Quote:
Originally Posted by fantasyfan
That sounds like a fascinating selection!
|
Are you reading it too? I'd be curious what you thought of the stories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl
I finished and for bonus points watched The Man Who Saved Christmas movie about Dickens last night. I’ve seen the movie before, but it was fun to rewatch. 
I liked this collection. A Victorian ghost story does not have the scary horror aspect that a modern story would have, but it was still fun. It started out a bit repetitious with the country house setting, but I am glad there was more diversity in the second half. I liked how each story had an introduction about the author and why that story had been selected and what was special about it in regards to the Victorian Christmas ghost story traditions. I read a story or two each day usually by the Christmas tree light or fireplace to set the mood.
I am not sure which one was my favorite. Maybe The Lady’s Walk by Margaret Oliphant. I also liked The Doll’s Ghost which added a haunted object (toy) to the collection.
Has anyone else finished? Did anyone have a clear favorite story? |
Reading these by Christmas lights or a crackling fire sounds so cosy and charming!
I've never seen The Man Who Saved Christmas before; it sounds good.
I'm halfway through currently and really enjoying it. I thought the first story (by Walter Scott no less!) was mediocre but so far it was also the shortest and the quality has been steadily improving. Maybe the first story was meant as a palate cleanser to be ready for the rest, a short example by a famous author to get us in the mood. I have a weakness for country estate type settings so all of them so far in the first half being set there hasn't bothered me at all.
I love the care that this collection has been put together with. One of my biggest gripes about assembled short story collections by various authors is that they can seem slipshod and careless. That was true before self published ebooks but has multiplied a thousandfold since it's now so much the easier to put together a public domain collection for sale. With this collection it's obvious the editor has pored over who knows how many Victorian Christmas ghost stories looking for the best gems, and then also writing a brief introduction for each giving some historical context and other info. It's definitely quality, and was obviously well received since there's been sequels. I hadn't heard of Valancourt before but now associate them with a high caliber.
It was amusing that the introduction, which for once I read before the book and was pleasantly relieved to find there are no spoilers there, talked about how often Victorian Christmas ghost stories relied on some logical and non-supernatural/non-horrific cause for the scares by the end, and yet so far in this collection as I've read not a one has relied on that. I don't think she mentioned she was only choosing 'true' supernatural and/or horrific stories but that seems to have been her intention, perhaps thinking a modern audience would roll their eyes at too many stories with coincidental and benign logical explanations, and would instead prefer the true ghostly experience.