fictionfan's review
5.0
Stories from the top tier... 5 stars
This is a collection of twelve stories from some of the greatest writers of Gothic, all first published in the 1890s. Many of them are very well known and I suspect that most or all of them are probably available to read online. But the joy of an anthology like this one is the expert guidance provided by the editor, first in selecting and organising the stories in a way that allows the reader to see how the genre connects and flows, and then in providing an informative introduction and notes.
The editor of this one is Roger Luckhurst, whom I first encountered as the editor of a Lovecraft collection a few years ago, sparking my interest in Lovecraft in particular and weird fiction in general. I was later happy to encounter him again as the editor of HG Wells’ The Time Machine, when his introduction put that book into its literary and historical context for me, adding a great deal to my understanding and enjoyment of it. So I knew I’d be in safe hands with this collection.
Luckhurst tells us that there have been three main waves of Gothic writing, in the 18th century, then again in the late Victorian period, and now, with the likes of Stephen King reviving the genre. Each wave made it anew, though, influenced by contemporary concerns as well as by other styles and movements in the literary world of their time. He talks about the crossover in the late Victorian era between the styles of Gothic and Decadence, and about the influence on the genre of anxieties over colonialism, the growth of science and pseudo-sciences, spiritualism and psychic research, and so on. All of this means that the stories in a sense stop being merely individual entertainments and instead become part of something larger: part of the contemporary literature that casts light on its society and in turn influences it. As always, I found his introduction both informative and enjoyable, happily free of the academic jargon that can sometimes infest these things and therefore accessible to any interested reader.
But what of the stories, I hear you ask? I gave five of them five stars, another five got four stars, and the remaining two got 3½ each, so a very high standard overall. As it should be, given that most of them are from top tier writers. There’s Henry James and Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Machen and Oscar Wilde, and two from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then there are several names that were new to me, though I gather from the intro that they would be familiar to real aficionados – Vernon Lee, BM Croker, Grant Allen and MP Shiels. A further two from Jean Lorrain take us over to France and into the heart of the Decadent style.
An excellent collection, especially for a relative newcomer to the genre since it includes some of the very best, but the introduction and notes make it a great choice too for people who may already know some of the stories but would like to know more about their context. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford World’s Classics.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is a collection of twelve stories from some of the greatest writers of Gothic, all first published in the 1890s. Many of them are very well known and I suspect that most or all of them are probably available to read online. But the joy of an anthology like this one is the expert guidance provided by the editor, first in selecting and organising the stories in a way that allows the reader to see how the genre connects and flows, and then in providing an informative introduction and notes.
The editor of this one is Roger Luckhurst, whom I first encountered as the editor of a Lovecraft collection a few years ago, sparking my interest in Lovecraft in particular and weird fiction in general. I was later happy to encounter him again as the editor of HG Wells’ The Time Machine, when his introduction put that book into its literary and historical context for me, adding a great deal to my understanding and enjoyment of it. So I knew I’d be in safe hands with this collection.
Luckhurst tells us that there have been three main waves of Gothic writing, in the 18th century, then again in the late Victorian period, and now, with the likes of Stephen King reviving the genre. Each wave made it anew, though, influenced by contemporary concerns as well as by other styles and movements in the literary world of their time. He talks about the crossover in the late Victorian era between the styles of Gothic and Decadence, and about the influence on the genre of anxieties over colonialism, the growth of science and pseudo-sciences, spiritualism and psychic research, and so on. All of this means that the stories in a sense stop being merely individual entertainments and instead become part of something larger: part of the contemporary literature that casts light on its society and in turn influences it. As always, I found his introduction both informative and enjoyable, happily free of the academic jargon that can sometimes infest these things and therefore accessible to any interested reader.
But what of the stories, I hear you ask? I gave five of them five stars, another five got four stars, and the remaining two got 3½ each, so a very high standard overall. As it should be, given that most of them are from top tier writers. There’s Henry James and Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Machen and Oscar Wilde, and two from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Then there are several names that were new to me, though I gather from the intro that they would be familiar to real aficionados – Vernon Lee, BM Croker, Grant Allen and MP Shiels. A further two from Jean Lorrain take us over to France and into the heart of the Decadent style.
An excellent collection, especially for a relative newcomer to the genre since it includes some of the very best, but the introduction and notes make it a great choice too for people who may already know some of the stories but would like to know more about their context. Highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Oxford World’s Classics.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
rust_and_stardust's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
4.0
justasking27's review against another edition
3.0
The introduction was really interesting. I wouldn't have thought of all these stories as "Gothic", and realized I am definitely not a fan of the Decadent style. But Conan Doyle's stories were delightful.
flamingo_and_owl_books's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rubyellen95's review
3.0
Unless your gothic literatures #1 fan I'd suggest reading the tales seperately and between other projects. I found most of the stories interesting and a few of them very enjoyable. But there were also a fair few that I found tiring to read and by the time I'd gotten into the flow of the writing and the style the story would quickly be ending! I also straight up disliked the final tale Valia. Dionea and Great God Pan (both of which I had previously read) are, in my opinion, the two strongest and more engaging tales featured
riskee's review
3.0
Of the 12 stories I absolutely loved 6 (Wilde;James;Kipling;both by Conan Doyle;Croker), was intrigued by 4 (Lee;Allen;Machen;The Spectral Hand by Lorrain), disliked 1(Magic Lantern by Lorrain), and hated the last one by M.P. Shiel. Not bad for an entire collection with different authors I think but I had expected more from it.
lileuw's review
3.0
So it's difficult to recommend this one or not. It has some great stories (Lot 249 was too scary for me, I couldn't even finish it!) but there were some really, really bad ones too (Such as the Great God Pan). If you want to get into Gothic fiction and don't know where to start; this is a great way to see what authors you enjoy reading!
lottelikesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories in this collection! Highly recommend this for fellow fans of Gothic fiction!
secretbookcase's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
3.0
allaboutthembrains's review against another edition
3.0
Of the 12 stories I absolutely loved 6 (Wilde;James;Kipling;both by Conan Doyle;Croker), was intrigued by 4 (Lee;Allen;Machen;The Spectral Hand by Lorrain), disliked 1(Magic Lantern by Lorrain), and hated the last one by M.P. Shiel. Not bad for an entire collection with different authors I think but I had expected more from it.