Description
Book SynopsisFrom the predatory same-sex desire in “Carmilla” to the ghostly hallucinations in “Green Tea,” the five supernatural stories in In a Glass Darkly reflect a profound and deeply disturbing uncertainty about the nature of humanity. Originally published separately in magazines, the stories are framed and linked in this collection as case notes in the papers of the fictional Dr. Hesselius. Sheridan Le Fanu’s approach to the supernatural reworks traditional Irish oral storytelling and combines it with nineteenth-century adaptations of the eighteenth-century Gothic novel.
Appendices include Le Fanu’s correspondence about the stories, posthumous assessments of his life and work, and twentieth-century critical commentaries by M.R. James and Elizabeth Bowen. Engravings from the original serial publications of several stories are also included.
Trade Review“Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly
is one of the landmark works of Victorian Gothic. It contains some of the greatest ghost stories ever written, and in ‘Carmilla’
one of the most important vampire tales. Elizabeth Tilley’s brilliant new edition is the best one we’ve ever had, and it takes us closer to Le Fanu’s collection than we’ve ever been before. With its wonderful introduction and its superb selection of critical and contextual material, this book has everything a serious reader needs.” — Darryl Jones, Trinity College DublinTable of Contents
- In a Glass Darkly
- Green Tea
- The Familiar
- Mr. Justice Harbottle
- The Room in the Dragon Volant
- Carmilla
- Appendix A: Reviews and Early Observations
- 1. Contemporary Reviews
- (a) The Athenaeum (6 July 1872)
- (b) The Saturday Review (17 August 1872)
- (c) The Examiner (6 July 1872)
- 2. Twentieth-century notices of Le Fanu’s work
- (a) From M.R. James, “Some Remarks on Ghost Stories,” The Bookman (December
- 1929)
- (b) From Elizabeth Bowen, “Preface to Uncle Silas,” Collected Impressions (1950)
- Appendix B: Obituaries
- 1. The Irish Times (8 February 1873)
- 2. The Freeman’s Journal (10 February 1873)
- 3. The Irish Builder (15 February 1873)
- 4. The Illustrated London News (15 February 1873)
- Appendix C: On Swedenborg
- 1. From The Saturday Review (11 May 1867)
- Appendix D: Correspondence between Le Fanu and others
- 1. Charles Dickens to Le Fanu (24 September 1869)
- 2. Charles Dickens to Le Fanu (24 November 1869)
- 3. Le Fanu to George Bentley (3 January 1870)
- 4. Le Fanu to J. Munnings (16 June 1872)
- 5. Le Fanu to J. Munnings (24 June 1872)
