Product Description

The late Victorians had an insatiable appetite for the macabre and sensational: stories of murder and suspense, ghosts, the supernatural and the inexplicable were the stuff of life to them. The two writers in this volume well represent the last decade of the nineteenth century, and are of interest in themselves as well as for their contribution to the chilling of the Victorian spine. Mrs. Alfred Baldwin attempted as a child to contact her dead sister through a séance, and took to writing when stricken by a mysterious illness six weeks after marriage. She was also the mother of the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. Lettice Galbraith is herself no less mysterious than the stories she wrote. She appeared on the literary scene in 1893, published a novel and two collections of stories in that year, a further story (The Blue Room) in 1897, and then nothing more. Readers of 'The Empty Picture Frame', 'The Case of Sir Nigel Otterburne', 'The Trainer's Ghost' and 'The Seance Room' will recognise the Victorian spirit at its finest.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #241963 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Less of the Baldwin
When the title story of a collection is not very good it reflects on the rest of the book. "The Shadow on the Blind" did not interest and I was tempted not to read further. However, the Baldwin section contains two stories worth the effort "The Uncanny Bairn" and "The Weird of the Walfords" (the best story in the entire book) With Galbraith the average standard rises a bit with "The Case of Lady Luckestan" and "The Trainers Ghost." I would have like more Galbraith and less Baldwin.
This book badly needed a critical introduction to put the stories in some kind of context.

Why isn't this a Classic?
Having trawled through the complete M R James prior to reading this little gem, I found myself mystified by both James's overarching reputation as a ghost story writer and the total obscurity of these two redoubtable 1890s ladies. Unprolific to a fault and almost as mysterious in their lives as the goings on in their stories, both writers here prove equally adept at providing character, situation and plot using different narrative voices and widely differing contexts, in contrast to M R James's relentlessly predictable, if pleasingly comfortable, antiquarianism.
Highlights for me included, with the Baldwin, the skilfully drawn story of Scottish Second Sight 'The Uncanny Bairn' (This would make a good film) and the touching portrayal of Bretonic Catholic piety ('My next door neighbour') and in the Galbraith, the rackety Horse Betting world of 'The Trainer's Ghost' and the Victorian Parlour mediumship of 'In the Séance Room'
So - why are these stories so obscure that one never even sees them anthologised? It can't be because they are women (see 'The Yellow Wallpaper')
No matter - at this price you are not even taking a gamble.