The Collected Supernatural And Weird Fiction Of Mrs Henry Wood

Volume one of a unique three volume collection Mrs. Henry Wood was one of a notable cadre of proficient authors of all manner of fiction, much of which appeared serially in the numerous periodicals of the Victorian period. Ellen Wood (formerly Price) was born in Worcestershire in 1815 and is principally remembered as the author of 'East Lynne'-one of the most popular sensation novels of the mid-19th century. She wrote over 30 novels as well as many shorter works of mystery, crime and suspense. Her supernatural fiction has endured by virtue of its lasting quality and has been acclaimed by aficionados and critics alike, including the not lightly given approbation of M. R. James. The Victorian public's appetite for stories of the weird and ghostly was insatiable and huge amounts of it was published. This resulted in a golden age for the genre. Almost every popular fiction writer of the period tried their hand at ghostly or terrifying stories, including some of the most notable authors of the time such as Dickens, R. L. Stevenson, Kipling and Conan Doyle. Some became well known and well regarded 'specialists' in the ghostly tale; foremost among these were women writers who had a particular talent for supernatural themes. Among the first rank of these was Mrs Henry Wood and this substantial Leonaur three volume collection is probably the first comprehensive collection of her other worldly fiction to be published. In volume one readers will discover 'Featherston's Story, ' 'A Mystery, ' 'Gina Montani' and ten more stories of the strange and unusual. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Ellen Price was born on 17th January 1814 in Worcester. In 1836 she married Henry Wood, whose career in banking and shipping meant living in Dauphiné, in the South of France, for two decades. During their time there they had four children. Henry's business collapsed and he and Ellen together with their four children returned to England and settled in Upper Norwood near London. Ellen now turned to writing and with her second book 'East Lynne' enjoyed remarkable popularity. This enabled her to support her family and to maintain a literary career. It was a career in which she would write over 30 novels including 'Danesbury House', 'Oswald Cray', 'Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles', 'The Channings' and 'The Shadow of Ashlydyat'. Sadly, her husband, Henry died in 1866. Ellen though continued to strive on. In 1867, she purchased the magazine 'Argosy', founded two years previously by Alexander Strahan. She was a prolific writer and wrote much of the magazine herself although she had some very respected contributors, amongst them Hesba Stretton and Christina Rossetti. Although she would gradually pare down writing for the magazine she continued to write novel after novel. Such was her talent that for a time she was, in Australia, more popular than Charles Dickens. Apart from novels she was an excellent translator and a writer of short stories. 'Reality or Delusion?' is a staple of supernatural anthologies to this day. Ellen Wood died of bronchitis on 10th February 1887). He estate was valued at a very considerable £36,000. She is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. A monument to her in Worcester Cathedral was unveiled in 1916.

The first volume of the works of a literary master of strange fiction Sir Hugh Walpole was one of the most popular and prolific British authors of the first half of the 20th century. After the publication of his first novel, 'The Wooden Horse', in 1909 he produced one significant work each year including the acclaimed 'Herries' series. Born in New Zealand in 1884, the son of an Anglican clergyman, Walpole was committed to becoming a writer and encouraged in his ambition by Henry James and Arnold Bennett. A. C. Benson was also a mentor and early influence upon his writing. Despite his acknowledged talent as a storyteller, Walpole's work has been largely ignored since his death in 1941, in part because he was savagely lampooned by Somerset Maugham's fictional characterisation of him in 'Cakes & Ale'. Walpole, in keeping with many of his contemporaries, wrote in several genres of fiction and among his thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories and two plays are historical, juvenile and even detective stories. His associations with A. C. Benson, Henry James, H. G. Wells and the fact that Horace Walpole (author of the first gothic novel, 'The Castle of Otranto') and Richard Harris Barham (author of the 'Ingoldsby Legends') were both among his ancestors surely stimulated his taste for gothic and macabre fiction. In fact, during the 1930s Walpole edited two well received anthologies of 'creepy stories' in which some of his own material appeared. His own literary excursions into the world of the ghostly and bizarre, which remain highly regarded by aficionados of supernatural fiction, include several novels and a substantial number of short stories all of which are included in this three volume Leonaur collected edition. Included in this first volume are the novel 'The Old Ladies' and fifteen short stories of the strange and unusual including 'The White Cat', 'Lizzie Rand', 'Mrs. Porter and Miss Allen', 'The Tiger' and 'The Twisted Inn'. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

A three volume collection of the ghostly tales of Mrs. Oliphant Scottish author, Margaret Oliphant belonged to a well known and highly regarded group of female fiction writers of the Victorian period. Their individual talents are undeniable, but their career paths often followed a remarkably similar pattern. Most were writers of both novels and short stories, all were prolific and able to turn their pens successfully to a variety subjects and themes. Many of them wrote regularly for the periodicals of the day, and Mrs. Oliphant (her usual nom-de-plume) frequently wrote for 'Blackwood's Magazine' and specialised in the creation of tales of domestic realism, historical fiction and the genre for which she is most remembered today, ghost stories. That harshest of literary critics-and one of the finest exponents of the craft of supernatural fiction-M. R. James thought highly of Margaret Oliphant's work in the genre, drawing particular attention in his writings on the subject to her long ghost story 'The Beleaguered City, ' which is included in this comprehensive three volume edition of Mrs. Oliphant's well crafted and chilling tales of the uncanny. In volume two readers will find long and haunting stories of the strange and unusual including 'Old Lady Mary, ' 'A Beleaguered City', 'The Open Door, ' 'The Lady's Walk, ' 'The Library Window' and 'The Portrait'. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

