Wordworth Tales Of Mystery & Supernatural

[j d worthington]

If you like the psychic or occult detective idea, you ought to look up Algernon Blackwood's John Silence. Dover has an edition of the complete Silence stories for a rather good price; it's well worth looking into.

As for Hesselius... yes, he's an interesting character. He recurs in one connection or another throughout that collection; but, as Jack Sullivan points out, he is a more-than-slightly ambiguous character, as his course throughout his adventures is anything but triumphant. I wish you could get a copy of Sullivan's Elegant Nightmares, as it has some of the best commentary on Le Fanu I've ever come across....

It may have been Henry James, yes; his writing is often rather difficult to someone not used to that sort of thing, and to some it may even appear more or less orotund in nature. Then again, M. R. James' style is noted for being somewhat old-fashioned -- though his ghosts are anything but the pallid, sheeted figures one often thinks of in connection with the English ghost story (in fact, in the one instance I can think of where the being is such, it literally is such... and with a rather more visceral effect than one expects)... they're rather nasty little beasties, as a matter of fact....

 

[Connavar]

If you like the psychic or occult detective idea, you ought to look up Algernon Blackwood's John Silence. Dover has an edition of the complete Silence stories for a rather good price; it's well worth looking into.

As for Hesselius... yes, he's an interesting character. He recurs in one connection or another throughout that collection; but, as Jack Sullivan points out, he is a more-than-slightly ambiguous character, as his course throughout his adventures is anything but triumphant. I wish you could get a copy of Sullivan's Elegant Nightmares, as it has some of the best commentary on Le Fanu I've ever come across....

It may have been Henry James, yes; his writing is often rather difficult to someone not used to that sort of thing, and to some it may even appear more or less orotund in nature. Then again, M. R. James' style is noted for being somewhat old-fashioned -- though his ghosts are anything but the pallid, sheeted figures one often thinks of in connection with the English ghost story (in fact, in the one instance I can think of where the being is such, it literally is such... and with a rather more visceral effect than one expects)... they're rather nasty little beasties, as a matter of fact....

Yeah Hesselius was mentioned that he wasnt really a pyschic detective in that intro, other earlier characters,contemporary of Carnacki was mentioned. I know Blackwood by name,good to know he is what im looking for.

Really i have read people that was were more difficult than Henry James.
M.R James sound even better to me now. I must say im one of those that picture that typical pallid,sheeted figures when i think of ghost story often. Will be interesting to read his beings.

 

[GOLLUM]

On the subject of Wagner... it's a pity they decided not to release (at least, not yet) the other half of the book from which they took their text of this one -- Faust; a Romance of the Secret Tribunals -- as that particular tale (which is connected loosely to Wagner) is (if you'll pardon the phrase, given the context) the very devil to find....

Yes, never seen a copy of this anywhere actually. Have you read it?

They've also just released W.F. Harvey's The Beast With Five Fingers and other stories, part of a move to publish Harvey's complete work. I think you have had something to say on this already? I will probably buy this when it ships here unless you think it a poor choice?

 

[GOLLUM]

2 newer titles being released are:

20 Years After - Alexander Dumas *Been waiting for this for a while now.

And...for Supernatural (Gothic) series......

Vathek, Castle Of Otranto and Nightmare Abbey - single volume.

Never read Nightmare Abbey, what's it like J.D.??

 

[AE35Unit]

Among the small list of titles I found yesterday was this one,by an author i'd not heard of. My brother is a Conan Doyle collector so when I saw the words Sherlock Holmes it caught my attention,then I realised it wasn't Conan Doyle

The Tangled Skein by David Stuart Davies

 

[GOLLUM]

Among the small list of titles I found yesterday was this one,by an author i'd not heard of. My brother is a Conan Doyle collector when I saw the words Sherlock Holmes it caught my attention,then I realised it wasn't Conan Doyle
The Tangled Skein by David Stuart Davies
Wordsworth Editions Ltd

No that was part of the controversy surrounding Davies J.D. alluded to earlier. He not only seemingly published original older classics without acknowledging the previous source(s) but also included several of his own works into the Wordsworth series.

 

[AE35Unit]

No that was part of the controversy surrounding Davies J.D. alluded to earlier. He not only seemingly published original older classics without acknowledging the previous source(s) but also included several of his own works into the Wordsworth series.

You mean he took stories by other writers and published them as his? Plagiarism?

 

[GOLLUM]

You mean he took stories by other writers and published them as his? Plagiarism?

No, as I understand it, he published works by authors under the Wordsworth series/label w/o specifically acknowledging where those original texts or sources came from and not in terms of citing the original authors but I mean when printed from previous publications, as is the normal practice. Definitely not what I would really call plagarism!

The other stories like Tangled Skein are his works but not everyone was happy to see an editor put his own works in with acknowledged classics of the Genre or under the Wordsworth Supernatural series.

That's all I can add to your query.

Cheers.....

 

[j d worthington]

The controversy first came to my attention in the discussion linked below, and since then I've heard the same comment from others connected to the field:

Eldritch Dark Forum :: Less Familiar Weird Literature

Apparently, he also did not give credit to the work done by various scholars, whose work he nonetheless made use of in either compiling some of the volumes or in comments used in introductions and the like....

While not illegal, necessarily, such a thing is highly unethical.... But, as reported elsewhere, word has it that Davies is no longer connected to the series, and such practices have stopped.

