This is part of a running review of Lost Estates by Mark Valentine (Swan River Press 2024)
The title of this story comes from an innocent remark by a character in Thomas Hardy's first published novel. Hardy's reference is to a musical instrument. But in this tale, Mark Valentine's bibliophile narrator finds something far stranger.
Anyone who has visited Hay-on-Wye knows that there are bookshops without shopkeepers, where you can leave money in an honesty box after taking some obscure paperback from a somewhat straggling array. In this tale the protagonist finds himself in an isolated shop full of books on one particular theme - the Brazen Serpent. I am sadly ignorant of the significance of this entity but significant it certainly is.
The atmosphere is well evoked. Do I take something and leave the money? Do I leave a note of my address so I can pay later? The book hunter decided to do the latter, but then a sudden tempest arises, the lights fail, and he encounters strange, tactile sensations in the darkness. This M.R. Jamesian touch is neat, as is the later suggestion that leaving any form of document in such a place might be hazardous.
A slight story, perhaps, built around a single incident, but a good one nonetheless. I look forward to the next tale from the Lost Estates.
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