situation before THE happening magnificently. however, when it does happen, the story is over. the horror itself seem to escape Lefanus writing style. his ghost stories are mostly not catching to a modern(living)reader. only 2 of his ghost stories are worth reading. I still recommend this book. the reason are the two stories who are not ghost stories. Carmilla, one of the very best vampire stories, built beautifully through subtle hints, psychology, and descriptions. my favourite gothic story. then it's Lefanu's masterpiece: green tea. in fact, one of the best horror stories ever written! too bad Lefanu insisted on writing so many ghost stories, instead of common horror, otherwise he might be a real master in the genre, as Carmilla and Green Tea proves
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