Le Fanu, J. Sheridan

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Great Read
uncle silas
An excellent Gothic story with a psychological edge
A melancholy and eerie read....
Nonstop dread

Uncle Silas (Penguin Classics)
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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In a Glass Darkly (Oxford World's Classics)
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The Monk (Oxford World's Classics)

ASIN: 0140437460
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Book Description

In Uncle Silas, Sheridan Le Fanu's most celebrated novel, Maud Ruthyn, the young, naïve heroine, is plagued by Madame de la Rougierre from the moment the enigmatic older woman is hired as her governess. A liar, bully, and spy, when Madame leaves the house, she takes her dark secret with her. But when Maud is orphaned, she is sent to live with her Uncle Silas, her father's mysterious brother and a man with a scandalous-even murderous-past. And, once again, she encounters Madame, whose sinister role in Maud's destiny becomes all too clear.

With its subversion of reality and illusion, and its exploration of fear through the use of mystery and the supernatural, Uncle Silas shuns the conventions of traditional horror and delivers a chilling psychological thriller.

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2007-01-10

I really liked this one. It's a definite page-turner with a very satisfying ending. I definitely recommend reading it if you're looking for a good mystery/thriller.

uncle silas.......2006-12-28

This book is great for anyone who is a fan of Gothic, Victorian, or mystery novels. All of these genres come into play for an interesting story. The tone is dark, and the descriptions of the landscape help give the book a "spooky" feel. There is also an interesting tie in with the Swedenbourgs, which was informative, as well. I loved this book, and it's a shame that Sheridan Le Fanu isn't more widely read.

An excellent Gothic story with a psychological edge.......2006-05-28

An excellent Gothic story, but not really falling into the "supernatural" category, which is refreshing, this novel reminds me more of James' <u>The Turn of The Screw</u>, moreso for its delvings into the psychological realm of the human psyche, especially that of neurosis, and, of course, Maud's brilliant insights into her once revered (almost perversely so) Uncle Silas, a true sociopath (psychopath) if ever there was one. This is a very suspensful and engaging book and I highly recommend it.

A melancholy and eerie read...........2006-04-20

One of my most favourite books by an awe-inspiring author.

Sucks you in right from the lyrical and poetic first paragragh. Vintage prose you just do not see anymore, with a plot, characters and settings to transport you into another time and place. Le Fanu's descriptive ability is beyond amazing...

If you love this, you must check out his ghost stories. I read them over and over....they are the most superbly done of the 19th century!

Nonstop dread.......2006-02-26

"Uncle Silas" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is considered
one of the great Gothic novels. It is a long, long
novel of suspense- and since it is so long, it must be
a record holder for sustained dread. Chapter after
chapter, you worry about poor little Maud, the
beleaguered heroine.

Actually, I doubt you do. Maud isn't very
comprehensible to the modern reader. She is the
daughter of a rich estate-owner, and she will inherit
everything upon his death. The problem is that her
father frets over his ne'er-do-well younger brother
Silas. He wants to pay off Silas's debts and reform
him, but being woolenly virtuous himself, the plan he
comes up to do it is impractical and may utterly
destroy poor Maud.

Not that you really care about Maud. As a Victorian
heroine, she stands up to her enemies using her power
of very-good-etiquette, and hopes that her stoic
passivity will stir the heart of some passing
nobleman. The most she will do in her own behalf is
stamp her foot. It's hard to sympathise with a weepy
foot-stamper, particularly when imagining what any
modern heroine would do in her place: write a letter
to her lawyer, call in reporters, plan an escape, or
beat the living crap out of old Silas.

It doesn't matter. In early Gothic novels, you were
expected to care about the heroes and heroines, but as
the genre evolved, the emphasis shifted to the
villains. And "Uncle Silas" has mesmerizing villains.
There's the grotesque Frenchwoman Madame de
Rougierre, who is at turns pathetic and terrifying.
There's Silas's son, who could have been a young
gentleman if he hadn't been raised in bitter poverty
by his father. And finally, there's Uncle Silas: you
don't know what to think of this old opium-addicted
ruin. Is he a victim of other people's cruel
prejudice? Is he a man who got off to a poor start
and was never allowed to make it up? Will Maud be able
to rehabilitate him?

