The third story in Women's Weird 2 takes us into the 20th century, with a story that first appeared in 1901. Sarah Orne Jewett was an American regionalist author (as was Lovecraft, to a great extent) and 'The Green Bowl' reflects this. It's the tale of two modern young ladies who set off on vacation by horse and buggy - with no male chaperone!
The story has an interesting framing narrative, and was apparently part of a linked collection featuring a kind of raconteurs club familiar to readers to supernatural fiction. It's a neat twist to have two women as main characters, and the description of their troubles on getting caught in a downpour in a remote rural area is nicely done. So is the central idea, that of two Chinese bowls which have mystical powers, and that must never be kept together.
The story is a little bit lightweight for my taste, with an ending that seems almost tacked on to give the reader a slight shudder. But it is certainly another change of theme and pace. The sprightly realism of the prose is very effective. Let's see what the next author has to offer...
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