Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Victorian Ghost Stories!
Victorian Ghost Stories!
Forgive me if there's already a thread about this, but I would love to get my hands on a good Victorian ghost story! Preferably a recent book set during the Victorian era, as opposed to a ghost story written by an author of the time ... Can anyone name me some gooduns?
I quite enjoyed Susan Hill's "The Man in the Picture".
I really enjoyed the Oxford anthology of Vic ghost stories - it's a keeper for me.
http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Ghost-S ... 738&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Ghost-S ... 738&sr=1-1
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode
Not sure that they qualify as Victorian, but Edith Wharton wrote some ghost stories, as did Alexandre Dumas.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be
...is the only place I want to be
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4378
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
How about The Turn of the Screw by Henry James?
That's not a recent one, though.
The Woman in Black is a favourite of mine, which has been mentioned above. The Mist in the Mirror is another one by Susan Hill.
That's not a recent one, though.
The Woman in Black is a favourite of mine, which has been mentioned above. The Mist in the Mirror is another one by Susan Hill.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
- Vaughn Entwistle
- Scribbler
- Posts: 19
- Joined: July 2010
- Location: Seattle, Washington
The Seance by John Harwood
I was also looking for a good Victorian Ghost story (really, when is one not looking for a good Victorian ghost story?) I picked up the Seance by John Harwood. Hmmmn, maybe I need a bit longer to process having just finished reading the book but here goes:
I found the writing style a bit odd as Harwood apparently only writes in first person. The Seance uses multiple view point characters and jumps forward and backward in time. Weirdly, in some instances this meant that one first-person view point character had to be reading a letter or journal written in first-person by another character. At times I got lost. Also it was hard to maintain the first person illusion because the character had to have total recall to quote everyone and note every action.
At times I loved the book and thought the scenes were very atmospheric. At times it bored me as what were supposed to be "reveal" scenes dragged on for page after chapter. It also puzzled me that book is pitched as a mystery, not, as you might suppose, a horror or ghost story, despite the title and subject matter.
In the end, it didn't satisfy my craving for a genuine Victorian Ghost story, so I'm still searching.
I would have preferred a more straightforward narrative structure. Third person or first-person narrator with intermittent third person chapters, rather than what struck me as the author's lack of comfort with writing in anything other than first person.
Or am I just being an old misery-guts about this? The Seance was apparently pretty successful, so I'd be interested to hear other members' opinions.
I found the writing style a bit odd as Harwood apparently only writes in first person. The Seance uses multiple view point characters and jumps forward and backward in time. Weirdly, in some instances this meant that one first-person view point character had to be reading a letter or journal written in first-person by another character. At times I got lost. Also it was hard to maintain the first person illusion because the character had to have total recall to quote everyone and note every action.
At times I loved the book and thought the scenes were very atmospheric. At times it bored me as what were supposed to be "reveal" scenes dragged on for page after chapter. It also puzzled me that book is pitched as a mystery, not, as you might suppose, a horror or ghost story, despite the title and subject matter.
In the end, it didn't satisfy my craving for a genuine Victorian Ghost story, so I'm still searching.
I would have preferred a more straightforward narrative structure. Third person or first-person narrator with intermittent third person chapters, rather than what struck me as the author's lack of comfort with writing in anything other than first person.
Or am I just being an old misery-guts about this? The Seance was apparently pretty successful, so I'd be interested to hear other members' opinions.