Autorentext

Richard Marsh, a pseudonym used by English author Richard Bernard Heldmann, was born on October 12, 1857, and died on August 9, 1915. Author of numerous best-selling books during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Marsh is most known today for his supernatural thriller The Beetle, which came out the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) and was initially sold six times more than the latter book. The Beetle was published until 1960. In addition to writing many short tales, Marsh authored about 80 volumes of fiction in the horror, crime, romance, and humor genres. Starting with The Beetle in 2004, many of these have been reissued in the last few years. Robert Aickman was a well-known author of short "strange stories" and the grandson of Marsh. On October 12, 1857, Richard Bernard Heldmann was born in North London, the son of lace manufacturer Emma Marsh (1830-1911) and trader Joseph Heldmann (1827-96). In 1880, Heldmann started releasing fiction in the style of adventure and boys' school tales for magazine publications. The most significant of these was Union Jack, a prestigious weekly journal for boys published in association with writers W.H.G. Kingston (1814-80) and G. A. Henty (1832-1902).

Klappentext

In "Staunton's Dinner," Vane Staunton returns after an absence of many years and hosts a dinner for his former friends. But they are horrified to find that he is terribly changed and now appears to possess awful powers, including the power to kill a man with only a thought! In the curiously homoerotic "A Knight of the Road," set in 17th century England, a handsome but cold-blooded stranger shows up in a lonely village and just might be the Devil himself! The darkly comical "The Disappearance of Mrs. Macrecham" recounts the strange adventures of Hereward Waller, who finds himself in an awkward predicament when he believes he has turned his landlady into a cat. And in "The Ring," Pugh and Tress from Marsh's earlier collection Curios reprise their roles as they seek to solve the mystery of an apparently cursed 16th century ring. The twelve stories in this volume showcase Marsh's diverse talents and include tales of ghosts, crime, and the occult. As always, the tales are told with Marsh's characteristic blend of horror, mystery, and humour. This edition includes the unabridged text of Marsh's story collection, taken from the exceedingly rare first edition published by Methuen in 1901. Also featured is a reproduction of the original cover.