You can find out by reading the book.

Average customer rating:

A great tale of another age
This is the best vampire story ever
The best vampire story
High Praise for a Genre I'm Not Even Totally Into!
By the writer appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James.

Carmilla
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1587155958
Release Date: 2005-01-28

Book Description

Before Dracula came Carmilla -- the tale of an excuisite and beautiful vampire and the young woman she befriends and feeds upon. Part of the Wildside Fantasy Classics series.

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A chilling tale of the un-dead, Carmilla is a beautifully written example of the gothic genre. The story takes the reader into the dark, mysterious world of a girl and her family tormented by visitations and nightmares. While the continual reoccurrence of a beautiful woman, unknown, yet familiar, meanders through the lives of the characters, to the very heart of the story, the precise use of language emphasises and heightens the images that the book presents and sends the reader spiralling towards its bloody conclusion. Said to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece 'Dracula', Carmilla stands out as a classic horror masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

A great tale of another age.......2007-04-22

This is a wonderful little story about a lonely little girl born into a good family (wealth, and character) who is visited and befriended by a petulant little child who turns out to be the most dangerous vampire in history. Carmilla reeks of a romance of times not seen in the urban and suburban vistas of America. Carmilla (the story, not the girl) is of a time when the darkness following sunset relegated everyone in the village to their homes and most oftn their sleeping quarters. There might be small gatherings to hear tales or sing songs, but these were not as frequent as one might imagine. Life was comprised of survivial first, community second, and recreation when one could find it. Into this mix the soft-spoken, beautiful doll who is Carmilla (the girl, not the story) enters, only to siphon off the very sanctity of a quiet little hamlet, turning it into a chilling town of death. Carmilla would have lasted in this village for quite some time had she not gotten carelss. Some speculate that she actually did not die (much like "The Laughing Jesus" controversy), but the tale is a bit ambiguous, just enough to lave doubt in the minds of the true believers.

This story is short and tightly focused on one incident, rathr than the saga of terror carmilla pread throughout her life travelling Europe. As such it leaves much to the imagination of exatly who carmillas was and how she became to be. Written before Braum Stoker ever heard of vampiers, this is simply the one of best tales of vampirism ever written.

This is the best vampire story ever.......2007-04-19

Carmilla is the most important vampire story ever written. She predates Braum Stoker and takes us back to a time long before modern medicine, electricity, or late-night runs to Starbucks. The tale is as dark as the countryside in which it is set. To truly understand the tale however you must understand the time it was told in, and its historical evidence.

There have been thousands of verified cases of vampirism throughout history. Priests, constables, mayors, doctors, lawyers and judges, magistrates, and any number of respected members of society have set their hand (and seal) to oath stating "I have hereby witnessed what can only be described as a vampire." This has happened time and again all over the world, and Carmilla, sweet loving daughter and succubus is a queen among them. The story is labeled fiction by the uninitiated, but it is more a faction, and more than enough time has passed to let it be known anyway. Modern science would be delighted to actually have the evidence today to examine, and sadly that is the dilemma, for the vampires (including our diminutive friend Mircalla, Malarca, and others...) have long-since abandoned us. They are simply nowhere to be found. But if you ever find yourself in a small lonely town far away from modern Europe you may catch a whiff of the sent, a trail gone cold, but still possible to follow. Carmilla was there before you. Perhaps, just perhaps...

The best vampire story.......2006-12-22

This was Stokers influence for his novel Dracula. It is by far the most sensual ethereal vampire story ever written. LeFanu's work can only be described as opulently poetic

High Praise for a Genre I'm Not Even Totally Into!.......2005-11-28

J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is included in its entirety in a compilation book of Irish literature that I own. I wasn't impressed with a lot of the stuff I was looking at in it, but one day when I was ill from work, I leafed through the compilation to Le Fanu's mini novel and, once I began to read it, couldn't put it down until I was finished. This is highly unusual for me because I'm not big on gothic stories. However, this novella is addictive, fast paced, and one gets caught up in it as they read by sheer imagination when fueled by exceptionally talented writing.

