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Victorian Ghost Stories!

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Madeleine
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Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
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Post by Madeleine » Sat August 28th, 2010, 5:00 pm

I read this about a year ago and enjoyed it, I didn't notice anything in particular about the narrative structure or writing style which bothered me. I think I felt the ending was a bit flat, so I agree that it not's really a genuine ghost story although I still found some of it creepy; I thought the reveal scenes were a bit of an anti-climax in the end, it reminded me a bit of a Victorian Jonathan Creek, if you're familiar with that TV series. But I thought it was OK as a bit of escapism.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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Divia
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Post by Divia » Sat August 28th, 2010, 6:50 pm

Senence wasnt all that I hoped and more. It was a decent read, but at times I felt that it was a little slow. I got that Victorian Gothic feel then there were times I was rolling my eyes. I think the middle is where I lost my interest. It's been a while since I read it.

Decent read but I wasnt awe struck.
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Vanessa
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Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Sat August 28th, 2010, 7:36 pm

The Seance is on my list to read soon. I loved The Ghost Writer by the same author.
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Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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Vanessa
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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

The Seance by John Harwood

Post by Vanessa » Thu September 9th, 2010, 6:28 pm

[quote=""Madeleine""]I read this about a year ago and enjoyed it, I didn't notice anything in particular about the narrative structure or writing style which bothered me. I think I felt the ending was a bit flat, so I agree that it not's really a genuine ghost story although I still found some of it creepy; I thought the reveal scenes were a bit of an anti-climax in the end, it reminded me a bit of a Victorian Jonathan Creek, if you're familiar with that TV series. But I thought it was OK as a bit of escapism.[/quote]

I didn't notice anything about the narrative structure either - it reminded me a little of Susan Hill's writing.

No, it's not a genuine ghost story but I thought it was quite creepy and atmospheric. I really enjoyed it.
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

Kat
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Post by Kat » Wed June 26th, 2013, 10:26 am

Ooooh! Ghost stories! I'm going to keep an eye on this thread as I love this sort of thing. Victorian era really lends itself to the macabre, don't you think?

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Madeleine
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Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Wed June 26th, 2013, 10:56 am

Yes they loved their ghost stories.

I mentioned M R James a couple of years ago on this thread (see first page) and I also found a copy of a book of ghost stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, that someone left behind at work when they moved offices - haven't read that one yet though.

If you want a more modern ghost story, but one which still has a period feel - it's set not long after WW2 - then Sarah Waters' "The Little Stranger" is pretty creepy.
Last edited by Madeleine on Wed June 26th, 2013, 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

PeterKralic
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Re: Victorian Ghost Stories!

Post by PeterKralic » Thu November 19th, 2015, 2:29 pm

Charles Dickens wrote some excellent Victorian ghost stories. There's a collection of them on Amazon for free if you have an ereader, or they can be had from Gutenberg.

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