145 Year Old LeFanu Story Finally Being Reprinted

As noted in my previous article about J. Sheridan LeFanu, he was the editor of The Dublin University Magazine for many years and contributed numerous stories to it.  Some of these were published anonymously.  One such tale is “My Aunt Margaret’s Adventure” (1864).  The story was only printed the one time and until this year had not been reprinted since.   Several years after its publication, M.R. James credited the tale to LeFanu of whom he was a big fan.  The story is different than most of LeFanu’s work, in large part because it lacks an element of the supernatural to it.   Brian Showers’ The Swan River Press has rectified the obscurity of this lost tale by making it available as a chapbook, complete with an introduction by Jim Rockhill and annotations by Gary W. Crawford.  Cover art is by Allison Elrod.  Also included is a poem by George Colman, The Younger called “The Maid of the Moor; or, The Water Fiends”, a fine ghostly dirge that is referenced in the story.

“My Aunt Margaret’s Adventure” credited to J. Sheridan LeFanu (1864) This story, told by an unidentified narrator, recounts the harrowing events his aunt and her handmaid experienced some years back.  Aunt Margaret is a headstrong, business savvy woman who owns property in a town some distance from where she lives.  These properties are rented by a Tailor and a Tobacconist.  When the Tobacconist consistently fails to pay her for use of the property, she decides to go see him in person to rectify the problem.  She gets her driver to hitch up the coach, takes her handmaid and sets out for Winderbrooke, the site of her property.   Problems arise, however, when they become lost on their way.  They soon find themselves in unfamiliar country at night with no one about to ask directions in an area that seems a prime spot for highwaymen.  They have little choice but to continue on their long journey and eventually find an inn called The Good Women.  It is past midnight when they arrive, and the woman who answers the door is not congenial.  She does allow the ladies to spend the night there but not the driver as they have a policy of allowing no men in after ten o’clock.  They eventually concede, and the driver leaves for another inn nearby that did not have enough room for them all.  The rest of the story takes place in The Good Woman.  Although there are no supernatural elements here, the feeling of creeping dread soon settles in.  The gruff, vaguely threatening mannerisms of the inn’s staff, along with many odd things seen and heard, make the women feel isolated, trapped and in increasing danger the longer they stay.  This is a good thriller with interesting characters and plenty of mystery, as well as a twist at the end.  

Also available from The Swan River Press:

Tigh an Bhreithimh by Brian J. Showers (2005):  This palm-sized book is about an author in Dublin, Ireland whose fiancé rents him a house in a small secluded village for a week to help him break out of debilitating writers-block he has been suffering through.  The name of the house is Tigh an Bhreithimh.  On a walk through the sparsely populated area, he comes across a strange old stone cabin with a scared, starving dog tied to a stake outside it.  When a rainstorm forces him inside, he finds it not only oppressive but containing hints of what disturbing former use it held.  This is a ghost story filled with atmosphere and dread.  Writer/Publisher Brian Showers is able to paint vivid pictures of the lonely Irish countryside and the hints that something dark is lurking beneath the surface in a concise and appealing economy of words.  Fans of M.R. James, and J. Sheridan LeFanu (both of whom get a brief mention in the story) should enjoy this tale.   Spread throughout are wonderfully atmospheric illustrations by Duane Spurlock that detail the eerie ambiance of the story.  I personally enjoyed this book a great deal.  

The Seer of Trieste ‘A Lecture by Mark Valentine’ (2008) – Valentine tells the tale of his search for remnants of work that may have escaped destruction authored by controversial author/translator/explorer and occultist Sir Richard Burton.  This task takes him to Trieste, the site of Burton’s and other renowned writers spot of greatest inspiration.  What he finds there is both bizarre and surrealistic.  This is a fun, weird tale edited and published by Brian Showers with cover art by Meggan Kehrli.

To order these and other great books follow the link below:

http://www.brianjshowers.com