450 words, 2 minutes read time. 31) “Nut Bush Farm” by Charlotte Riddell Plot: Our hero, Jack, was injured in some undisclosed way at his job. His father-in-law advised him to take a farm to convalesce. Jack thinks that’s just the thing to do. After some disappointments, he comes across Nut Bush Farm and rentsContinue reading “Review of “Nut Bush Farm” by Charlotte Riddell: Halloween Countdown”
Category Archives: Halloween Countdown
Review of “The Mortal Immortal” by Mary Shelley (yes, that Mary Shelley): Halloween Countdown
732 words, 4 minutes read time In the home stretch: 30) “The Mortal Immortal” by Mary Shelley (yes, that Mary Shelley) Plot: In what appears to be a journal entry dated July 16, 1833, the narrator, Winzy, notes that it is the anniversary of his having been alive for three hundred and twenty-three years. IsContinue reading “Review of “The Mortal Immortal” by Mary Shelley (yes, that Mary Shelley): Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell” by Edith Wharton: Halloween Countdown
29) “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell” by Edith Wharton Plot: After recovering from typhoid, Alice Hartley has difficulty finding another position. The ladies she applies to look at her pale complexion and her thin limbs and decline her services. Alice is at the end of her rope. A chance meeting with Mrs. Railton, a friend ofContinue reading “Review of “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell” by Edith Wharton: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Invisible Eye” by Erckmann-Chatrian: Halloween Countdown
28) “The Invisible Eye” by Erckmann-Chatrian Note: This story was first published roughly 170 years ago and, unfortunately, displays the antisemitism and misogyny of the times. Plot: Christian, who narrates the story, is an artist renting an attic room in an old house on Rue des Minnesängers in Nuremberg. He has a commanding view ofContinue reading “Review of “The Invisible Eye” by Erckmann-Chatrian: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Haunted Orchard” by Richard Le Gallienne: Halloween Countdown
27) “The Haunted Orchard” by Richard Le Gallienne Plot:The unnamed narrator tells the reader about leaving the city for the Connecticut countryside and coming across an empty “quaint farm-house,” an “old colonial,” with lilacs and “surrounded by an orchard of ancient apple trees.” He finds a broken window pane and enters the house. Why not?Continue reading “Review of “The Haunted Orchard” by Richard Le Gallienne: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant: Halloween Countdown
26) “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant Plot:Clean-shaven M. Bermutier, a judge, talks to a group of people gathered in Paris discussing the Saint-Cloud mystery. The judge notes that the women, shaking and trembling, move closer to him; they are “moved by fear and curiosity, and by the eager and insatiable desire for the horrible,Continue reading “Review of “The Hand” by Guy de Maupassant: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “For the Blood is the Life” by F. Marion Crawford: Halloween Countdown
25) “For the Blood is the Life” by F. Marion Crawford Plot:The unnamed narrator of this story owns a sixteenth-century tower on the west coast of Calabria, built to keep off Barbary pirates. The tower stands at the extremity of a curving, rocky promontory that forms a small but safe natural harbor at the southernContinue reading “Review of “For the Blood is the Life” by F. Marion Crawford: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving: Halloween Countdown
24) “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving (as Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.) Note: The story reviewed is about two hundred years old and contains some racially insensitive and misogynistic language. Plot: In 1727, “at the time when earthquakes were prevalent in New England and shook many tall sinners down upon their knees,” Tom Walker,Continue reading “Review of “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Crime of Micah Rood” by Elia W. Peattie: Halloween Countdown
23) “The Crime of Micah Rood” by Elia W. Peattie Plot:In the early 18th century, in eastern Connecticut near the Shetucket River lived Micah Rood, “a solitary soul,” who “occupied a low, tumble-down house, in which he had seen his sisters and his brothers, his father and mother, die. The mice used the bare floorsContinue reading “Review of “The Crime of Micah Rood” by Elia W. Peattie: Halloween Countdown”
Review of “The Case of Lady Sannox” by Arthur Conan Doyle: Halloween Countdown
22) “The Case of Lady Sannox” by Arthur Conan Doyle Plot: Those in the know understand that the married surgeon Douglas Stone and the equally married Lady Sannox were having an affair. That she announced she was taking the veil and would never be seen by the world again got tongues wagging. Stone’s valet foundContinue reading “Review of “The Case of Lady Sannox” by Arthur Conan Doyle: Halloween Countdown”
