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cranberry__sauce's review against another edition
3.0
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
more of a christmas ghost story but still good
rating: 4/5
"An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" by J. S. Le Fanu
this story said i should read it after nightfall near a fireplace—i read it in a cold pit at 8:00 in the morning. so...vibes, i guess? not very scary but it was ok
rating: 3/5
"The Miniature" by J. Y. Ackerman
got to read about two men sword fighting over a girl they both loved—except one of the guys is the girl's cousin. that's the 1800s for ya! but it was kinda boring ngl
rating: 2.5/5
"The Last House in C— Street" by Dinah Mulock
not sure what to say about this one, but it was quite good
rating: 3.5/5
"To be Taken with a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens
a surprisingly good effort from Dickens—the twist ending made me reflect upon the story, which is something that ghost stories don't often do
rating: 4.5/5
"The Botathen Ghost" by R. S. Hawker
a lot of antiquated language here, but it wasn't terrible
rating: 2/5
"The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth" by Rhoda Broughton
i usually like epistolary storytelling, but this just sucked
rating: 1.5/5
"The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James
a memorable effort from henry james of the turn of the screw fame. i thought the sister rivalry elements of this story were very intriguing, and while there weren't many ghosts in this story, the end twist was fun (if predictable).
rating: 4.5/5
"Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse" by Anonymous
this one had a lot of stuff about france that i think i would only understand if i lived in france during the 1800s. in other words this was boring
rating: 1.5/5
"Reality or Delusion?" by Mrs. Henry Wood
rating: 3/5
"Uncle Cornelius His Story" by George MacDonald
i feel like george macdonald wanted to write about philosophy but no one would accept it so he just turned it into a ghost story
rating: 3.5/5
"The Shadow of a Shade" by Tom Hood
best one i've read so far; good job tom!
rating: 5/5
"At Chrighton Abbey" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
rating: 3/5
"No Living Voice" by Thomas Street Millington
a day later i wanted to come back and write a bit about this story, only to discover that i had completely forgotten it. it's clearly not memorable
rating: 2/5
"Miss Jéromette and the Clergyman" by Wilkie Collins
a bit of a weak effort from Collins here, but this had potential; i will definitely read more of his works
rating: 2.5/5
"The Story of Clifford House" by Anonymous
rating: 5/5
"Was it an Illusion?" by Amelia B. Edwards
rating: 4/5
"The Open Door" by Charlotte Riddell
a fun story about a door that constantly stays open. the ending was a bit rushed here, but good overall
rating: 4/5
"The Captain of the 'Pole-star'" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
a fun story from the creator of Sherlock Holmes about a polar voyage. Doyle has proved he knows how to write good atmosphere as well as memorable characters—happily, this story contains both.
rating: 4.5/5
"The Body-Snatcher" by R. L. Stevenson
this is not a ghost story so idk why it was included
rating: 3/5
"The Story of the Rippling Train" by Mary Louisa Molesworth
rating: 2.5/5
"At the End of the Passage" by Rudyard Kipling
good story, but not a ghost story so i don't know why it was included in this collection
rating: 3/5
"'To Let'" by B. M. Croker
rating: 3/5
"John Charrington's Wedding" by E. Nesbit
rating: 3.5/5
"The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly" by Rosa Mulholland
by far the funniest story title i perhaps have ever seen, and it is about a haunted organ. what could be better? also this story is quite creepy, good job Rosa
rating: 4.5/5
"The Man of Science" by Jerome K. Jerome
rating: 2.5/5
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" by M. R. James
rating: 3.5/5
"Jerry Bundler" by W. W. Jacobs
rating: 4.5/5
"An Eddy on the Floor" by Bernard Capes
rating: 1.5/5
"The Tomb of Sarah" by F. G. Loring
rating: 3.5/5
"The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit" by Barry Pain
rating: 2.5/5
"The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins
rating: 3/5
"Father Macclesfield's Tale" by R. H. Benson
rating: 2.5/5
"Thurnley Abbey" by Perceval Landon
rating: 4/5
"The Kit-bag" by Algernon Blackwood
rating: 4.5/5
Overall
overall, this story collection was a fun read. a lot of these stories exceeded my expectations, and many fell short. i personally recommend you read any of them that i rated a score of 3.5 or higher. instead of buying the book for yourself, look them up online—all of their copyrights have run out, so they're free to read!
more of a christmas ghost story but still good
rating: 4/5
"An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" by J. S. Le Fanu
this story said i should read it after nightfall near a fireplace—i read it in a cold pit at 8:00 in the morning. so...vibes, i guess? not very scary but it was ok
rating: 3/5
"The Miniature" by J. Y. Ackerman
got to read about two men sword fighting over a girl they both loved—except one of the guys is the girl's cousin. that's the 1800s for ya! but it was kinda boring ngl
rating: 2.5/5
"The Last House in C— Street" by Dinah Mulock
not sure what to say about this one, but it was quite good
rating: 3.5/5
"To be Taken with a Grain of Salt" by Charles Dickens
a surprisingly good effort from Dickens—the twist ending made me reflect upon the story, which is something that ghost stories don't often do
rating: 4.5/5
"The Botathen Ghost" by R. S. Hawker
a lot of antiquated language here, but it wasn't terrible
rating: 2/5
"The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth" by Rhoda Broughton
i usually like epistolary storytelling, but this just sucked
rating: 1.5/5
"The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James
a memorable effort from henry james of the turn of the screw fame. i thought the sister rivalry elements of this story were very intriguing, and while there weren't many ghosts in this story, the end twist was fun (if predictable).
