TITLE: The Living Stone
AUTHOR: Various
PUBLISHER: Handheld Press
ISBN: 978-1912766765
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Mark Norman
What’s the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque? You might not find the answer in the stories in this anthology, but you’ll find plenty of unusual goings-on surrounding both of them. (In case you wondered, gargoyles channel water whereas grotesques are purely ornamental).
The Living Stone is part of a series of anthologies from Handheld Press bringing classic, and sometimes lesser-known short stories to a new audience. In this case, we are looking at stories of uncanny sculptures which were written between 1858 and 1943.
The collection is edited by Henry Bartholomew, also responsible for editing the Algernon Blackwood anthology The Unknown. The editor has provided an extensive and useful introduction looking at the stories as well as the Gothic and the role of sculpted stones within it.
Stalwart of folklore collecting and general antiquarian celebrity Sabine Baring-Gould provides the first story, ‘Master Sacristan Eberhart: Not Quite a Ghost Story’ in his usual flourished style. From here, the list moves through the years to 1943 and James Causey’s ‘The Statue’.
Expect the usual fare from such names as Edith Wharton, Arthur Machen and E.F. Benson. Lovecraft slips in towards the end for a bit of weirdness from another realm. Chances are, there will be a few names you haven’t read amongst the list too, all providing different interpretations of the subject matter.
Some of the stories in this anthology are, as you would expect, of their time. For this reason, there is a useful set of notes on the text at the end of the book, provided by Kate Macdonald. Also, the age of some of the stories means that there may be some themes or ideas which don’t sit as comfortably today. Stories have all been drawn from their first editions.
The historic mix of stories and writing styles does make some of the tales harder to read than others, certainly for me in any case. This is to be expected and not a detriment to the book, of course, but it maybe isn’t always the book for a light five minutes reading while you wait for the dinner to finish cooking. More concentrated effort is probably the order of the day.
This is a valuable collection with a good set of accompanying information. It would be well worth checking out some of the other weirdness to be found in the Handheld Press anthologies.
AUTHOR: Various
PUBLISHER: Handheld Press
ISBN: 978-1912766765
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Mark Norman
What’s the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque? You might not find the answer in the stories in this anthology, but you’ll find plenty of unusual goings-on surrounding both of them. (In case you wondered, gargoyles channel water whereas grotesques are purely ornamental).
The Living Stone is part of a series of anthologies from Handheld Press bringing classic, and sometimes lesser-known short stories to a new audience. In this case, we are looking at stories of uncanny sculptures which were written between 1858 and 1943.
The collection is edited by Henry Bartholomew, also responsible for editing the Algernon Blackwood anthology The Unknown. The editor has provided an extensive and useful introduction looking at the stories as well as the Gothic and the role of sculpted stones within it.
Stalwart of folklore collecting and general antiquarian celebrity Sabine Baring-Gould provides the first story, ‘Master Sacristan Eberhart: Not Quite a Ghost Story’ in his usual flourished style. From here, the list moves through the years to 1943 and James Causey’s ‘The Statue’.
Expect the usual fare from such names as Edith Wharton, Arthur Machen and E.F. Benson. Lovecraft slips in towards the end for a bit of weirdness from another realm. Chances are, there will be a few names you haven’t read amongst the list too, all providing different interpretations of the subject matter.
Some of the stories in this anthology are, as you would expect, of their time. For this reason, there is a useful set of notes on the text at the end of the book, provided by Kate Macdonald. Also, the age of some of the stories means that there may be some themes or ideas which don’t sit as comfortably today. Stories have all been drawn from their first editions.
The historic mix of stories and writing styles does make some of the tales harder to read than others, certainly for me in any case. This is to be expected and not a detriment to the book, of course, but it maybe isn’t always the book for a light five minutes reading while you wait for the dinner to finish cooking. More concentrated effort is probably the order of the day.
This is a valuable collection with a good set of accompanying information. It would be well worth checking out some of the other weirdness to be found in the Handheld Press anthologies.