I also thought the vampiress was showing strong lesbian traits, but wondered if Le Fanu could ever have gotten his work published if that were the case. No matter, as the story sucks you into its darkness (no pun intended) and you can actually feel Laura's growing despondency as Carmilla slowly drains away her life force rather than the Dracula-like depictions of quick attacks we often get in movies and the like. I think I was almost as creeped out by her violently emotional outbursts at the sound of a church choir and Laura seeming to take it in stride.

Intriguing and engaging, never dull, and able to transport the reader right to that eery place and time, Carmilla is a novella that takes a short time to read and still leaves you wanting more. Leave it to the Irish, who are responsible for most of the Holloween customs we follow today, to give us a timelessly stylish and truly frightening story such as this one!

By the writer appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James........2005-05-20

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is appreciated by Bram Stoker and M.R James, I can see why.

Le Fanu's use of atmosphere is remarkable, he builds the scenes up and up. His writings are by no means gory, but they are very horrific, due to his wonderful plot devices and descriptions.

'Carmilla' has to be my favourite of Le Fanu's wonderous stories, it is dramatic, chilling and at times quite tender. The pace is just right and the short chapters keep you hooked, and you will want to read more and more, I struggle to put this book down.

If it has one fault, it is the lack of explanation for the other 'villains' of the story, who was the strange man that entered the Masque? (I presume he was a Karnstien).

But the lack of explanation for that man, the Countess and the strange dark woman in the carriage, stimulates the brain.

I would suggest that fans of 'Dracula' should read this as Stoker himself loved the story, and even considered making his novel about a Styria Countess not unlike 'Carmilla'. A further insight into Stoker's admiration for this exquisit piece of fiction, can be seen in Stoker's short story 'Dracula's Guest'.

Also if you like the works of M.R James, then you should read this, and Le Fanu's other stories, as James uses the same style and has written a bit about Le Fanu.

James said of 'In A Glass Darkly' (the Anthology in which 'Carmilla' can be found):

"The volume called In a Glass Darkly is probably the best known, next to Uncle Silas, of all the author's works, and to those who have read it, the titles "The Familiar", "Mr Justice Harbottle", "Carmilla" and "Green Tea" will suggest the remembrance of an agreeable thrill. The two first, and "Squire Toby's Will", I should assert to be the best ghost stories in the English language"

Thank you very much for reading my review. I hope it helps.

Average customer rating:

Classy version of classic horror story

Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: The Audio Partners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 1572701706

Book Description

When an accident occurs on a road near their castle, Laura and her father take in the stranded survivor. Carmilla and Laura both appear young, beautiful, and innocent. But one is an ageless vampire; the other, an unsuspecting victim. True to vampire rituals involving blood, fear of dying, and obsessive eroticism, Carmilla herself falls victim to the "rapture of cruelty that is love."

Customer Reviews:

Classy version of classic horror story.......1998-07-28

"Carmilla," which predates Stoker's "Dracula," introduced the lesbian vampire to literature, and this reading of the entire text by Megan Follows breathes real life into LeFanu's somewhat antiquated Victorian style. Follows makes the narrator Laura into an intelligent and compelling guide through the tale; she also puts the proper ambivalence in the descriptions of Carmilla's advances, vampiric and otherwise. Indeed, what's most impressive is how clearly the lesbian subtext is presented, and how much emotion is involved. Altbough the plot is a little obvious after two centuries of rip-offs, LeFanu's innate storytelling skill and Follows' presentation make the anachronisms fairly painless, and the uniquely unsettling bits still have their chills.

