It's a shame Handheld Press went out of business, because this is a nicely-presented anthology, part of a series which has decided to venture off the usual track in order to introduce to fans of the genre some long forgotten classics. Here, for example, we have Arthur Machen's 'N', which happens to be the starting point for Alan Moore's marvellous Great When which I reviewed here earlier this year. In the same vein is 'Mappa Mundi' by Mary Butts, who was an occultist contemporary of Machen and Aleister Crowley. Editor James Machin has also included an essay by Butts from 1933 in which she has some startling things to say about alternative realities and her personal experience thereof. I had never comes across John Buchan's weird fiction before but must find more of it. I'm not particularly a fan of E F Benson or Edith Nesbit but they certainly merit inclusion here. I am a big fan of Algernon Blackwood and thoroughly enjoyed 'The Willows', which I had not come across before.
Machin's introduction is excellent. I note he has written a book on Weird Fiction in Britain 1880-1939. That sounds like exactly my cup of tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment