A Phantom Lover and Other Dark Tales by Vernon Lee

A Phantom Lover and Other Dark Tales by Vernon Lee, edited by Mike Ashley / 285-page paperback from the British Library's "Tales of the Weird" series, published 2020 / ISBN 9780712353816

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During her lifetime, Violet Paget, who wrote as Vernon Lee, was referred to as "the greatest of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction," and yet today she remains on the periphery of the genre. This collection of her uniquely weird short stories and dark fantasies proves why she was once considered among the best of the genre, and why she deserves to return to those ranks today. From modernized folk tales such as "Marsyas in Flanders" and "The Legend of Madame Krasinska" to ingenious psychological hauntings such as the titular "A Phantom Lover" and "A Wicked Voice," Lee’s own voice is just as distinctive and captivating—her weird imaginings just as freshly unsettling—as in her fin desiècle heyday.