J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Joseph Le Fanu

Sink your teeth into the cult classic vampire novella that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Fear sweeps the countryside as people fall victim to a strange illness. After a peculiar accident, beautiful Mircalla becomes a ward at Laura’s family home. Soon, friendship blooms between the mysterious Mircalla and curious Laura. Love is in the air, but so is something deadly. Will Mircalla’s secret cost Laura her life? Carmilla, originally published in 1872, is one of the first vampire novels ever written, predating Dracula by twenty-six years. Carmilla, with its themes of vampirism and homosexuality, shocked the standards and stereotypes for women set in the Victorian era. Today, Carmilla is considered the original archetype of female and LGBTQ vampires, and Le Fanu’s influence is seen throughout vampire fiction./

Carmilla

Carmila

Madam Crowl's Ghost & Other Stories

'Well, a corpse is a natural thing; but this was the dreadfullest sight I ever sid...' Sheridan Le Fanu is one of the indispensable figures in the history of Gothic and horror fiction-the most important such writer in English, certainly, between Poe and M. R. James. While a number of his sensation and mystery novels were popular with mid-Victorian readers, it was in shorter forms that he truly excelled, and most showed himself an innovator in the field of uncanny fiction. Tales such as 'Carmilla' and 'Green Tea' prompted M. R. James to remark, 'he succeeds in inspiring a mysterious terror better than any other writer'. This landmark critical edition includes the original versions of all five stories later collected in the superb In a Glass Darkly, along with seven equally chilling tales spanning the length of Le Fanu's career, from 'Schalken the Painter', a pioneering story of the walking dead, to 'Laura Silver Bell', a haunting exploration of the dark side of fairy lore. Aaron Worth's introduction discusses the paranoid, claustrophobic world of Le Fanu's fiction as a counterpoint-one in its own way equally modern-to the cosmic horror tale as practiced by such writers as H. P. Lovecraft.

and Other Weird Stories

Green Tea

Uncle Silas is a Victorian Gothic mystery/thriller novel by the Anglo-Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. It is notable as one of the earliest examples of the locked room mystery subgenre. It is not a novel of the supernatural (despite a few creepily ambiguous touches), but does show a strong interest in the occult and in the ideas of Swedenborg. Like many of Le Fanu's novels, it grew out of an earlier short story, "A Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess" (1839), which he also published as "The Murdered Cousin" in the 1851 collection Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery. The setting of the original story was Irish; presumably it was changed to Derbyshire for the novel because this would appeal more to a British audience.

Uncle Silas

Yeşil Çay

J.S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, V3

J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales V1

The Vampire Collection

The novel is a first person narrative told from the point of view of the teenaged Maud Ruthyn, an heiress living with her somber, reclusive father Austyn Ruthyn in their mansion at Knowl. She gradually becomes aware of the existence of Silas Ruthyn, a black sheep uncle whom she has never met, who was once an infamous rake and gambler but is now apparently a reformed Christian. Silas's past holds a dark mystery, which she gradually learns from her father and from her worldly, cheerful cousin Lady Monica: the suspicious suicide of a man to whom Silas owed an enormous gambling debt, which took place within a locked, apparently impenetrable room in Silas's mansion at Bartram-Haugh. Austyn is firmly convinced of his brother's innocence; Maud's attitude to Uncle Silas (whom we do not meet for the first 200 pages of the book) wavers repeatedly between trusting in her father's judgment, and growing fear and uncertainty.In the first part of the novel, Maud's father hires a French governess, Madame de la Rougierre, as a companion for her. Madame de la Rougierre, however, turns out to be a sinister figure who has designs on Maud. (In a cutaway scene that breaks the first-person narrative, we learn that she is in league with Uncle Silas's good-for-nothing son Dudley.) She is eventually discovered by Maud in the act of burgling her father's desk; this is enough to ensure that she is dismissed.Austyn Ruthyn obscurely asks Maud if she is willing to undergo some kind of "ordeal" to clear Silas's name. She assents, and shortly thereafter her father dies. It turns out that he has added a codicil to his will: Maud is to stay with Uncle Silas until she comes of age. If she dies while in her minority, the estate will go to Silas. Despite the best efforts of Lady Monica and Austyn's executor and fellow Swedenborgian, Dr. Bryerly, Maud is forced to spend the next three and a half years of her life at Bartram-Haugh.Life at Bartram-Haugh is initially strange but not unpleasant, despite ominous signs such as the uniformly unfriendly servants and a malevolent factotum of Silas's, the one-legged Dickon Hawkes. Silas himself is a sinister, soft-spoken man who is openly contemptuous of his two children, the loutish Dudley and the untutored but friendly Milly (her country ways initially amaze Maud, but they become best friends). Silas is subject to mysterious catatonic fits which are attributed by his doctor to his massive opium consumption. Gradually, however, the trap closes around Maud: it is clear that Silas is attempting to coax or force her to marry Dudley. When that plan fails, and as the time-limit of three-and-a-half years begins to shrink, it becomes clear that more violent methods may be used to ensure that Silas gains control of the Ruthyn estate....

