Votes for Algernon (and a radio rarity)

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I've put up another opinion poll to the right (or above and to the right, depending on when you read this). I wondered if people would care to choose their favourite Algernon Blackwood story from the ones listed? You can vote for more than one.

To be honest, I could have just put three there - 'The Willows', 'The Wendigo', and 'Ancient Sorceries' (the one about the French town o' cats) I've sure the battle for first place will involve 'The Willows' and 'The Wendigo'. But I thought I'd give people a wider choice. I might just as well have added 'The Glamour of the Snow' or 'A Victim of Higher Space', as Algy did write rather a lot of good, readable tales.

In other Blackwood news, someone on Facebook recently posted a link to an old BBC radio drama based on AB's novel The Human Chord.  (The link leads to Dropbox, but I don't think you have to have that app for it to work.) It's by Sheila Hodgson, best known as the writer of a series of excellent plays featuring M.R. James encountering 'real' spooks. But see what you think of this one. And note, this off-air recording is not of great quality.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I chose the perennial favourites, THE WENDIGO, ANCIENT SORCERIES, THE WILLOWS, as well as A HAUNTED ISLAND and SMITH: AN EPISODE IN A LODGING-HOUSE, primarily because it is set in my native city, Edinburgh (as is the novel JULIUS LEVALLON and the adequate KEEPING HIS PROMISE). I also have many other favourites, including THE TABLET OF THE GODS, THE MAN WHOM THE TREES LOVED, and MAY DAY EVE, which, despite justifiable criticism on Murray Ewing's website, is still a fine and brooding piece of timeless, ancient powers in the transient times of mankind. I am yet to read the tales in INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES, which S.T. Joshi calls the ''premier weird collection of this or any other century.'' The John Silence story, A PSYCHICAL INVASION, is quite good, too, especially in the use of animals as spiritual surveys.
2 February 2016 at 14:47:00 GMT
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