Violet Paget (1856–1935), also known under the pseudonym Vernon Lee, was a French-born British writer famous for her supernatural fiction and contributions to the field of aesthetics. She also wrote more than a dozen books on a variety of subjects ranging from music to travel, and today she is best remembered for her original ideas and amusing use of irony. Lee's most famous work, “Hauntings” (1890) is a fantastic collection of chilling ghost and supernatural stories, including “Amour Dure”, “Dionea”, “Oke of Okehurst”, and “A Wicked Voice”. Classic macabre tales not to be missed by fans of frightening fiction. Other notable works by this author include: “The Prince of the Hundred Soups: A Puppet Show in Narrative” (1883), “The Countess of Albany” (1884), and “Miss Brown” (1884). Fantasy and Horror Classics is proudly republishing this classic novel now in a new edition complete with an introductory biography by Daniel Lleufer Thomas.
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Ah, yes! I had the worst time finding the exact edition I read. My copy, via Hoopla contained:Amour DureDioneaOke of Okehurst A Wicked VoiceSo in my absolute obsession with the book [b:Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction 44326161 Monster, She Wrote The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction Lisa Kröger https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552268790l/44326161.SY75.jpg 68879371] I've been actively searching out the authors mentioned within and I stumbled across this collection from Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). I am being totally honest when I say I did not dislike these stories, but I now know that Paget's writing is not for me. All of these stories are about art, basically, and being obsessed with either said art or the artist who created the art. As a result, I rather felt like Paget was an art critic trying to tell a funny anecdote who cannot get to the point because she is too busy namedropping artists. She's a bit windy, is all I'm saying. These stories take a long time to get where they are going, and the ride isn't what I would describe as thrilling. Of all of them, I enjoyed Dionea the most as I loved the narrator's voice and the idea of this little scamp of a girl pissing off nuns had me laughing. Oke of Okehurst is the strongest story, but I would still feel that way even if the ghost were removed from the equation as it is a character study of an unhealthy marriage. I gave up with A Wicked Voice and found an audio recording of it. Read (and sung!) by Gary Turner, I enjoyed it more and maybe that's the point- these stories were supposed to be shared around a fireplace, after a few sherries on a cold winter's night. I'm sure, for her time, Paget was the bee's knees, but I feel like I read her best four and can close the chapter on her. One classic work down for 2021!
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