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Carmilla
J., Sheridan LeFanu , and J., Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Vampyre: And Other Tales of the Macabre (Oxford World's Classics)

ASIN: 159818282X

Book Description

Carmilla is the book that set the text for Dracula, that threw the light on our morbid fascination with the vampire legend. This is Carmilla, J. Sheridan LeFanu's classic novel of blood, terror -- and a love that dare not speak its name.

Gothic Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 14 (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels))

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Gothic Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 14 (Graphic Classics (Graphic Novels))
Ann Radcliffe , Jane Austen , Edgar Allan Poe , J. Sheridan Le Fanu , Myla Jo Closser , Trina Robbins , Rod Lott , Antonella Caputo , Anne Timmons , Shary Flenniken , Carlo Vergara , Lisa K. Weber , and Leong Wan Kok
Manufacturer: Eureka Productions
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0978791908

Product Description

Gothic Classics presents Ann Radcliffe's archetypal gothic novel "The Mysteries of Udopho," adapted by Antonella Caputo and Carlo Vergara. Plus: Jane Austen's gothic parody "Northanger Abbey" by Trina Robbins and Anne Timmons; and Poe's "The Oval Portrait" by Malaysian illustrator Leong Wan Kok. Also "At the Gate," a canine ghost story by Myla Jo Closser, illustrated by Shary Flenniken, and J. Sheridan Le Fanu's great vampire tale "Carmilla," by Rod Lott and Lisa K. Weber. With a dramatic cover painting from "Carmilla" by Lisa K. Weber.

Average customer rating:

Entertaining read with predictable spirits
Great compilation

100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories

Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1402709730

Book Description

Be afraid, be very afraid: really scary things can come in small packages, and these 100 frightening little tales offer big chills and thrills. They represent more than 150 year's worth of writing, and include the greats: H.P. Lovecraft ("The Terrible Old Man"), Ambrose Bierce ("The Stranger"), Lafcadio Hearn ("A Dead Secret"), Oscar Wilde ("The Sphinx Without a Secret"), and J. Sheridan Le Fanu ("The Ghost and the Bone-Setter"). Best of all, a variety of human emotions and behavior come to the fore, from avarice (August Derleth's "Pacific 421") to revenge (Thorp McCluskey's "Black Gold"), from jealousy (Steve Rasnic Tem's "Daddy") to honor (Edith Nesbit's "John Charrington's Wedding") to love (Darrell Schwietzer's "Clocks"). Using a minimum of elements, each ghost story in this collection will entertain, captivate, and evoke a powerful response in readers.
So be warned: you might not want to read these while you're all alone in the house...

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining read with predictable spirits.......2007-01-14

Like other tales, ghost stories set a tone that may be terrifying, mournful, moralistic, thought provoking, whimsical, or even humorous. In this anthology, ghosts appear for a variety of reasons. In "Across the Moors" by William Fryer Harvey, the anonymous ghost seems to wish only to tell someone about the experience that "served as the turning point in my life." Predictably, others seek revenge, even against the descendants of those who harmed them. In many stories, the presence returns because it is not at peace in some way or it wishes to warn the living. A handful of ghosts relive their deaths, so to speak. A few ghosts are not even aware that they are dead. Another twist features inexorable, repeating events of a ghastly nature instead of the beings themselves.

Interestingly, ghosts rarely transcend their humanity. Unlike Jacob Marley, whose vision beyond the grave is clearly greater than his living one was and who warns Ebenezer Scrooge against making the same errors he did, these ghosts remain true to their human nature and outlook. The family of "The House of Shadows" by Mary Elizabeth Counselman continues to live as they always have, unchanged. In "How He Left the Hotel" by Louisa Baldwin, a dead man walks whose habits and paths are no different from those he followed when he was alive. Vicious killers become vicious ghosts; malicious people become malicious ghosts, like the engineer of "The Light Was Green" by John Rawson Speer. "A Grammatical Ghost" (Elia W. Peattie) is as fastidious in the afterlife as she was in life. Few if any of these spirits behave any differently than we expect them to, given what we are told and can see of their lives and values. There are few surprises here.

