A Strange Story [Hardcover]

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004

Of course, according to the most obvious principles of art, the narrator of a fiction must be as thoroughly in earnest as if he were the narrator of facts. One could not tell the most extravagant fairy-tale so as to rouse and sustain the attention of the most infantine listener, if the tale were told as if the taleteller did not believe in it. But when the reader lays down this "Strange Story," perhaps he will detect, through all the haze of romance, the outlines of these images suggested to his reason: Firstly, the image of sensuous, soulless Nature, such as the Materialist had conceived it; secondly, the image of Intellect, obstinately separating all its inquiries from the belief in the spiritual essence and destiny of man, and incurring all kinds of perplexity and resorting to all kinds of visionary speculation before it settles at last into the simple faith which unites the philosopher and the infant; and thirdly, the image of the erring but pure-thoughted visionary, seeking overmuch on this earth to separate soul from mind, till innocence itself is led astray by a phantom, and reason is lost in the space between earth and the stars. Whether in these pictures there be any truth worth the implying, every reader must judge for himself; and if he doubt or deny that there be any such truth, still, in the process of thought which the doubt or denial enforces, he may chance on a truth which it pleases himself to discover. -- Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080959899X
• ISBN-13: 978-0809598991
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,347,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lytton At his Best: Reading for Dark Stormy Nights, January 31, 2005

By 

Robert E. Murena Jr. "tedmurena" (Fairfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Story and the Haunted and the Haunters (Paperback)

Bulwer Lytton was a celebrated writer of Victorian England yet today unlike Dickens (for example) he has faded to less prominance. I think this is due to books like "The last Days of Pompeii" which were well regarded in their day but currently are inaccessible to the modern reader due to verbose language descriptions that obscure the plot. However Lytton wasn't always writing in this style and for the post-modern reader "A Strange Story" is a great and epic book that is full of fantasy and romance. It is filled with the captivating gothic style that one might expect from an occult novel yet doesn't insult the intelligence of the reader like many hooror/occult books tend to do.

The story starts out when a young doctor moves to an unamed town in England and he aquanting himself with society. Simultaneous of this a strange vivacious man also has arrived to the area. The whole town is "abuzz" about this man who seems downright other-worldly and the doctor soon befriends him yet is very mistrustful of him... The plot thickens and of course there is a woman that gets in between the two. You will have to read on...

So buy this book and wait for that dark and stormy night... If you are fan of Harry Potter, a fan of English Literature or just looking for something different this book has a lot to offer and isnt too difficult to read. Enjoy this one