A Tale of Bartram-Haugh

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and had a seminal influence on the development of this genre in the Victorian era. Le Fanu studied law at Trinity College in Dublin. He soon abandoned law for journalism. In 1838 he began contributing stories to the Dublin University Magazine. He became owner of several newspapers from 1840, including the Dublin Evening Mail and the Warder. Le Fanu worked in many genres but remains best known for his mystery and horror fiction. He was a meticulous craftsman, with a penchant for frequently reworking plots and ideas from his earlier writing in subsequent pieces of writing. He specialised in tone and effect rather than "shock horror," often following a mystery format. Key to his style was the avoidance of overt supernatural effects. Among his famous works are: The House by the Church-Yard (1863), Uncle Silas (1864), Carmilla (1872), The Purcell Papers (1880), and The Evil Guest (1895).

"A story of great imaginative power, superior to either of the former works by the same author. The shadow on the first page on the story creeps slowly on until the terrible reality comes in sight, like some old Greek tragedy. A room, a picture, the entire house, becomes instinct with significance under the touch of Mr. Le Fanu. The incidents in 'Uncle Silas' are strong and strange, and no detail here could give an idea of this remarkable and powerful novel." -The Athenaeum "The best of Mr. Le Fanu's novels....Few persons who take 'Uncle Silas' up will rest until they have read every word." -The Globe "A highly-wrought romance, sustaining a very strong interest from the beginning to the end." -The Examiner "'Uncle Silas' is a powerful and exciting book. The vivid colors in which Uncle Silas is drawn - his 'sweet, gentle, insufferable voice' - the bloodless face of marble, with its long silver hair and wild opium-eating eyes - the elegant, artificial style his conversation, the white glare of the smile that makes you feel 'half insane,' are vivid elements in a picture not easy to forget. It takes a real hold on the imagination. We shall see 'Uncle Silas' for many a day." -The Spectator "Mr. Le Fanu has placed himself by his new novel in the very first rank of modern novelists. He is thoroughly original. In his three novels he pursues a plan hitherto untried. Each has its central figure, mysterious and appealing, around which minor characters are grouped. Within the mind of Uncle Silas lies the whole train of circumstances. As the acorn involves the oak, so the character of Uncle Silas implies the whole action of the narrative. Not that other characters are unimportant. There is a wealth of portraiture, and the very slightest sketch tells....The skill with which Mr. Le Fanu concentrates the attention on this man is perfectly unique. The special characteristic of 'Uncle Silas' as of the two former novels, is its intensity. Both character and incident are brought out with a strange vividness." -Press "There have been few characters more finely drawn than that of Uncle Silas....Wilkie Collins never manipulated incidents in his extraordinary stories with more care and consequent interest than does Mr. Le Fanu." -Morning Star "Vividly realized...masterpiece." -The Outlook "Undoubtedly the author of 'Uncle Silas' possessed in a high degree the power of playing upon the nerves of his readers with sinister suggestions of shadowy perils emanating from evil human influences or ghostly monstrosities - revenants, vampires, werewolves." -The Living Age "The climax of the sensational...beyond reason and comfortable daylight reading." -Atlantic Monthly

Uncle Silas, A Tale of Bartram Haugh, is an 1864 Victorian Gothic mystery-thriller novel by the Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Despite Le Fanu resisting its classification as such, the novel has also been hailed as a work of sensation fiction by contemporary reviewers and modern critics alike. It is an early example of the locked-room mystery subgenre, rather than a novel of the supernatural (despite a few creepily ambiguous touches), but does show a strong interest in the occult and in the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish scientist, philosopher and Christian mystic. An heiress becomes ward to her disreputable uncle with an unsavory past, tainted by the apparent suicide of a man to whom he owed a large gambling debt, and must help clear his name.

