All Saints Eve (Mystery & Supernatural) (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural) (Paperback)

~ Amelia B Edwards (Author)
Key Phrases: Hugh Girdlestone, Baron de Pradines, Père Jacques (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Over half a century before the rise of the great Queens of Crime , Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, Amelia B. Edwards was an expert practitioner of crime fiction and murder mysteries, of which the best dozen are included in this volume. These gripping tales range from ingenious whodunnits - All Saints Eve and The Tragedy in the Palazzo Bardello - to encounters with homicidal lunatics - Cain and A Railway Panic - clairvoyant visions preventing disaster or imminent murder - The Professor s Story and A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest - and ghost stories The Four-fifteen Express , Number Three , In the Confessional , Sister Johanna s Story , and Was It An Illusion? - in which supernatural visitations explain earlier crimes and murders. These tales, many of which have been long out of print, are an ideal read for those who like their mystery stories tinged with a touch of the supernatural.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (September 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840220945
• ISBN-13: 978-1840220940
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #111,715 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting tales by a legendary Victorian, March 27, 2009

By	Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews

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Death, danger and madness await us in these superb stories. We meet with characters who are forever changed by appalling events...

...the professor whose hunt for a rare Alpine flower leads him to witness a murder, the chevalier whose love may be the death of him, the man who shares a railway carriage with a garrulous ghost...

Wherever these beleaguered adventurers find themselves, whether in a wild and barren Alpine landscape or an isolated chateau, vague forebodings and moody surroundings play deliciously upon the reader's nerves.

The author's prose has the unmistakable authority of a cultivated Englishman and world traveler. And indeed, that describes Amelia Edwards, except for being a woman.

Literature was only one of Amelia Edwards' pursuits. A renowned explorer, she wrote what her scholarly contemporaries recognized as the definitive study of ancient Egypt. She excavated the temple of Rameses II and learned to read hieroglyphics. These are just a few details from the excellent introduction by Richard Dalby.

As a rule I prefer novels to short stories, yet this high level of storytelling makes such distinctions irrelevant.

4.0 out of 5 stars Thrills and Chills from an Earlier Time, October 19, 2009

By	Katherine G. Wilkins (New Orleans) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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These are good, if not great ghost stories and thrillers. It was wise of Wordsworth to put a train station on the cover of the book, because several of the stories center around eery experiences on trains. If you are a fan of Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Sheridan LeFanu, this is a collection you will thoroughly enjoy.

Many of the characters are criminals pursued by forces beyond their control. They can flee, but in the end justice prevails. The collection includes adventure, foreign scenes, and uncanny experiences. The stories set in the mountains of Germany read like some Victorian version of "Fractured Fairy Tales."

Amelia Edwards was one of the great explorers or her day, and this collection reflects her wide range of experiences.

It is great to be able to get our hands on such classic spooky tales.