I bought 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories edited by Al Sarrantonio and Martin H. Greenberg and 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories at the same time because they seemed to make natural companions for long winter nights. I read the second almost a year after reading the first and found it disappointing in comparison.

Perhaps it is their very nature that makes ghost stories less effective than tales of horror. Ghosts are personal, connected in some way to the specific people and places that they haunt. I have nothing to fear from Jacob Marley or from any of the motley crew that roams the pages of this collection. I have killed no one, cheated on no one, and sent no one to the gallows, nor do my home or work place seem to attract spirits. I do not collect morbid objects like "Mordecai's Pipe" (A. V. Milyer). Some of the ghosts' actions seem horrifying, but I felt detached from them, perhaps because they are fictional ghosts acting out against fictional people in ways that are not entirely unexpected.

In comparison, horror stories, like those of Poe, rely on the darkness of the mind and its imaginative ability--how terrifying can the soul's darkness be? It is difficult to translate that sense to ghost stories, which, ironically, seem more tangible. Horror can extend as far as the mind can, but in the end ghosts are merely dead people--mostly predictable dead people. Without a spectacular ending twist, part of the suspense and the element of the unknown is lost.

Still, although there are more misses and fewer hits here than in the horror anthology, this is an entertaining book, worth curling up with on a dark and stormy night.

Diane L. Schirf
Saturday, 13 January 2007.

Great compilation.......2003-11-05

Let's get the stinkers out of the way first. Oscar Wilde's "The Sphinx Without a Secret" is a story without a ghost, or even a fright. Very disappointing from such a talented writer. That is by far the worst story, so let's not dwell on it.

"The Sixth Tree" shows promise but suffers from a predictable ending, though it does offer a good little moral about man's misplaced reliance on science and, by extension, his own intelligence.

The best story was a much harder call, but I nominate "The Night Caller" by G. L. Raisor. The first line sets a wonderfully malignant tone: "Sherry Elder's descent into madness began on a Thursday." The rest of the story is a fast-paced masterpiece of implied doom and ominous overtones. The word "ghost" isn't mentioned, nor is the identity of the "ghost" stated, but the author makes it clear, regardless. The story is so effective because the reader is free to make his own conclusion.

But there are other fine stories. "The Coat" is menacing, "Mandolin" touching and endearing though it, like Wilde's story, doesn't have a ghost. "The Metronome" is pure vengeance from a murdered child, and Fred Chappell's "Miss Prue" deserves mention for its breathtaking descriptive prose, such as these gems: "His eyes were like cinders in the deep sockets. He seemed to belong more to the cool gray autumn wind than to the world of animal flesh." "His voice was windblown ash in a desert land." "She flicked her hand at the question as if it were a tedious housefly." "His voice was like the sound of wind in a ragged thornbush." Great stuff!

Finally, "Summerland" is effective, due to its cynical tone toward séances and spiritualism, in a subtle and understated way, and implies (again, without coming out and stating it) the truth about where our souls go. Or, more specifically, the soul of a man who rents out a decrepit house for the price of a mansion.

Customer Reviews:

Classic Horror Tales by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.......2004-07-19

J. Sheridan Le Fanu is a master of ghost and horror stories. His style is gothic. The protagonist might be a young woman without family and friends. The setting is lonely and isolated, often a decaying manor or castle. A growing sense of malice and evil emerges as the story unfolds. Le Fanu was able to transform this trite formula into remarkably suspenseful stories that haunt the reader long afterwards. All thirteen tales in this collection are enjoyable on many levels: suspenseful horror, well-crafted plots, and interesting characterizations.

Le Fanu's novels are noted for their leisurely pace, for their wordy and discursive style. His short stories are tighter, but still reflect Le Fanu's care in developing the setting and the atmosphere. I enjoy Le Fanu's antiquated style; it somehow adds verisimilitude to the accounts.

The Evil Guest, the longest story in this collection, is quite successful as a suspenseful mystery, but what makes it memorable is Le Fanu's description of one man's descent into evil and eventual insanity.

