The first story in the Third G&S Book of Shadows is by C.E. (Clive) Ward, a veteran of Ghosts & Scholars. Ward's approach is traditional, and his grasp of history makes him a particular convincing modern Jamesian author. His choice of story is 'Lost Hearts', and he cleverly uses the sequel device to offer some new insights into the bloody antics of Mr Abney.
As the title implies, the action begins twenty years after the demise of the villain at Aswarby Hall. Stephen Elliott is contacted by Abney's former butler, who is dying and wants to unburden himself. Ward essentially conducts a re-examination of the known facts in the original story and arrives at some interesting conclusions.
This is a satisfying start to the collection, marred only by the obvious problem with any long-ish story framed as a death-bed confession. At some point a dying man might simply go 'Aaaaggh!' and leave a few loose ends. But that's a minor quibble. Fans of 'Lost Hearts' (which James himself disliked) will appreciate this fresh take.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
WHAT WAS IT? AND OTHERS by Fitz-James O'Brien
The final volume of Collected Speculative Works from Swan River Press covers the period 1858 to 1864. It was in the opening stages of the Am...
-
This is a running review of the book Spirits of the Dead. Find out more here . My opinion on the penultimate story in this collection has...
-
Cover illo by Sam Dawson, for Steve Duffy's story 'Forever Chemicals', which offers an interesting take on the London of the e...
-
Some good news - Helen Grant's story 'The Sea Change' from ST11 has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. This follows an inqu...
No comments:
Post a Comment