The Virago Book Of Ghost Stories - Hardcover

Dalby, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844081591 ISBN 13: 9781844081592

Publisher: Virago, 2006

Synopsis

Featuring stories by A.S. Byatt - Angela Carter - Lisa St Aubin de Teran - May Sinclair - Joan Aiken - Stella Gibbons - Edith Wharton - E.M. Delafield - Elizabeth Bowen - Ruth Rendell and many more.

This collection gathers together deliciously chilling tales from the three highly-acclaimed volumes of Virago ghost stories. Here lost loves, past enmities and unwanted memories mingle with the inexplicable as unquiet souls return to repay kindnesses, settle scores and haunt the imagination. All of the writers demonstrate a subtle power to delight and chill at the same time as they explore the ghostly margins of the supernatural.

About this title

Review:

The editor of this stunningly well-written collection has declared himself of the opinion that a ghost story is a ghost story, and that the gender of the writer does not necessarily leap from the page. Jenny Uglow, who wrote the introduction, is not so sure. She thinks women's ghosts may be a little different from men's. And it is true that a breath of feminine whimsy haunts these pages, a gentle sighing over lost loves and lost children, while male characters are often lampooned for their pomposity and feared for it as well. This anthology of 34 20th-century ghost stories will appeal to two audiences: those who like their spines thoroughly tingled, no matter what sex the author, and those who love good writing whatever the subject. For whether you admire the ghostly genre or not, here are undeniably some of the best examples of elegant, precise story writing that could ever grace your shelves, from the pens of authors including Elizabeth Bowen, Angela Carter, Elizabeth Jane Howard, E Nesbit, Fay Weldon, Edith Wharton and Lisa St Aubin de Teran. Especially not to be missed are the two contributions by Marjorie Bowen–two perfect masterpieces in less than 150 words. --Helen Falconer

Review:

A must for anyone who enjoys being thrilled (Time Out)

With illuminating flair, Richard Dalby's collection shows off the ghost genre at its heyday...marvellous (The Times)

Corking good shudders all the way (Observer)

Spooky stories from great women writers (COSMOPOLITAN)

About this edition

• Publisher: Virago
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1844081591
• ISBN 13: 9781844081592
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512
• Editor: Dalby Richard