The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0192142607 ISBN 13: 9780192142603

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1996

Synopsis

"The ghosts of fiction were not killed off by the advent of the electric light, the invention of the telephone, the coming of the motor car, or even by the once unthinkable horrors of technological warfare. Instead they took over the trappings, landscapes, and cultural assumptions of the twentieth century for their ancient purposes." Thus Michael Cox introduces The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories, a unique collection of 33 of the best and most chilling ghost stories of our era.
The first anthology to trace the evolution of the ghost story over the last one hundred years, this book demonstrates the variety and versatility of the genre and the different ways in which stories of the supernatural have adapted to twentieth-century venues and concerns. In these tales we encounter not only the returning dead, but also distinctly modern phantoms: a haunted typewriter, a ghost that travels by train, and an urban specter made of smoke and soot. There are child ghosts and haunted houses, playful spooks and deadly apparitions. The authors of these uncanny tales are as diverse as the kinds of stories they tell; there are ghost stories by such specialists as M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood and many by authors not commonly associated with the genre: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, Graham Greene, A.S. Byatt, and Angela Carter are only a few of the literary celebrities included in this collection. At a time when our era seems to grow increasingly rational and predictable,The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Ghost Stories reminds us of the joys of uncertainty and wonder. Distinctive and gripping, these stories will linger long in the memory.

About this title

Review:

"In 1944 the critic Edmund Wilson expressed surprise that the ghost story was still alive and well in the age of the electric light. But why should he have been surprised? Ghost stories, as a literary genre ... have always maintained an adaptable relationship with the contemporary world." These 33 stories (17 by female authors) include the delicious ambiguities of Robert Aickman and Walter de la Mare; the family/relationship horrors of Ellen Glasgow, May Sinclair, Fay Weldon, and A. S. Byatt; a wicked tale with a twist ending by Graham Greene; Fritz Leiber's brilliant, postindustrial "Smoke Ghost"; and others that range from the poignant to the humorous to the terrifying. As Peter Cannon writes in Necrofile (the premiere journal of horror criticism), "Readers can expect both quality and good taste.... For those of us who prefer the old-fashioned literary virtues, The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories is the goods."

About the Author:

About the Editor: Michael Cox is the compiler of numerous well-known anthologies, including the Oxford Books of English Ghost (1986), Victorian Ghost Stories (1991), Victorian Detective Stories (1991), Historical Short Stories (1994), Spy Stories (1996).

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0192142607
• ISBN 13: 9780192142603
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 444
• Editor: Cox Michael