A three volume collection of the ghostly tales of Mrs. Oliphant Scottish author, Margaret Oliphant belonged to a well known and highly regarded group of female fiction writers of the Victorian period. Their individual talents are undeniable, but their career paths often followed a remarkably similar pattern. Most were writers of both novels and short stories, all were prolific and able to turn their pens successfully to a variety subjects and themes. Many of them wrote regularly for the periodicals of the day, and Mrs. Oliphant (her usual nom-de-plume) frequently wrote for 'Blackwood's Magazine' and specialised in the creation of tales of domestic realism, historical fiction and the genre for which she is most remembered today, ghost stories. That harshest of literary critics-and one of the finest exponents of the craft of supernatural fiction-M. R. James thought highly of Margaret Oliphant's work in the genre, drawing particular attention in his writings on the subject to her long ghost story 'The Beleaguered City, ' which is included in this comprehensive three volume edition of Mrs. Oliphant's well crafted and chilling tales of the uncanny. In volume one readers will find the novel, 'The Complete Little Pilgrim Series, ' 'The Secret Chamber, ' 'The Land of Suspense, ' 'A Visitor and His Opinions, ' 'Earthbound' and other haunting stories of the strange and unusual. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands

A comprehensive collection of the bizarre tales of Mrs Molesworth The writer who was always known by her formal title Mrs Molesworth, was in fact born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands to English parents in 1839 and christened Mary Louisa Stewart. Her father was a successful Manchester businessman and Mary was educated both in England and Switzerland. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, a nephew of Viscount Molesworth, an Irish aristocrat. Their marriage was ultimately unsuccessful and they were legally separated in 1879. Her first fiction-the 1869 novel 'Lover and Husband'-was published under the pseudonym Ennis Graham. As was common among authors of the day she wrote in a number of genres but-curiously-she was most prolific as a writer of children's' fiction, particularly for girls who were too old for fairytales but to young for adult fiction. These tales were for those who would eventually become Victorian wives and mothers and so were rich with the sentiments of duty and morality. These may seem like dubious credentials to those interested in good supernatural fiction and especially to those who have not actually read any of Mrs Molesworth's stories of ghosts and hauntings. However, this would be to do the author a great injustice for the only shortcoming concerning her strange tales is that she did not write more of them. Her talent for the genre will be immediately apparent to the reader and, indeed, several of the tales included here are recognised as classics and were highly regarded by the supernatural writer and academic M. R. James. Among the fifteen stories in this special Leonaur collection-which we believe (at the time of publication) is the only comprehensive gathering of Mary Molesworth's tales of the other worldly available-are 'The Story of the Rippling Train, ' 'At the Dip of the Road, ' 'The Man with the Cough, ' 'Half way Between the Stiles' and many others. Also included in this collection is a story by Mary Molesworth's son Bevil, 'A Ghost of the Pampas.' Bevil died on his Patagonian ranch when in his mid twenties. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

The first volume of this comprehensive collection Wilkie Collins, author of 'The Moonstone' and 'The Woman in White' needs no introduction. He was considered the father of the detective story and his tales of mystery are well known and highly regarded. Collins also had a taste for the supernatural, the gothic and tales of terror, peculiarity and unease. All suited his style very well. This three volume Leonaur collection, available in softcover and hard cover with dustjacket, brings together what is, perhaps, an unprecedented collection of his writings in the supernatural and horror genres. This first volume contains the novel 'The Haunted Hotel' which combines mystery and the ghostly in the evocative setting of Venice, the novella 'Mad Monkton', and three novelettes and eight short stories including: 'Memoirs of an Adopted Son', 'My Black Mirror', 'Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman', 'Mr Percy and the Prophet', 'Nine O'Clock', 'The Siege of the Black Cottage', 'The Dream Woman', 'The Dead Hand', 'The Biter Bit', The Fatal Cradle' and 'The Dead Alive'.

Eight fantastic tales of the ghostly and bizarre Aficionados of supernatural fiction are aware that its golden age was during the later Victorian and Edwardian eras. There was a huge public appetite for spine chilling tales and many magazines published their ideal form-the short story. This created opportunities for many writers to produce supernatural fiction. Among the huge number of stories published, some were exceptionally good and these came from the pens of those who became recognised masters of the form. Popular authors were often incredibly prolific and an individual writer's canon of supernatural fiction could be substantial. Almost every commercially minded writer wrote some supernatural fiction and many of the finest exponents of the craft were women. While Mrs. J. H. Riddell had much in common with her peers, she was highly regarded by some of the genres severest critics including the 'grand-master' himself, M. R. James. Charlotte Cowan was born in Ireland in 1832, the daughter of the High Sheriff of Antrim. She moved to London in 1855 and shortly thereafter married the civil engineer Joseph Hadley Riddell. As was often the practice at the time she subsequently wrote under her formal married name. Besides her career as a writer she was also a publisher, being part owner of the highly regarded literary periodical 'The St. Jame's Magazine.' This comprehensive Leonaur collection of Charlotte Riddell's strange stories comprises three substantial volumes to captivate both enthusiasts and collectors. This third and final volume of the Leonaur collected supernatural and weird fiction of Charlotte Riddell includes two novels 'The Disappearance of Jeremiah Redworth' and the well known 'The Uninhabited House' together with two novelettes, 'Diarmid Chittock's Story' and 'The Open Door.' Also included are five short stories, 'Walnut-Tree House, ' 'The Last Squire of Ennismore, ' 'Why Dr. Cray Left Southam, ' 'The Old House in Vauxhall Walk' and 'Conn Kilrea.' Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.