Showing results by author "E. F. Benson" in All Categories

The Man Who Went Too Far: A Ghost Story by E. F. Benson opens one summer’s day in a beautiful, sequestered garden on the edge of the New Forest. A forty-something artist visits a friend to recuperate from a debilitating illness but is staggered to discover him looking remarkably young and oddly vibrant. He listens as this ‘boy’ explains his new found philosophy, expands on the delight he takes in the natural world all around him and describes the strangely haunting music he has begun to hear in the woods and among the reeds.

This collection contains the best of classic horror writing, with the atmospheric genius of Edgar Allan Poe, the invention and eeriness of Bram Stoker, and the suspense of Wilkie Collins amongst the terrifying gems. In this veritable schooling in the origins of modern-day horror and fantasy, some of the best minds in the history of English literature take on the world of vampires, werewolves, and the supernatural.

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

1. "August Heat" by W. F. Harvey 2. "A Madman’s Manuscript" by Charles Dickens 3. "The Hair" by A. J. Alan 4. "My Favourite Murder" by Ambrose Bierce 5. "Cannibalism in the Cars" by Mark Twain 6. "Gabriel-Earnest" by Saki 7. "The Pistol Shot" by Alexander Pushkin 8. "The Mark of the Beast" by Rudyard Kipling 9. "At the Farmhouse" by E. F. Benson 10. "The Parasite" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 11. "The Murder of the Mandarin" by Arnold Bennett 12. "Moon’s Gibbet" by Egerton Castle 13. "Query" by Seamark

A positive spin on the supernatural, ‘Pirates’ sees ageing industrialist Peter Graham return to his former family home in Cornwall after more than 40 years. The ghosts of the house represent happy memories of his childhood.

Taking a winter holiday in a splendid resort in the Swiss Alps our hero finds himself billeted in a surprisingly large room, furnished with two beds. He checks with the man at the bureau, but there’s no mistake: it’s all his, a veritable snip at 12 francs a night! What a stroke of luck! And what could possibly connect this alpine idyll with Boston, Massachusetts? E. F. Benson is well known for his Mapp and Lucia novels but his ghost and supernatural stories are marvellous jewels, combining elegant writing and moments of blood-curdling horror.

The Mapp and Lucia Collection: Books 1-3 contain the first three novels in the Mapp & Lucia series from E.F. Benson. These beloved novels are classic comedies of manners set within an English village in the 1920s and 1930s.

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic "Lucia" novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories which were his most popular works. The Sanctuary exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales, this one being particularly disturbing.

Edward Frederic Benson (1867-1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer, best known for his evocative and beautifully narrated ghost stories. This collection brings together twenty of his most brilliant works.

A third collection of 18 classic tales of the weird and supernatural by some of the best known writers in these genres.

"Queen Lucia" (1920) is the first volume of E. F. Benson’s "Mapp and Lucia" 6-novel series. It is a comedy of manners, set in provincial Riseholme (Lincolnshire). Emmeline Lucas rules local society with the help of her friend Georgie Pillson, a position she fiercely protects from her rival Daisy Quantock. But this very situation is at risk, as a scandal breaks out and a famous Prima Donna arrives in the sleepy old hamlet.

A creepy collection of the very best Gothic tales from the masters of suspense, horror, supernatural and occult fiction. 1.The Room in the Tower by E. F. Benson 2. Afterward by Edith Wharton 3.The Green Light by Barry Pain 4. Fingers of a Hand by H. D. Everett 5. The Squaw by Bram Stoker 6. The Dancing Partner by Jerome K. Jerome 7. Lost in a Pyramid by Louisa M. Alcott 8. The Girl who was Tired of Love by Leonard Merrick 9. The Parasite by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. The House with the Brick Kiln by E. F.

A rich collection of diverse and fascinating stories by famous classic authors. 1.The Bus Conductor by E. F. Benson 2.The Murderer by Perceval Gibbon 3.The Death Mask by H. D. Everett 4.Caterpillars by E. F. Benson 5.His Brother’s Keeper by W. W. Jacobs 6.The Secret of the Black Bag by William Le Queux 7.A Joy Ride by A. J. Alan 8.The Perfect Murder by Stacy Aumonier 9.The Furnished Room by O. Henry 10.The Squaw by Bram Stoker 11.The Dust Cloud by E. F. Benson 12.The Idiot by Arnold Bennett

A terrifying collection of classic Victorian short stories about ghosts, werewolves and vampires. The Wolf Book by Henry Chapman Mercer. Number Ninety by B. M. Croker. Ken's Mystery by Julian Hawthorne. The Piano Next Door by Elia W. Peattie. The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains by Frederick Marryat. The Horla by Guy de Maupassant. Absolute Evil by Julian Hawthorne. Mrs. Amworth by E. F. Benson.

Another collection of 16 classic tales of the macabre and supernatural by some of the best-known writers in these genres.

A spectacular collection of classic ghost stories from some of the masters of spooky fiction. 'On the Brighton Road' by Richard Middleton; 'A Ghost Story' by Mark Twain; 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray; 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole; 'Rose Rose' by Barry Pain; 'The Ghost Ship' by Richard Middleton; 'The Bus Conductor' by E. F. Benson; 'The Tarn' by Hugh Walpole; 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter' by M. R. James.

Fifty of the greatest classic horror stories ever written: 1. "The Beast with Five Fingers" by W. F. Harvey 2. "The Well" by W. W. Jacobs 3. "The Nightmare Room" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 4. "The End of a Show" by Barry Pain 5. "Bagnell Terrace" by E. F. Benson 6. "Fingers of a Hand" by H. D. Everett 7. "The Interruption" by W. W. Jacobs 8. "Gavon’s Eve" by E. F. Benson 9. "The Ring of Thoth" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. "Moon’s Gibbet" by Egerton Castle 11. "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"Dodo Wonders" is the third and final installment in the "Dodo" series by E. F. Benson. The series was rumoured to be based on Lady Asquith, though she herself claimed that she had little in common with the character of Dodo - except the splendour of her drawing-room, perhaps. The glitzy life of Lady Dodo Chesterford is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of World War I. Along with her husband and their friends, Lady Dodo is faced with the challenge of rapidly adapting to an unfamiliar and dangerous new environment.

With tongue firmly implanted in cheek, Benson introduces us to a world full of snobs, hypochondriacs, faddists, and social climbers. Some of the titles include "The Compleat Snob", "Aunt Georgie", "The Poison of Asps", "The Eternally Uncompromised", "The Grizzly Kittens", and "The Praisers of Past Time".

Keen to escape London to work on their respective music scores and novel, two cousins stumble across a rural holiday let that is well below their budget. But it soon proves too good to be true when something on the top landing starts spooking them and their staff.