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Sheridan Le Fanu And His Books
Sheridan Le Fanu's well-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House By The Churchyard, which are still widely read today. However, we hope our brief self-compiled bibliography of his gothic tales listed below will prove useful to know as well. It will give you an idea of his repertoire in this genre.
A meticulous craftsman, he frequently re-worked plots and ideas from his earlier works in subsequent pieces. Many of his novels, for example, are expansions and refinements of his earlier short stories. He specialized in tone and effect rather than 'shock horror', and liked to leave important details unexplained and mysterious. He avoided overt supernatural effects; in most of his major works, the supernatural is strongly implied but a 'natural' explanation is also possible.
This technique influenced later horror artists, both in print and on film. Though other writers have since chosen less subtle techniques, Sheridan Le Fanu's best tales, such as the vampire novella Carmilla, remain some of the most powerful in the genre.
Although his work fell out of favour in the early part of the 20th century, towards the end of the century interest in Sheridan Le Fanu's Victorian horror stories increased and remains comparatively strong.
A meticulous craftsman, he frequently re-worked plots and ideas from his earlier works in subsequent pieces. Many of his novels, for example, are expansions and refinements of his earlier short stories. He specialized in tone and effect rather than 'shock horror', and liked to leave important details unexplained and mysterious. He avoided overt supernatural effects; in most of his major works, the supernatural is strongly implied but a 'natural' explanation is also possible.
This technique influenced later horror artists, both in print and on film. Though other writers have since chosen less subtle techniques, Sheridan Le Fanu's best tales, such as the vampire novella Carmilla, remain some of the most powerful in the genre.
Although his work fell out of favour in the early part of the 20th century, towards the end of the century interest in Sheridan Le Fanu's Victorian horror stories increased and remains comparatively strong.
Sheridan Le Fanu's earliest twelve short stories, written between 1838 and 1840, purport to be the literary remains of an 18th-century Catholic priest named Father Purcell. The stories were published in the Dublin University Magazine, and later collected as The Purcell Papers (1880). Mostly set in Ireland, the stories still often appear in anthologies, which include some classic ones of gothic horror with gloomy castles, supernatural visitations from beyond the grave, madness and suicide. Also apparent are nostalgia and sadness for the dispossessed Catholic aristocracy of Ireland, whose ruined castles stand as mute witnessess to this history.
Revised versions of Passage In The Secret History Of An Irish Countess and Strange Event In The Life Of Schalken The Painter were reprinted in Sheridan Le Fanu's first collection of short stories, the very rare Ghost Stories And Tales Of Mystery (1851).
- The Ghost And The Bonesetter (1838) (His first-published and jocular story.)
- The Fortunes Of Sir Robert Ardagh (1838) (An enigmatic story involving a Faustian pact and set in the gothic ambiance of a castle in rural Ireland.)
- The Last Heir Of Castle Connor (1838) (A non-supernatural tale exploring the decline and expropriation of the ancient Catholic gentry of Ireland under the Protestant Ascendancy.)
- The Drunkard's Dream (1838) (Of Hell.)
- Strange Event In The Life Of Schalken The Painter (1839) (A disturbing story of a man returning from the grave to claim his bride in the old folkloric motif of the demon lover. This tale was inspired by the atmospheric candle-lit scenes of the 17th-century Dutch painter Godfried Schalcken, who is the hero of the story. M R James stated that, "'Schalken' conforms more strictly to my own ideals. It is indeed one of the best of Le Fanu's good things." It was adapted and broadcast for television by the BBC for Christmas 1979, with John Justin starring in the title role.)
- Passage In The Secret History Of An Irish Countess (1839) (An early version of his later novel Uncle Silas.)
- A Chapter In The History Of A Tyrone Family (1839) (Which may have influenced Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. This story was later re-worked and expanded as The Wyvern Mystery (1869).)
Revised versions of Passage In The Secret History Of An Irish Countess and Strange Event In The Life Of Schalken The Painter were reprinted in Sheridan Le Fanu's first collection of short stories, the very rare Ghost Stories And Tales Of Mystery (1851).
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Sheridan Le Fanu On Audio
Many audio-recordings have been done of Sheridan Le Fanu's works by various companies who specialize in this particular field i.e. the taping of narrated stories on cassette tape or CD. For your ease of reference, we have included two search boxes below, in particular from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk, where you will be able to look for audio-recordings of your favourite stories from the grand master of gothic tales.
By the way, apart from books, audio-recordings make great gifts as well!
Here are a few audio-recordings, done in MP3 format, of Sheridan Le Fanu's stories you may wish to download now. They are from the audio-books site LibriVox at librivox.org. LibriVox is an online digital-library of free public-domain audio-books read by volunteers, with a large catalogue of unabridged books as well as shorter works available as free downloads. About ninety percent of their collection is in English, although their recordings are available in thirty-three languages.
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