Spooky literary genes run in the families chosen for this book. I loved the concept, which is quite different from the other books in the British Library Tales of the Weird series I’ve read so far and includes some modern writing. The editor, who has done some impressive research, selected stories from writers in the Dickens, Hawthorne, Le Fanu, Pangborn, Marryat and Aiken families. The stories all had a link to the theme of families in some way. Interesting to note that I liked the stories from the descendants more than the very famous writers who originated the literary line. The best ones were:
‘To Reach the Sea’ by Monica Dickens, a properly weird tale about a wig.
‘The Secret Ones’ by Mary Danby, which is very unsettling and written in an usual style.
‘The Mysterious Case of My Friend Browne’ by Julian Hawthorne, a sinister story of revenge.
‘My Name is Samantha’ by Mary C Pangborn, a letter asking to place an advert for a witch in the paper.
There are 18 stories in this volume, which is a generous number. There was a general introduction, then one for each family, and one for each author too. Unlike some other books in this series, there are no spoilers.
In summary, if you’re not sure which of the British Library Tales of the Weird to start with – and there are a lot of them now! – go for this one (published 2024), Evil Roots, Crawling Horror or Our Haunted Shores.
Interesting. I’ll have to check this out. š
It’s a good one, something quite different!