Can Such Things Be? - Softcover

Bierce, Ambrose

Softcover

ISBN 10: 150246344X ISBN 13: 9781502463449

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

This classic collection of Ambrose Bierce horror stories contains horror masterpieces such as The Damned Thing, Haita the Shepherd, An inhabitant of Carcosa, The Stranger, among many others.Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842[2] – circa 1914[3]) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and Civil War veteran.Bierce's book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration.[4] His story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature";[5] and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians(also published as In the Midst of Life) was named by the Grolier Club as one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900.[6]A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States,[7][8] and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction.[9] For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.[10] His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, and others,[11] and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic.[12] In recent decades Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and for his poetry.[13][14]In December 1913, Bierce traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution.[15] He disappeared, and was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again.Bierce was born in a log cabin at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio, on June 24, 1842, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce (1799–1876) and Laura Sherwood Bierce.[2] He was of entirely English ancestry: all of his forebears came to North America between 1620 and 1640 as part of the Great Puritan Migration.[16] He often wrote critically of both "Puritan values" and people who "made a fuss" about genealogy.[17] He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom were given names by their father beginning with the letter "A": in order of birth, the Bierce siblings were Abigail, Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus, Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur, Adelia, and Aurelia.[18] His mother was a descendant of William Bradford His parents were a poor but literary couple who instilled in him a deep love for books and writing.[2] Bierce grew up in Kosciusko County, Indiana, attending high school at the county seat, Warsaw.He left home at 15 to become a printer's devil at a small abolitionist Ohio newspaper, the Northern IndianaAt the outset of the American Civil War, Bierce enlisted in the Union Army's 9th Indiana Infantry. He participated in the operations in Western Virginia (1861), was present at the Battle of Philippi (the first organized land action of the war), and received newspaper attention for his daring rescue, under fire, of a gravely wounded comrade at the Battle of Rich Mountain. Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), a terrifying experience that became a source for several short stories and the memoir "What I Saw of Shiloh".In April 1863 he was commissioned a first lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields.[20]As a staff officer, Bierce became known to leading generals such as George H. Thomas and Oliver O. Howard, both of whom supported his application for admission to West Point in May 1864. General Hazen believed Bierce would graduate from the military academy "with distinction" and William T. Sherman also endorsed the application for admission even though stating he had no personal acquaintance with Bierce.[21] In June 1864, Bierce sustained a serious head wound (since diagnosed as a Traumatic Brain Injury)[22] at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

About this title

About the Author

The disappearance of writer Ambrose Bierce in 1913 has remained one of the greatest mysteries within the literary world. After crossing the border into revolutionary Mexico, the 71-year-old prolific author, satirist, poet and journalist was never heard from again. Indeed the facts of such a disappearance would not seem out of place in one of his own fictional stories-such was his talent at weaving the strange and the unusual. It is however, not only his disappearance that remains remarkable. More remarkable was the life Bierce lived, the man he was, and the imprint he left on the world through his words.

This edition includes the 'Denneker' engravings. As included in two of his stories, the Denneker connection has been linked to Bierce aswell as H P Lovecraft

Contents:

1. The Death of Halpin Frayser
2. The Secret of Macarger’s Gulch
3. One Summer Night
4. The Moonlit Road
5. A Diagnosis of Death
6. Moxon’s Master
7. A Tough Tussle
8. One of Twins
9. The Haunted Valley
10. A Jug of Sirup
11. Staley Fleming’s Hallucination
12. A Resumed Identity
13. A Baby Tramp
14. The Night-Doings at ‘Dead-Man’s’
15. Beyond the Wall
16. A Psychological Shipwreck
17. The Middle Toe of the Right Foot
18. John Mortonson’s Funeral
19. The Realm of the Unreal
20. John Bartine’s Watch
21. The Damned Thing
22. Haita the Shepherd
23. An Inhabitant of Carcosa
24. The Stranger

 

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 150246344X
• ISBN 13: 9781502463449
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 174