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jamieh2024's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this far more than I had anticipated. As other reviewers have mentioned, the remorseless women in these tales only add to the flavor of the story. I would also agree that sometimes they stories are florid but to me it increased my enjoyment of these tales.
All in all, it was perfect reading for a time when blustery winter weather was all around me.
All in all, it was perfect reading for a time when blustery winter weather was all around me.
cynpath's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jch2022's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this far more than I had anticipated. As other reviewers have mentioned, the remorseless women in these tales only add to the flavor of the story. I would also agree that sometimes they stories are florid but to me it increased my enjoyment of these tales.
All in all, it was perfect reading for a time when blustery winter weather was all around me.
All in all, it was perfect reading for a time when blustery winter weather was all around me.
lene_kretzsch's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
A sort of Lee grab-bag, this 500 plus page collection throws together virtually everything the author wrote featuring supernatural elements of any kind (even including two essays, "Ravenna and Her Ghosts" and "Faustus and Helena: The Supernatural in Art"). While this certainly makes the collection comprehensive it does not do much for its cohesion and results in one of the most frustratingly uneven collections of short stories I've read in a long time.
Masterpieces like "Amor Dure", "Dioneia", "Oke of Okehurst, or the Phantom Lover", "Winthrop's Adventure" and "The Legend of Madam Krasinska" sit cheek by jowl with far less inspired tales, some downright awful (I have rarely read anything as pointlessly drawn out and dull as "The Gods and Ritter Tanhûser" and the less said about the endlessly arch introductions to stories from 'For Maurice: Five Unlikely Stories', the better). Due to this uneveness, the book is best read slowly, a story or two at a time, and I believe the average reader will lose nothing skipping Lee's introductions and even the closing two essays (which are overwritten, in a style that seemed dated even when they were first composed).
Masterpieces like "Amor Dure", "Dioneia", "Oke of Okehurst, or the Phantom Lover", "Winthrop's Adventure" and "The Legend of Madam Krasinska" sit cheek by jowl with far less inspired tales, some downright awful (I have rarely read anything as pointlessly drawn out and dull as "The Gods and Ritter Tanhûser" and the less said about the endlessly arch introductions to stories from 'For Maurice: Five Unlikely Stories', the better). Due to this uneveness, the book is best read slowly, a story or two at a time, and I believe the average reader will lose nothing skipping Lee's introductions and even the closing two essays (which are overwritten, in a style that seemed dated even when they were first composed).
icameheretoread's review against another edition
3.0
Ah, yes! I had the worst time finding the exact edition I read. My copy, via Hoopla contained:
Amour Dure
Dionea
Oke of Okehurst
A Wicked Voice
So in my absolute obsession with the book [b:Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction|44326161|Monster, She Wrote The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction|Lisa Kröger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552268790l/44326161._SY75_.jpg|68879371] I've been actively searching out the authors mentioned within and I stumbled across this collection from Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). I am being totally honest when I say I did not dislike these stories, but I now know that Paget's writing is not for me.
All of these stories are about art, basically, and being obsessed with either said art or the artist who created the art. As a result, I rather felt like Paget was an art critic trying to tell a funny anecdote who cannot get to the point because she is too busy namedropping artists.
She's a bit windy, is all I'm saying. These stories take a long time to get where they are going, and the ride isn't what I would describe as thrilling.
Of all of them, I enjoyed Dionea the most as I loved the narrator's voice and the idea of this little scamp of a girl pissing off nuns had me laughing.
Oke of Okehurst is the strongest story, but I would still feel that way even if the ghost were removed from the equation as it is a character study of an unhealthy marriage.
I gave up with A Wicked Voice and found an audio recording of it. Read (and sung!) by Gary Turner, I enjoyed it more and maybe that's the point- these stories were supposed to be shared around a fireplace, after a few sherries on a cold winter's night.
I'm sure, for her time, Paget was the bee's knees, but I feel like I read her best four and can close the chapter on her.
One classic work down for 2021!
Amour Dure
Dionea
Oke of Okehurst
A Wicked Voice
So in my absolute obsession with the book [b:Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction|44326161|Monster, She Wrote The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction|Lisa Kröger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552268790l/44326161._SY75_.jpg|68879371] I've been actively searching out the authors mentioned within and I stumbled across this collection from Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). I am being totally honest when I say I did not dislike these stories, but I now know that Paget's writing is not for me.
All of these stories are about art, basically, and being obsessed with either said art or the artist who created the art. As a result, I rather felt like Paget was an art critic trying to tell a funny anecdote who cannot get to the point because she is too busy namedropping artists.
She's a bit windy, is all I'm saying. These stories take a long time to get where they are going, and the ride isn't what I would describe as thrilling.
Of all of them, I enjoyed Dionea the most as I loved the narrator's voice and the idea of this little scamp of a girl pissing off nuns had me laughing.
Oke of Okehurst is the strongest story, but I would still feel that way even if the ghost were removed from the equation as it is a character study of an unhealthy marriage.
I gave up with A Wicked Voice and found an audio recording of it. Read (and sung!) by Gary Turner, I enjoyed it more and maybe that's the point- these stories were supposed to be shared around a fireplace, after a few sherries on a cold winter's night.
I'm sure, for her time, Paget was the bee's knees, but I feel like I read her best four and can close the chapter on her.
One classic work down for 2021!
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