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A review by kaliobooks
Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
4.0
•Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu, 2000, Penguin Classics, originally published 1864
Young, naïve, and eager to please, Maud Ruthyn lives a very sheltered life--but she’s no stranger to horror, mystery, and suspense. She’s in awe of her aristocratic father, her manor home is secluded deep in the English countryside, and her lonely lifestyle has made her sensitive and superstitious. But it’s her new governess, Madame de la Rougierre, who really makes Maud nervous. Madame is a strange, freakish woman with a secretive past who delights in terrifying, bullying, and spying on Maud. Thanks in part to her one true ally, her cousin Lady Knollys, Maud is eventually freed from Madame’s tyranny—only to be plunged into an even darker and more disturbing life with her mysterious (and maybe murderous) Uncle Silas. The suspense builds as mysteries pile up and sinister forces surround Maud until she is little more than utterly helpless. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) grew up in Ireland listening to folktales, myths and darkly Gothic tales. His early writings were ghost stories; he even wrote a chilling novella about a vampire, Carmilla. But to maximize his appeal to English audiences, Le Fanu toned it down and turned his penchant for horror into the sensational—with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Uncle Silas’ unique blend of ghostly, Gothic, and Sensational styles makes it a suspenseful psychological thriller that’s way ahead of its time.
Young, naïve, and eager to please, Maud Ruthyn lives a very sheltered life--but she’s no stranger to horror, mystery, and suspense. She’s in awe of her aristocratic father, her manor home is secluded deep in the English countryside, and her lonely lifestyle has made her sensitive and superstitious. But it’s her new governess, Madame de la Rougierre, who really makes Maud nervous. Madame is a strange, freakish woman with a secretive past who delights in terrifying, bullying, and spying on Maud. Thanks in part to her one true ally, her cousin Lady Knollys, Maud is eventually freed from Madame’s tyranny—only to be plunged into an even darker and more disturbing life with her mysterious (and maybe murderous) Uncle Silas. The suspense builds as mysteries pile up and sinister forces surround Maud until she is little more than utterly helpless. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) grew up in Ireland listening to folktales, myths and darkly Gothic tales. His early writings were ghost stories; he even wrote a chilling novella about a vampire, Carmilla. But to maximize his appeal to English audiences, Le Fanu toned it down and turned his penchant for horror into the sensational—with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Uncle Silas’ unique blend of ghostly, Gothic, and Sensational styles makes it a suspenseful psychological thriller that’s way ahead of its time.