A Tale of Bartram Haugh

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu is regarded as one of the earliest works of vampire fiction whose enduring influence is recognized in every modern vampire tale.

Carmilla (Heathen Edition)

Young and lonely, Laura lives with her widowed father in a castle in Austria. When a carriage breaks down on their estate the mysterious Carmilla is brought into Laura’s life, who welcomes a potential friend. The girls become fast friends, although Laura can’t help but notice Carmilla’s strange behaviour – sleeping most of the day, sleepwalking, and refusing to talk about her family or past. And then there are the dreams of a large beast entering her room. Carmilla stands as a pioneering work in the vampire genre, predating even Bram Stoker’s Dracula and influencing generations of Gothic literature. Le Fanu’s narrative, with its haunting beauty and sensuous dread, explores themes of love, identity, and the macabre, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of horror fiction. Prepare to be seduced and unnerved by this timeless tale of forbidden passion and the darkness that lurks within the shadows. JOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU [1814-1873] was an Irish mystery and horror author. He had an enormous influence on the horror genre in the 19th and 20th century, especially through his championing of tone and effect rather than shock factor. Among his most noted work is the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla [1872] and mystery Uncle Silas [1864].

Dave Williams

The protagonist tells us how her life goes from ordinary to disconcerting and frightening when Carmilla appears, a beautiful young woman who turns out to be a vampire. Laura is a young woman who lives with her father and servants in an old castle in Styria, Austria.Laura remembers that when she was a little girl she was asleep in the arms of a young girl and she woke up feeling two needles in her neck. When they found her, she was alone. Her life takes a turn when, in front of the castle where they live, a carriage suffers an accident and the lady and her daughter, who were traveling in it, settle in the castle until they can undertake, again, trip. Laura and the young woman, Carmilla, quickly become friends, even though the new tenant shows oddities in her behavior: she wakes up after noon and locks herself in her room without showing signs of being in it.She seems to be in love with Laura, given the interest she shows towards her ...

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Uncle Silas, a Tale of Bartram-Haugh - Scholar's Choice Edition

Uncle Silas Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Uncle Silas is told from the account of Maud Ruthyn, an heiress living with her reclusive father, Austin Ruthyn. She learns about her uncle, Silas Ruthyn, and his past reputation marred by gambling and the apparent suicide of a man to which Silas owed a large gambling debt that occurred in a locked room in Silas’ residence. In order to clear the Ruthyn name of the rumors of Silas’ past, Austin names Silas as Maud’s guardian through Austin’s will upon his death. Also noted in Austin’s will, Silas would inherit the fortune left to Maud should she die while under his ward. Maud befriends her cousin Millicent and quickly adjusts to life under Silas’ care, despite his often frightening demeanor. Although Silas has proclaimed that he’s a newly reformed Christian, Maud becomes increasingly suspicious of her uncle’s motives as life for her becomes increasingly unpleasant. The story of Maud Ruthyn and her uncle Silas evolved through multiple iterations, beginning with the short story “A Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess” in 1839, before ultimately becoming the three-volume novel published in 1864. This ebook reproduces a revised, two-volume version released a year later.

The letter from the rich cousin came at a low point in the Marston family's finances. The man was as ill-bred and pushing as ever: utterly the model of a noxious relation -- but he was rich, and the Marstons were all but destitute. The family could hardly refuse him. But they would come to rue that letter, and the invitation that followed it; it was the beginning of the end for all of them. Of course it was! Common sense tells us not to take on . . . THE EVIL GUEST

J. Sheridan Le Fanu

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