The Gothic Tales of Sheridan Le Fanu

Sheridan Le Fanu was lauded by contemporaries such as M. R. James for his innovations in the ghost story and mystery genres, and his mastery of conjuring atmosphere and driving stories to thrilling narrative crescendos. And yet, aside from some regularly anthologized short stories and novellas, much of the writer’s fiction remains unknown despite its quality. Aiming to firmly position Sheridan Le Fanu alongside other canonical horror writers published by the British Library, this anthology focuses on some of his lesser-known stories, exploring eight thoroughly Gothic tales of murderous families, dark castles, and ghosts whose business with the living remains unfinished.

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873) was a leading Victorian journalist, magazine editor and prolific mystery writer who penned more than 10 novels and published many more short stories in literary magazines. Today he is best known for his collection 1872 short story collection In a Glass Darkly, and for the influential vampire novella Carmilla. Xavier Aldana Reyes is Reader in English Literature and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has edited Horror: A Literary History and various collections for British Library Publishing

Introduction vii

The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh (1838) 1
Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess (1838) 31
A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family (1839) 73
Schalken the Painter (1839, rev. 1851) 119
Ultor De Lacy: A Legend of Capercullen (1861) 143
Squire Toby’s Will (1868) 173
Stories of Lough Guir (1870) 211
Madam Crowl’s Ghost (1870) 225