Publisher's Synopsis
A stunning collection from a mistress of the chilling
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. In volume one readers will discover two novels, the well known 'The Haunted River' and 'The Haunted House at Latchford.' Also included are three novelettes, 'Nut Bush Farm, ' 'A Terrible Vengeance' and 'Old Mrs. Jones' plus two short stories, 'Hertford O'Donnell's Warning' and 'Forewarned, Forearmed.'Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.
