Reviews

The Uninvited by Dorothy Macardle

shalini_gunnasan's review against another edition

4.0

What a wonderful ghost story!

novellearts's review against another edition

I'm sorry but this book is sooo boring and slow. Only 59 pages in and I couldn't stop thinking about how I could be enjoying so many other books instead, so I'm DNFing this.

eisneun's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I confess, giving this novel 2.25 stars is a bit stingy on my part.   This novel was written in 1941 (under the name Uneasy Freehold), so it's unfair of me to judge it from a 2024 perspective, but that's what I'm doing anyway, and it does fall short even compared to mediocre modern horror novels.   It's a typical haunting story, and although written in 1941, it feels more Victorian, and I don't mean that as a compliment.   The Victorian era was horrible for just about anyone who wasn't upper-class, white and male (most of this novel's cast), but some of my favorite "classic" novels are from that time period, least of which is Dracula and Carmilla, and authors such as H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens are among my favorite pre-20th century writers.  However, this book is a pale imitation of those novels and authors.   There's nothing much scary in the book, just some upper-crust Irish people waiting for their maid to bring them tea, with a bit of haunting and melodrama in between.  Dorothy was a historian by trade, and also a playwright, and to her credit she also fought for Irish independence and against fascism, so she can be admired for that.  Just not for horror novels.   Btw, for you classic film buffs out there, I have heard the 1944 US film is quite good, but I've never seen it and, as I don't much care for films before 1960, I doubt I will.

m_ichellep's review

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

foofers1622's review

5.0

A good old ghost story that gave me the chills a few times. The ending also had a nice twist. I'm excited to see how the movie is and read Dorothy's other books.

ckpeebler's review

2.0

 Not only racist and sexist in nature but exceedingly dull 

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/02/07/review-1796-the-uninvited/

luciaslucas's review against another edition

5.0

finally time to sit and write this review! the uninvited may be one of my favourite novels now. the prose is light, fun and exciting - matching the story within! if you like ghosts and lesbians - you’ll love this book. There’s so much delicious subtext about characters such as Pamela, Miss Holloway and Mary. I also really recommend the 1944 film - which I think captures the essence of the book perfectly

archergal's review against another edition

3.0

I learned about this book from one of those lists of Halloween books that comes around every year. I like to read ghost stories sometimes. And this is very much a ghost story. I understand that there is also a movie, so I'll have to look for that.

There's a haunted house bought by a brother and sister. There are hidden family secrets, and a number of people trying to find their way forward. The ghost story part is pretty good. The bit of romance isn't really to my taste, though it's not horrible. (I just generally don't have a lot of patience for most romance.)

I very much enjoyed the writing style. Something about the slightly mannered pre-WW2 proper English novels is very comforting to read for me. I don't think it quite approached 4 stars for me, but I did like it.

jpiasci1's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0