The Collected Macabre Stories

With an Introduction by Mark Valentine

Perhaps best known for his 'perfectly realised' novel of Edwardian childhood The Go-Between, L.P. Hartley was also a much admired adept of the macabre short story. Hartley was no dilettante in the genre: he was well-versed in its long and distinguished tradition, and these carefully crafted tales represent some of the most successful attempts to carry the ghost story into the twentieth century.

The Collected Macabre Stories includes thirty-seven of Hartley's best tales, ranging from the well-known, traditional ghost stories 'The Cotillon' and 'Feet Foremost', through the dark humour of 'The Travelling Grave' and 'The Killing Bottle' to the Aickmanesque 'The Pylon'. These encompass a wide range of settings, from English Country Houses to Venetian Palaces. Two accomplished fantasies, 'Conrad and the Dragon' and 'The Crossways' display Hartley's range and versatility. Taken as a whole, the collection represents one of the most impressive achievements of twentieth-century macabre fiction.

This is a second printing

Includes the stories published in The Travelling Grave; The White Wand and Mrs Carteret Receives, plus three more stories and an introduction all previously published in the Ghost Book series. New introduction by Mark Valentine.

Limited to 350 copies and sold out at the publisher

1st printing