elentarri's profile picture

elentarri 's review for:

In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
3.5
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Rating:  3.5

In a Glass Darkly is a collection of 5 possibly "paranormal" or mystery stories, first published in 1872, includes Green Tea, The Familiar, Mr. Justice Harbottle, The Room in le Dragon Volant, and Carmilla.  The five stories are purported to be cases by Dr. Hesselius, a 'metaphysical' doctor, who is willing to consider the ghosts both as real and as hallucinatory obsessions. 

Green Tea, The Familiar and Mr. Justice Harbottle all involve hauntings of some kind - demonic monkey or otherwise.  These three short stories weren't particularly memorable.  The Room in le Dragon Volant is not so much a ghost story as a gothic historical mystery novella with a mysterious lady in distress, a mysterious and jealous count, conspiracies and just plain weirdness.  This was the best story in the collection.  Carmilla is the story of the famous lesbian vampire written 25 years before Bram Stoker's Dracula.