The Virago Book of Ghost Stories [Hardcover]

Richard Dalby (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1989

Gathering together deliciously chilling tales from the three highly-acclaimed volumes of Virago ghost stories, this collection features stories by A. S. Byatt, Angela Carter, Charlotte Brontë, Antonia Fraser, Penelope Lively, Ruth Rendell, Edith Wharton, and many more. Here lost loves, past enmities, and unwanted memories mingle with the inexplicable as unquiet souls return to repay kindnesses, settle scores, and haunt the imagination. All of the writers demonstrate a subtle power to delight and chill at the same time as they explore the ghostly margins of the supernatural.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A must for anyone who enjoys being thrilled' Time Out 'With illuminating flair, Richard Dalby's collection shows off the ghost genre at its heyday...marvellous' The Times 'Corking good shudders all the way' Observer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Richard Dalby has edited numerous books, including The Collected Ghost Stories of E. F. Benson, The Giant Book of Ghost Stories, and Vampire Stories.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070151334
• ISBN-13: 978-0070151338
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,468,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunted Women, April 21, 2010

By 

egreetham (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Virago Book of Ghost Stories (Paperback)

This is a truly excellent collection of ghost stories by women. There is something for every taste: stories amusing, tender, unexpected, and/or truly bone-chilling. The stories, which range in length from a few pages to novella, are arranged in chronological order; and the focus is by no means only on women.

Come a dark and stormy night you will be glad to have the company of this compendium of pleasant horrors.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sisterhood of the Shroud, January 14, 2012

By 

Brent R. Swanson "coffee shop inspector" (Crooper, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Virago Book of Ghost Stories (Paperback)

This ghost story collection is noteworthy on several counts. Presented here are 31 short stories, written by women, from the early 19th century to the dawn of the 21st century. Along with reliables such as Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Charlotte Riddell, there are stories from Edith Wharton and Stella Gibbons. While a few of the older stories have been numerously anthologized, the majority of this fiction is hasn't been widely published. There are some interesting variations of the genre as well, particularly A.S. Byatt's "The July Ghost" and Angela Carter's "Ashputtle."

Ghost stories might not necessarily make you believe in ghosts, but if their aim is to catch you off-balance and leave you at least a little uneasy, the tales in this collection are quite successful. This anthology should satisfy both the ghost story fancier as well as students and enthusiasts of feminine and feminist literature. The accompanying scholarship is limited to a preface by editor Richard Dalby and a series of biographical profiles in the end pages.