A review by msand3
The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions

2.0

The kind of novella that makes you appreciate even more writers like Poe, Hoffmann, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, etc. This was dull, staid prose that had neither the creative flair of earlier 19th century supernatural fiction nor the psychological punch of some of Onions’ contemporaries. Even the sensational ending couldn’t salvage this one for me. I’m always amused when the tired, old “Was it a ghost, or was it a mental break?” trope is lauded as groundbreaking, when it’s the same damned literary device used for centuries (Hamlet, anyone?).