Halloween Read ~ Tales of Horror by Edgar Allan Poe

Alma Classic
2016
297 pages

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this anthology of short stories

What's it all about...

A murderer is forced to reveal his crime by the sound of a beating heart, a mysterious figure wreaks havoc among a party of noblemen during the time of the plague, a grieving lover awakens to find himself clutching a box of his beloved blood-stained teeth, a man is obsessed with the fear of being buried alive – these are only some of the memorable characters and stories included in this volume, which exemplify Poe’s inventiveness and natural talent as a storyteller.

Immensely popular both during and after his lifetime, and a powerful influence on generations of writers and film-makers to this day, Edgar Allan Poe is still counted among the greatest short-story writers of all time and seen as one of the initiators of the detective, horror and science-fiction genres

What did I think about it...

This collection of twenty six tales of horror range from the macabre to the terrifying and all carry the characteristic trademark of Edgar Allan Poe doing what he does best, that is to entertain and disturb in equal measure.

It took me a little while to read this edition as the font is quite small and needs some concentration, however, what always comes across is the skillful level of writing, and whilst some of the stories didn't appeal, others most certainly did and left me with a feeling of disquiet for quite a while afterwards. Of course, the first story I turned to was that of The Black Cat, a clever little story which left me with a real feeling of unease and caused me to look at Jaffa with more than a hint of suspicion. There's also the classic short story, The Fall of the House of Usher, which was first published in 1839 and remains just as pertinent today as it did back then. The Murders in the Rue Morgue, published in 1841, is thought to be the first modern detective story. Poe's detective C. August Dupin is probably the blueprint from which other authors took their inspiration in the portrayal of what we now consider to be the classic detective.

My feeling is that this is one of those anthologies which you can easily dip into and out of at whim, and once you get used to Poe's style of writing and his way of accentuating the oddness and the morbidness of the human spirit, then the appeal of these classic horror stories is strong as ever.

About the Author

Born in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) was brought up by the Allan merchant family after the death of his mother and being abandoned by his father. While studying at the University of Virginia he started self-publishing volumes of poetry, and after a stint in the military began writing essays and fiction for a living. He died of unknown causes – with rabies, cholera, alcoholism and tuberculosis among the hypotheses – in Baltimore.

Publisher

Amazon UK

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Review ~ A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens..

Alma Books
2016

Ebenezer Scrooge is a lonely, miserly old man who hates Christmas, which he dismisses as “humbug”. One Christmas Eve, however, he is visited by a series of ghosts who reveal to him the innocence he has lost, the wretchedness of his future and the poverty of the present, which he has so far ignored. This experience teaches Scrooge the true meaning of the holiday and leaves him a transformed man.

With its memorable cast of characters such as Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is the most heart-warming of seasonal tales, a timeless classic that continues to enchant readers around the world and a lesson in charity and hopefulness that is as powerful today as when it was first written in 1843.

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For me no Christmas is complete without reading A Christmas Carol. No-one can conjure a Victorian Christmas like Dickens, who with his unique perspective, brings the story of Christmas to glorious life. We all know the story of how the miserly and cantankerous, Ebeneezer Scrooge is made to realise the importance of human kindness and, of how, at the end of his journey he is changed irrevocably into a nicer person.

But it must also be remembered that Dickens wrote other Christmas stories, of which A Christmas Carol is but one. In this volume we are also given..

The Chimes ( 1843)

The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) 

The Battle of Life (1846)

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1848)

This is a really lovely version and what I find important these days is that the font is a good size for comfortable reading . All too often classics stories are spoiled by much too tiny a font - publishers take note !!

Also included in this version are a few photographs of Dickens and his family along with notes on Dickens's life and also on Dickens's works which I found to be really interesting and informative.

Available from Alma Books and all good book shops.

My thanks to Will at Alma Books for my review copy of A Christmas Carol and other Christmas stories.

Review ~ Belle and Sébastien: The Child of the Mountains by Cécile Aubry

Alma Classics
2016

When I was given the opportunity to read and review Belle and Sébastien by Cécile Aubry I jumped at the chance, because as a child of the sixties, I remember when this was serialised on television and back then, even the grainy black and white images didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I absolutely adored the theme tune and remember signing it, in original French, at a school Speech Day in 1969.

The story is about Sébastien who was found as a new-born baby in the Alps and brought up by Guillaume and his grandchildren, Angélina and Jean. Born on the very same day is Belle a beautiful white Pyrenean Mountain Dog who is passed from owner to owner until eventually, like two star crossed lovers, Sébastien and Belle finally meet. What then follows is a beautiful story about value of friendship, the glory of adventure and of the overwhelming connection between a boy and his dog.

You can’t help but fall in love with Cécile Aubry’s writing, and this story, which was first published in 1965 is exactly as lovely as I remember. The writing is beautifully simplistic yet it conjures time and place so perfectly that you feel at one with the mountains and the landscape. It is also gloriously illustrated by Helen Stephens, with simple black and white line drawings, which perfectly evoke the overall spirit of the story. 

This edition, published by Alma Classics in 2016, is one of those books which shall sit forever on my book shelf, as a reminder of my glorious childhood.

Best Read with...A mug of milky Ovaltine and couple of Jammy Dodger Biscuits..

If you need a reminder of the TV theme music - here it is 

About the Author

Cécile Aubry (1928-2010) was a successful French actress who gave up her film career to devote herself to writing children's novels and screenplays. She is most famous for the Belle and Sébastien series, for which she wrote the books and their television adaptations.

About the Illustrator

Helen Stephens is a multi award-winning author-illustrator. She has collaborated with some of the best loved authors including Michael Morpurgo and Roger McGough.

Amazon UK

My thanks to Alma Books for the opportunity to read this lovely story again.

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