- Paperback: 127 pages
- Publisher: Wordsworth Classics; 1 edition (Sep 10 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1840225394
- ISBN-13: 978-1840225396
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.4 x 0.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 100 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #623,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
The Aylmer Vance stories date from the Edwardian period, and there are echoes in them of the Sherlock Holmes adventures which had proved so popular in the preceding decade. The friendship between Aylmer Vance and Dexter is not unlike that between Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and the two investigators approach the world of the supernatural in the same fearless and enquiring spirit in which Conan Doyle's heroes approach the world of crime. The parallel is not exact: Dexter, with his clairvoyant powers, is a more useful (and intelligent) ally than Watson, and Vance for the most part does not 'solve' mysteries the way Holmes does. What we get instead is a loosely-connected series of stories in which surprise is the major element, a world where not all ghosts are bad, where it is not always clear whether they are ghosts, and where being dead may for some be better than being alive.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
'What a wonderful moonlight night!' Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
'What a wonderful moonlight night!' Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thank heavens it's in print!, Jun 29 2008
By Seven Kitties "7kitties" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Aylmer Vance: Ghost-Seer (Paperback)
An offering from a relatively new and small imprint of Wordsworth 'tales of mystery and the supernatural'. The cover is blazoned with a gloss-black skull, to make it extra lurid. And at only a measly 127 pages, one wishes they'd have bundled it with the Aylmer Vance novel, but alas.This is good Edwardian 'horror'--if you don't like period-piece class-based horrors (loveless marriages, poets cheated of success, foreign women and their evil contaminants) this will not turn a hair on your head. If, however, that stuff makes you giddy, this is your cup of posset! Aylmer's your run-of-the-mill pseudo-Victorian genius gentleman with no visible means of support, and he has a puppy-dog admirer Dexter, who serves as his clairvoyant (in two of the stories) and narrator. They investigate, of course, never for anything as gauche as *money*, mind you--Aylmer is allergic to his occult pursuits even being called a 'business.'
The stories are pure romance and very goreless. One would almost, from a modern perspective, *like* a little more violence, or a victim who is NOT a nubile young woman. But what's here is absolute solid quality upper crust romantic (and Romantic) stuff. And if you're not clear of the distinction, you might want to skip this book. If, however, you loved Bram Stoker, but found _Dracula_ a little gory and _Jewel of the Seven Stars_ to have a little too much foreign travel--if you'd like something 'cozy', this is for you. It's also reminiscent of John Buchan's forays into the Not Entirely Explained (such as _Dancing Floor_) It does a wonderful job not teetering on EITHER side of the line--not *everything* is supernatural and demonaic in origin; nor, however, is everything mere autosuggestive neurosis. The standout tales are "The Boy of Blackstock," and "The Fear." A pleasant evening's read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wish there were more, Dec 30 2009
By Paula Clifford "wasamatta" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Aylmer Vance: Ghost-Seer (Paperback)
Thanks to Wordsworth many unfairly forgotten and neglected supernatural tales are coming back into print. Aylmer Vance may not be a household name compared to Carnacki or John Silence, but he should be better known, and with this nice little volume perhaps he will be. The tales are hard to describe, there are only eight and the first three are loosely connected as they bring together Vance and his partner Dexter, a lawyer who discovers through Vance he's clairvoyant, a trait not overdone in the remaining stories. Readers may be surprised that few of the stories actually have happy endings, Vance may discover the cause of the hauntings, but that doesn't always help bring about the desired solution. This makes the stories unusual for their time, most detectives, supernatural or not, normally only had their successes published. There's a strange quality to the tales that suggests a thin veil separating this world and another one, and leaving the reader in doubt as to which is better. Why the Askews only published eight short stories is a mystery, this volume leaves the reader wanting more.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Feeling the Fear, Jan 16 2010
By Katherine G. Wilkins - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Aylmer Vance: Ghost-Seer (Paperback)
Aylmer Vance is a gentleman who investigates ghosts, who finds a partner in the lawyer, Dexter. When you find out that the new country house is haunted, call them in. When you have a party guest that only one person can see, call them in. When you have windows that open and close by themselves, call them in. But don't say I didn't warn you. Aylmer cannot lay every ghost to rest. "The Fear" is the best of the stories in the collection. "The Stranger" is probably the one with the most surprising ending, in a way. You'll like these old ghost stories.
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