The Murdered Cousin is a traditional gothic story in which a young woman is entrusted to the care of an evil uncle. Le Fanu later expanded this tale into his most popular novel, Uncle Silas.

Schalken the Painter, Green Tea, Mr. Justice Harbottle, and Sir Dominick's Bargain are among his most admired stories and are frequently encountered in anthologies. Although superficially they share a common theme about demonic visitations, all four tales offer unique, imaginative aspects that make them classics. I find Schalken the Painter and Green Tea to be especially frightening. Mr. Justice Harbottle is a story of demonic retribution, retribution fully deserved. Sir Dominick's Bargain is a conventional tale of a pact with the devil, but one with an unexpected twist.

The title story Carmilla (1871) is ranked among the classic vampire stories, along with John Polidori's The Vampyre (1819) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). The relationship between the heroine and the female vampire is surprisingly complex, adding a dimension not found in most gothic characterizations.

Other stories in this collection include Ultor De Lacy, Wicked Captain Walshawe of Wauling, The White Cat of Drumgunniol, Madam Crowl's Ghost, Dickon the Devil, and Laura Silver Bell.

I reviewed a paperback edition (1996) published by Signet Classic. This inexpensive edition (446 pages) is a bargain.

shaken.......2000-06-03

I special ordered this book because I thought it would be really good. I read the reviews and some how got the impression that it was a sensual vampire story. It was a vampire story that dragged on a little to much. It was also vague, and not so sensual at all. I got the feeling that this story tried to capture the elegence of Dracula, but failed. I was shaken because I expected so much more.

An entertaining selection of Victorian ghost stories........1997-10-21

I liked this book, but probably not quite as LeFanu intended I ought. The majority of stories are ghost tales, longer and less punchy but more engrossing than those of M.R. James, but with a very similar atmosphere. Most striking is Carmilla, an amusing Gothic story about a female vampire and her relationship with the narrator, her innocent girlfriend. Modern times have robbed the story of much of its horror, and Carmilla becomes as much an object of sympathy as a pure villain - a fact that raises new questions rather than weakening the tale. Like Gormenghast, it is easy to dismiss such writing as plain silly - much of the story IS rather daft - but the charm of the stories remains, provided that the reader enters into the spirit of the book. LeFanu's style is not great - he is rather wordy and his prose a bit "purple", but the meticulous construction of his stories makes them worth reading as exercises in plot alone. His clear love of the atmosphere he builds shows through, and it is refreshing to find a book in which the gothic is not played for laughs. Overall, this is a pleasing collection of stories with a few real highlights. Its atmosphere and style inevitably mean that it will not have much appeal to many people, but fans of the macabre and antiquated will find it a worthwhile purchase. Like Stoker's Dracula or a good Hammer film, it is highly entertaining, simultaneously chilling and slightly camp.

Children of the Night: Stories of Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, and "Lost Children" (The Children of the Night)

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Not for Children!!!

Children of the Night: Stories of Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, and "Lost Children" (The Children of the Night)

Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Not for Children!!!.......2007-01-09

I was a little dissapointed in the horror content. But the stories were interesting and very different. Not at all gory/splatterpunkish. If your looking for dark stories with different endings, these would be them

Average customer rating:

Not Le Fanu's best
Good, but not Le Fanu's best
Good Introduction to Gothic Fiction
Must read Material for Gothic Mystery Fans

The Wyvern Mystery
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Mysteries of Udolpho (Penguin Classics)
In a Glass Darkly (Oxford World's Classics)
Best Ghost Stories of J. S. LeFanu
The Vampyre: And Other Tales of the Macabre (Oxford World's Classics)

ASIN: 0486440729

Book Description

A beautiful heroine marries the heir to a local estate — but what sounds like a happy ending is just the beginning of a chilling and suspenseful thriller. This 1869 horror classic by the Victorian equivalent of Stephen King unfolds inside a house haunted by past secrets and present danger.