 

[j d worthington]

Vathek, Castle Of Otranto and Nightmare Abbey - single volume.

Never read Nightmare Abbey, what's it like J.D.??

Meant to reply to this earlier and got called away before doing so. Well, rather than giving you my description, I'll simply provide the following link:

Nightmare Abbey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which pretty much sums it up. It's a very enjoyable piece -- especially if you know much about the Gothic movement -- and it's a pity that Peacock's works aren't more widely available at the present time (though Valancourt Books may help to rectify that).

But if you're looking for a genuine horror tale... um, this ain't it. Quality-wise, I'd go with Austen's Northanger Abbey... but for over-the-top handling of the matter, this one is right up there with John Kendrick Bangs....

(Hmmm... looking at that link -- or, rather, a site that one the links there led me to -- it seems "not more widely available" is a bit of a misstatement, as much of his work is available on the web:

The Thomas Love Peacock Society

I recommend it to those who don't mind a few pins being stuck in a favored genre....)

A further note on Davies: I picked up The Witch of Prague & Other Stories today, and I find in there the following:

Seven of the eight short stories collected in this edition were written at various times -- one almost suspects idle moments -- during the course of Crawford's life and were collected posthumously and published in 1911 under the title Uncanny Tales in Europe and Wandering Ghosts in the US. In this volume we have added the stray story "The King's Messenger" as a bonus tale. For no obvious reason it was not included in the original collection.

This is, to say the least, disingenuous, as the tale had been included (albeit in accidentally truncated form) in White Wolf's For the Blood is the Life and Other Stories, which was published in 1996; at least, that is the date given in Darrell Schweitzer's introduction to the volume (Davies' edition was published in 2008); he even notes that it was left out of the original collection, and notes also where it was originally published -- something Davies does not do. It was also included (as the following link notes) in a small-press edition of the collection put out by Tartarus Press as well... and it is largely the work of the editors at Tartarus Press or Ash-Tree Press which Davies has been accused of plundering for the series.

The following link provided the end of "The King's Messengers", which was inadvertently omitted from the White Wolf edition.

The End of "The King's Messenger"

As it also notes, the story itself had been previously published by Necronomican Press, something which Davies also fails to note.

I may be jumping to conclusions here, but I also find it highly suspicious that Schweitzer draws especial attention to The Witch of Prague as Crawford's only weird supernatural novel (as opposed to his fantastic tale, Khaled), and the contents of Davies' volume adds that at the end of Crawford's short tales.

While I hadn't been aware of the controversy surrounding the series even a year ago, since I did hear of it, I'm finding considerable evidence to support the claims, which I must confess mars what would otherwise be an admirable set of inexpensive editions of many neglected classics of the field.

 

[GOLLUM]

Curioser and curioser Mr Worthington......

Thanks for the tip on Nightmare Abbbey. May go ahead and purchase it now.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I love Nightmare Abbey. I'm wondering what it is doing in the Wordsworth series ... but it is very, very funny, and it's nice to see it in print.

Reading Peacock is a lot like reading Wodehouse; there's a quality of sly but playful wit that they shared.

 

[GOLLUM]

I love Nightmare Abbey. I'm wondering what it is doing in the Wordsworth series ... but it is very, very funny, and it's nice to see it in print.
Reading Peacock is a lot like reading Wodehouse; there's a quality of sly but playful wit that they shared.

Well I'm quite a fan of Wodehouse, so this will probably suit quite nicely.

Cheers.....

 

[GOLLUM]

Recently picked up Wordworth's latest offering...W.F. Harvey's Beast With Five fingers and other stories.

HMM.. looks like David Stuart Davies is/was General Editor on this...

 

[j d worthington]

That's... interesting. I suppose this means there's going to be more controversy, if this is the case....

 

[Lobolover]

J.D., it's not nice to judge people without evidence

So, are there any updates on the series ?

 

[j d worthington]

Lobo: The evidence is already there -- in heaps. Davies used very unethical practices as editor of the series. Whether or not that is still the case, I don't know; but that does not in the least exculpate the things he has done so far....

 

[GOLLUM]

Don't have any new updates for you.

I purchased Beast with Five Fingers about a month ago form the local bookshop and they always stock the latest Wordsworth, so I haven't spotted anything more recently in the "horror" Genre.

 

[GOLLUM]

OK to properly update this here is what to expect in the near future...

Recent releases:
The Monk - Lewis
The Castle of Otranto/Nightmare Abbey/Vathek *3 classic Gothic novels.

Forthcoming...
Varney The Vampire - J Rymer *I note Mr. Worthington was not overly impressed by this particular offering.
The Horror in the Museum - Lovecraft *Unclear if they intend to present a collection of his stories or this single one. One of his ghost writing efforts.

 

[j d worthington]

Varney is an important penny dreadful; it has its place in literary history; and it also has its moments... but they are few and far between. Anyone who has read (or attempted to read) G. W. M. Reynolds' Wagner the Wehr-wolf will know exactly what I mean.

As for the J. Rymer... well, that's debatable. Actually, we don't know who wrote Varney, though it is usually attributed to Rymer or Prest in the main; chances are a lot of writers contributed to that one, which may help explain some of the unevenness not only in suspense and tensity of the story, but in general writing skills displayed as well....