Friday, April 22, 2011

Boston in Fiction

Boston in Fiction by Frances Weston Carruth
The Bookman, Vol 14, September 1901 - February 1902
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural

Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural
Compiled by Jean Hawkins
Boston: The Boston Book Company, 1909

A list of ghost stories compiled by a librarian.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A Christmas Tale by Mrs. Oliphant

A Christmas Tale
by Mrs. Oliphant
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
Volume 81, January 1857, page 74

The title of this short story is a misnomer: Christmas has nothing to do with the plot. This is well worth reading. Mrs. Oliphant does a masterful job in building suspense and a sense of terror.

The narrator finds himself stranded at a rural English train station after missing a connection. The local squire invites the narrator to his home for dinner, and the story develops from there. A compelling read.

Monday, April 18, 2011

My Life: The Memoirs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya

My Life: The Memoirs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya
ISBN-10 0776630423
ISBN-13: 978-0776630427
Available at Amazon

I have just ordered a copy of this book which I am certain will prove to be an important contribution to the English language library of memoirs written by Tolstoy's family members and friends. The tumultuous nature of the marriage of Sofia and Leo Tolstoy has been the subject of a number of books over the decades, but what better way to get Sofia's point of view than from her own pen.