Customer Reviews

Demons of the Night: Tales of the Fantastic, Madness, and the Supernatural from Nineteenth-Century France

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I was lucky enough to read this book in a class on 19th Century French Lit. taught by Joan Kessler herself. I have never forgotten these stories or the depth of psychological exploration each presents. This amazing book brings the genre of 19th French Macabre to non-French readers for the first time. Each story is truly classic, all at once an original and the obvious predecessor of horror and psychological thrillers as we know them today. Fans of Poe will love this book, and fans of King will be delighted by these twisted tales, though they may need to keep a dictionary handy.

Ms. Kessler's notes are the perfect guide through each work. She places each story in it's own history, giving ample insight into the mindset of the authors and their audiences.

From beginning to end this book will keep your heart pumping. It is the perfect read for those who have a hard time finding great work. It will keep you up at night, if not out of interest, then out of terror.

Kessler's translations of these French stories are an invaluable treasure to the English speaking community. Many of these stories have never been translated or were out of print for many, many years. Kessler gives them new life in this collection that will appease both francophiles and lovers of spooky stories.

You usually think of serious-minded realists, etc., when you think of French fiction, but there's a whole other tradition called "fantastique" (the Wiki article is good). Even some of the realists tried their hand at it (Balzac and de Maupassant). It's a bit like Poe and the Gothic novel, but read the book and find out for yourself.

From my point of view I wish that Kessler had included some of the forgotten authors of "fantastique", but maybe there can be a second volume.