Tales of Love and Death

Introduction by Michael Dirda
Cover artwork by Stephen J Clark of The Singing Garden

Robert Aickman (1914-1981) is considered by many to be one of the finest exponents of the modern ghost story. Aickman himself referred to his tales as ‘strange stories’, for they are often open to more complex interpretations. His writing is subtle and poetic, presenting us with psychological and more material terrors.Tales of Love and Death (first published in 1977) is a collection of seven mature tales by this craftsman of the uncanny.

"Along with Walter de la Mare, Elizabeth Bowen and a few others, Robert Aickman belongs to the Chekhov school of the weird tale. Such writers recognise that stories don’t require pat endings. They don’t need to close with the snap of an O. Henry trapdoor, or the ironic twist of a Maupassant. A short story can actually convey a more haunting depiction of the human predicament by avoiding any kind of artificial conclusiveness. Life is messy, not neat; most problems are never clearly resolved, but only lived with; people act unreasonably for no apparent reason." Michael Dirda, from the Introduction to Tales of Love and Death.

Contents:

• Growing Boys
• Marriage
• Le Miroir
• Compulsory Games
• Raising the Wind
• Residents Only
• Wood

Tales of Love and Death is a sewn hardback of 243+ xiii pages, printed lithographically, with silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w.

Limited to 350 copies (note this is a 2nd printing)