Customer Reviews:

Not Le Fanu's best.......2006-05-01

Poor Alice! Why is her new husband so secretive? Why is the housekeeper so cool toward her? What does her brother-in-law know that he isn't telling? And what is that strange scratching noise in her bedroom at midnight?

All good questions, but don't expect answers for a few hundred pages. Le Fanu is the master of dragged-out suspense, but he really drags it out in this one, then skips 12 years, then begins what appears to be a new plot needing another few hundred pages, until he recollects that he needs to finish the book and ends everything at breakneck speed in the last few pages. You wouldn't mind so much if you cared about Alice's problems, but she's the typical innocent and passive young heroine who needs squads of people on hand to help her while she's bedridden with grief. What makes this book enjoyable is not her but the other characters: there's old Squire Fairfield; he didn't like Alice's father, but when Alice was orphaned as a child, he raised her himself. His feelings toward her seem gruff but paternal.... or are they? Mildred the housekeeper has an endless supply of proverbs and sayings; she isn't loyal or even nice... or is she? Harry the brother-in-law seems to be a simple horse trader who's happy to let his elder brother inherit Wyvern, the family estate, but he may not be as simple as he seems. And what about the mysterious, tall, opium-smoking "Dutchwoman" ....? Le Fanu excels at ambiguous motivations, only in this book, the motives are especially nebulous. I would have appreciated an afterword explaining the laws of inheritance and primogeniture in a way that would make the baby plot a little clearer.

Good, but not Le Fanu's best.......2002-01-25

Unfortunately, I read Le Fanu's Uncle Silas before picking up The Wyvern Mystery. Although I enjoyed The Wyvern Mystery, I felt it was not as well written and plotted as Uncle Silas. At one point, you seem to reach the climax as 'the old soldier' becomes very nasty indeed; but then she all but disappears from the book. The ending was predictable - you could see it coming from a mile off. Overall, the book was entertaining, but I would recommend Uncle Silas over this story any day.

Good Introduction to Gothic Fiction.......2001-02-23

J. Sheridan LeFanu is not as difficult to get into as other Gothic fiction authors are. I would definitely recommend the 'Wyvern Mystery' to anyone looking at beginning to read Gothic fiction. I would recommend to anyone, however, as a very well-rounded book. The storyline takes many exciting twists and turns, though LeFanu's slow and detailed style may find little friendliness from modern readers. Those who appreciate detail will find his intricate portraits both refreshing and beautiful. Many times I found myself smiling at the believable and realistic depictions of emotion or character traits. LeFanu definitely shows that he is not an amatuer and demands attention from modern readers. He is widely unread, but his great talents at storytelling deserve attention. The 'mystery' of the Wyvern Mystery centers around a young couple's troubles due to elopement, financial problems, and the hero's dark past that comes back to haunt them both. All this and a happy ending. I implore you to resurrect this wonderful old mystery.

Must read Material for Gothic Mystery Fans.......2000-10-24

LeFanu's "Wyvern Mystery" is a classic example of a Gothic mystery. During the 1860's, Gothic mysteries and horror novels were popular. Although LeFanu is not as "up there " as such notable Gothic novelists as Bram Stroker or Mary Shelley, LeFanu creates a chilling and suspenseful thriller. The tale has the typical features one finds in Gothic novels- a beautiful heroine who is in danger, a mysterious family secret, a haunted mansion, prophetic dreams, appropriate dark atmosphere and as added bonus LeFanu created a "sub-human " character who has been damaged in her past and has now become a monster out for revenge. At time reminiscent of Jane Eyre, Wyvern mystery is a must have for mystery fans of the genre. PBS broadcasted a screen adaptation on their Mystery Series. Also I recommend all other LeFanu novels and also the Gothic mystery "Lady Audley's Secret ". Enjoy.

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Checkmate
J. Sheridan Le Fanu , and Jessica de Mellow
Manufacturer: Alan Sutton Publishing,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0750914696

Book Description

Introduction by Jessica de Mellow. "The ideal reading in a country house for the hours after midnight." -- Henry James

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