Buy used: $25.94

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, October 18 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Wands Books LLC

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford Anthology Paperback – October 31, 1991

by Michael Cox (Editor), R. A. Gilbert (Editor)

4.7 20 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$22.10

$50.00

$22.09

Paperback

"Please retry"

$29.00

—

$1.68

Paperback, October 31, 1991

$25.94

—

$8.05

"'I think it must have been two o'clock at least when I thought I heard a sound in that--that odious dark recess at the far end of the bedroom.... Without at first a suspicion of anything supernatural, on a sudden I saw an old man, rather stout and square, in a sort of roan-red dressing-gown,
and with a black cap on his head, moving stiffly and slowly in a diagonal direction, from the recess, across the floor of the bedroom, passing my bed at the foot, and entering the lumber-closet at the left. He had something under his arm; his head hung a little at one side; and, merciful God! when I
saw his face....'"
There's nothing like a good ghost story. And in Victorian Ghost Stories, Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert bring together thirty-five well wrought tales of haunted houses, vengeful spirits, spectral warnings, invisible antagonists, and motiveless malignity from beyond the grave. The Victorians
excelled at the ghost story, it was as much a part of their literary culture as the realistic novel, and it was practiced by almost all the great writers of the age. Cox and Gilbert here provide samples from Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry
James, and Wilkie Collins, as well as such classic ghost-story specialists as M.R. James and J.S. Le Fanu (whose "Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street," considered one of the best haunted-house story ever written, is excerpted above), plus one or two genuine rarities for the
supernatural fiction enthusiast to savor. The editors also reveal the key role played by women in the growth of the genre, including stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, Mrs. Craik, Mrs. Henry Wood, Amelia B. Edwards, Charlotte Riddell, and many others. Finally, they offer an informative introduction,
detailed source notes, and an extensive survey of ghost-story collections from 1850 to 1910.
Traditional in its forms, but energetically inventive and infused with a relish of the supernatural, these classic ghost stories still retain their original power to unsettle and surprise. Every one is guaranteed to satisfy what Virginia Woolf called "that strange human craving for the pleasure
of feeling afraid."

Print length

520 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

October 31, 1991
Dimensions

6 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

019214202X
ISBN-13

978-0192142023
See all details

Michael Cox
84
Paperback
46 offers from $2.71
Michael Cox
94
Hardcover
31 offers from $6.59

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Following up The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories , Cox and Gilbert here suggest that "ghost stories were something at which the Victorians excelled," pointing out that the stories reflect the insecurities hidden in an outwardly ordered and confident society. They note further that some of the writers who portrayed ladylike women encountering ghosts at their doors were female breadwinners churning out stories to keep the wolves from theirs. Such authors as Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Riddell anchored ghostly events in the still waters of domestic detail, provoking an eerie contrast, while others, like J. S. Le Fanu and Henry James, used deliberately paced language to similar effect. The stories in this superior anthology, each one satisfying on its own, represent a great variety of period styles and spectres.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Move over Stephen King--this book contains 35 spine-tingling ghost stories, some written by such well-known authors as Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Rudyard Kipling. The introduction provides an informative overview of the development of the Victorian ghost story. These selections are sure to hook even the most reluctant reader.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (October 31, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 520 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 019214202X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192142023
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.85 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,710,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #410 in Victorian Literary Criticism (Books)
- #2,426 in Horror Anthologies (Books)
- #27,893 in Short Stories (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 20 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

20 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

The perfect October read

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

There's something about October that gets me in the mood to read highly atmospheric tales of the supernatural, and over the years I've been collecting many old anthologies of ghost stories, and other tales of the supernatural. "Victorian Ghost Stories: An Oxford Anthology" is a wonderful blend of atmospheric and chilling ghost stories set during the Victorian era. Michael Cox (who has compiled some noteworthy anthologies) together with R.A. Gilbert have put together 35 tales of the supernatural, written by authors that range from the well-known such as M.R. James, J.S. Le Fanu, and Algernon Blackwood to lesser known ones such as Rhoda Broughton and Mrs. Craik. I was especially pleased that there's many women writers whose works are included in here, which is not usually the case with older anthologies of ghost and supernatural stories.

I'm listing the stories included in here because as an ardent reader of horror anthologies, I have found it most helpful to know which stories are contained in a particular volume so that I may decide if it is worth checking out:

The Old Nurse's Story - Elizabeth Gaskell
An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street - J.S. Le Fanu
The Miniature - J.Y. Akerman
The Last House in C-Street - Dinah Mulock (Mrs. Craik)
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt - Charles Dickens
The Botathen Ghost - R.S. Hawker
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth - Rhoda Broughton
The Romance of Certain Old Clothes - Henry James
Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse - Anon.
Reality or Delusion - Mrs. Henry Wood
Uncle Cornelius His Story - George McDonald
The Shadow of a Shade - Tom Hood
At Crighton Abbey - Mary Elizabeth Braddon
No Living Voice - Thomas Street Millington
Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman - Wilkie Collins
The Story of Clifford House - Anon.
Was It an Illusion? - Amelia B. Edwards
The Open Door - Charlotte Riddell
The Captain of the 'Pole-star' - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Body-Snatcher - R.L. Stevenson
The Story of the Rippling Train - Mary Louisa Molesworth
At the End of The Passage - Rudyard Kipling
"To Let' - B.M. Croker
John Charrington's Wedding - E. Nesbit
The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly - Rosa Mulholland
The Man of Science - Jerome K. Jerome
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book - M.R. James
Jerry Bundler - W.W. Jacobs
An Eddy on the Floor - Bernard Capes
The Tomb of Sarah - F.G. Loring
The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit - Barry Pain
The Shadows on the Wall - Mary E. Wilkins
Father Macclesfield's Tale - R.H. Benson
Thurnley Abbey - Perceval Landon
The Kit-bag - Algernon Blackwood

In addition to an introduction and the stories, there is also a listing of sources, and a select chronological conspectus of ghost stories from 1840-1910. I'd recommend this diverse anthology of Victorian ghost stories to any fan of classic horror stories.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Larry Van Guilder

Delivered as promised.

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2023

It's a book.

Great book at a reasonable price!

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

Book was exactly as described and arrived on time!

Helpful

Demelza

Wonderful collection of Victorian ghost stories from the later years ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Wonderful collection of Victorian ghost stories from the later years of the period. Most tales are more on the psychological area of ghost stories and thus more sophisticated than a typical old fashioned "shudder" story, I have read a lot of Victorian ghost/vampire/horror stories and was pleased to find that this collection had only 1 that I had already read before. If you are someone that loves Victorian ghost stories, this is a good book to add to your collection.

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

This collection reminds me of what Gene and Roger would say about an average movie: If you like 19th Century fiction you will probably like this book. I have read 2/3s so far and none of the stories are memorable except the last one by Algernon Blackwood and the MR James contribution which I had already read. There are many different volumes of HP Lovecraft's short stories and I would recommend giving him a try rather than this mediocre book.

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2017

very satisfied

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015