rating: 4.5/5
"Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse" by Anonymous
this one had a lot of stuff about france that i think i would only understand if i lived in france during the 1800s. in other words this was boring
rating: 1.5/5
"Reality or Delusion?" by Mrs. Henry Wood
rating: 3/5
"Uncle Cornelius His Story" by George MacDonald
i feel like george macdonald wanted to write about philosophy but no one would accept it so he just turned it into a ghost story
rating: 3.5/5
"The Shadow of a Shade" by Tom Hood
best one i've read so far; good job tom!
rating: 5/5
"At Chrighton Abbey" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
rating: 3/5
"No Living Voice" by Thomas Street Millington
a day later i wanted to come back and write a bit about this story, only to discover that i had completely forgotten it. it's clearly not memorable
rating: 2/5
"Miss Jéromette and the Clergyman" by Wilkie Collins
a bit of a weak effort from Collins here, but this had potential; i will definitely read more of his works
rating: 2.5/5
"The Story of Clifford House" by Anonymous
rating: 5/5
"Was it an Illusion?" by Amelia B. Edwards
rating: 4/5
"The Open Door" by Charlotte Riddell
a fun story about a door that constantly stays open. the ending was a bit rushed here, but good overall
rating: 4/5
"The Captain of the 'Pole-star'" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
a fun story from the creator of Sherlock Holmes about a polar voyage. Doyle has proved he knows how to write good atmosphere as well as memorable characters—happily, this story contains both.
rating: 4.5/5
"The Body-Snatcher" by R. L. Stevenson
this is not a ghost story so idk why it was included
rating: 3/5
"The Story of the Rippling Train" by Mary Louisa Molesworth
rating: 2.5/5
"At the End of the Passage" by Rudyard Kipling
good story, but not a ghost story so i don't know why it was included in this collection
rating: 3/5
"'To Let'" by B. M. Croker
rating: 3/5
"John Charrington's Wedding" by E. Nesbit
rating: 3.5/5
"The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly" by Rosa Mulholland
by far the funniest story title i perhaps have ever seen, and it is about a haunted organ. what could be better? also this story is quite creepy, good job Rosa
rating: 4.5/5
"The Man of Science" by Jerome K. Jerome
rating: 2.5/5
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" by M. R. James
rating: 3.5/5
"Jerry Bundler" by W. W. Jacobs
rating: 4.5/5
"An Eddy on the Floor" by Bernard Capes
rating: 1.5/5
"The Tomb of Sarah" by F. G. Loring
rating: 3.5/5
"The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit" by Barry Pain
rating: 2.5/5
"The Shadows on the Wall" by Mary E. Wilkins
rating: 3/5
"Father Macclesfield's Tale" by R. H. Benson
rating: 2.5/5
"Thurnley Abbey" by Perceval Landon
rating: 4/5
"The Kit-bag" by Algernon Blackwood
rating: 4.5/5
Overall
overall, this story collection was a fun read. a lot of these stories exceeded my expectations, and many fell short. i personally recommend you read any of them that i rated a score of 3.5 or higher. instead of buying the book for yourself, look them up online—all of their copyrights have run out, so they're free to read!
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/day-604-the-oxford-book-of-victorian-ghost-stories/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/day-604-the-oxford-book-of-victorian-ghost-stories/
audreypalz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Can't say this was my most enjoyable reading experience. Though that isn't entirely the book's fault. I read these stories all at once, probably not how they're meant to be consumed, because man do these start to feel repetative after a while, and also I got bad family news part of the way through the book that truly made it hard for my mind not to wander (harder than it already was, that is). All in all, the Victorians sure did love those spooky scary ghosts. (And taking forever to get to the point. I'm coming from a modern and impatient viewpoint here, but jeez.)
rosalind_barden's review against another edition
5.0
I love old-style ghost stories, so had to pick this up when I saw it in the Huntington Gardens bookshop. Some stories I'd read in other collections, but most were new to me and I don't mind re-reading old favorites in any case. Perfect reading for a rainy evening, or when a sunny day simply does not fit your mood.
likecymbeline's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderfully creepy collection with a wide variety of the more high quality Victorian ghost stories. Particularly enjoyed "At Chrighton Abbey" by [a:Mary Elizabeth Braddon|45896|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1202597702p2/45896.jpg] and "An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" by [a:J.S. Le Fanu|5784865|J.S. Le Fanu|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]. It's a really good book for its representation of many female authors.
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
Very good stuff. Nothing here that really chilled me to the bone in a "think about it late at night and get nervous" kind of way, but a good bunch of stories that also give some insight into the fears and concerns of Victorian society.
justasking27's review against another edition
4.0
A very good collection, perfect for reading by the fire. Most of these I've found in other collections, but there were a few new stories and many I'd forgotten.
j_squaredd's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
bronwen's review against another edition
4.0
In my opinion, what distinguishes this book from others of the kind is its brilliant introduction to the ghost story as a genre. It provided an answer to many questions I'd had and made the reading of some of the stories even more pleasant.
There is also a good selection of stories and my favourites include J.S. Le Fanu, Elizabeth Gaskell, M.R. James and Wilkie Collins.
There is also a good selection of stories and my favourites include J.S. Le Fanu, Elizabeth Gaskell, M.R. James and Wilkie Collins.
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