Showing results by author "E. F. Benson" in All Categories

Overbearing Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas is back yet again, leaving the small town of Riseholme to embrace the new and exciting social offerings of London. Having acquired a second home in the city with her husband, Peppino, Lucia immediately evaluates her avenues to climb the ranks to the highest social circles. All are not fooled by her shameless gambits, however, and we are introduced to a cast of astonished followers, including Stephen Merriall, who may not be as trustworthy as he appears.

Step into the opulent world of London society at the turn of the century with Dodo, a captivating bestseller from 1893. This novel introduces us to Dodo, a spirited young woman who revels in her place among the elite. As she prepares to enter into a promising marriage with a wealthy man of title, the stakes of high society become ever more intriguing. Experience the complete tale in this audiobook, featuring both Volume 1 and 2, beautifully narrated by Anna Simon.

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic "Lucia" novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories which were his most popular works. The Sanctuary exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales, this one being particularly disturbing.

Reported to be an account of a real haunting experienced by the author at a house in Rye, this story features fleeting glimpses of an apparition in a walled garden.

Another collection of 16 classic tales of the macabre and supernatural by some of the best-known writers in these genres.

A spectacular collection of classic ghost stories from some of the masters of spooky fiction. 'On the Brighton Road' by Richard Middleton; 'A Ghost Story' by Mark Twain; 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray; 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole; 'Rose Rose' by Barry Pain; 'The Ghost Ship' by Richard Middleton; 'The Bus Conductor' by E. F. Benson; 'The Tarn' by Hugh Walpole; 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter' by M. R. James.

Part of a six-instalment comic book series, Mapp and Lucia, which recounts the eccentric tales of various women in the 1920s and their fight for social status, Mapp and Lucia sees the two iconic protagonists – Emmeline Lucas and Elizabeth Mapp – finally cross paths. It is the fourth book in Benson’s hugely successful series. Renowned show-off Mrs Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas decides to take up summer residence in the small seaside resort of Tilling, home to none other than the formidable Miss Elizabeth Mapp.

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

Darkness falls. The undead rise to feast on the succulent blood of the living. For years vampires have fascinated great writers of the occult such as De Maupassant, Count Stenbock, E Nesbit and EF Benson. This is The Story Circle's collection of some of their spine-chilling tales told by award-winning actors.

A gripping collection of over 50 of the greatest short stories written by great British writers. 1."The Missing Years" by Barry Pain, 2. "His Brother's Keeper" by W. W. Jacobs, 3. "A Madman's Manuscript" by Charles Dickens, 4. "The House of Cobwebs" by Barry Pain, 5. "Old Fags" by Stacy Aumonier, 6. "A Long-Ago Affair" by John Galsworthy, 7. "August Heat" by W. F. Harvey, 8. "The Dabblers" by W. F. Harvey, 9. "Rose Rose" by Barry Pain

A comprehensive and varied collection of the best vampire stories from the Victorian era by the greatest Gothic writers of the time. Includes: 'The Horla' by Guy de Maupassant; 'Mrs. Amworth' by E. F. Benson; 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' by John Keats; 'Dracula's Guest' by Bram Stoker; 'The Bride of Corinth' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; 'Will' by Vincent O'Sullivan; 'Ken's Mystery' by Julian Hawthorne.

Edward Frederic Benson (1867-1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer, best known for his evocative and beautifully narrated ghost stories. This collection brings together twenty of his most brilliant works.

The narrative follows the stylishly controversial Dodo, a young woman from the British upper-middle-class. She is very confident she is about to make a most advantageous match which should position her perfectly for the social status and money she so deeply craves. This makes for a work replete with sardonic and romantic and paranormal melodrama. In an atmosphere so full of extreme snobbery that it is a riot of hilarity.

A recurrent dream you have goes on for years and years. Well, actually, it’s not a dream, it is, most assuredly a nightmare. Every night in sleep, you encounter the same people, you hold the same conversations, you witness the same disturbing sights and invariably you wake up in a muck sweat, screaming, believing yourself to be in the room in the tower. But it’s just a nightmare, nothing to it, nothing remotely tangible, until… This is the premise of E. F. Benson’s celebrated ghost story, ‘

A terrifying collection of classic Victorian short stories about ghosts, werewolves and vampires. The Wolf Book by Henry Chapman Mercer. Number Ninety by B. M. Croker. Ken's Mystery by Julian Hawthorne. The Piano Next Door by Elia W. Peattie. The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains by Frederick Marryat. The Horla by Guy de Maupassant. Absolute Evil by Julian Hawthorne. Mrs. Amworth by E. F. Benson.

E. F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic Lucia novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories that were his most popular works. "Naboth's Vineyard" exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales.

In Colin, we delve into the intriguing saga of the Stanier family, rooted in the quaint village of Stanier near Rye, Sussex. The narrative begins around 1600, when the original Colin Stanier makes a Faustian bargain with the devil to achieve his dreams—featuring a tantalizing encounter with Queen Elizabeth I, who finds herself enchanted by his charm. Fast forward to 1900, where another Colin Stanier, strikingly similar to his ancestor, resorts to deceit and treachery in a desperate bid to claim the family fortune from his older twin brother, Raymond. A contemporary review captures the ...

A ghoulish collection of loathsome and macabre tales full of astounding skill and diabolical cleverness. 'The Coffin Merchant' by Richard Middleton, 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray, 'The Vampire' by Jan Neruda, 'The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand' by J. S. Fletcher, 'The Story of the Spaniards' by E. & H. Heron, 'Over an Absinthe Bottle' by W. C. Morrow, 'The Anticipator' by Morley Roberts, 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole, 'The Conjurer' by Richard Middleton....

Taking a winter holiday in a splendid resort in the Swiss Alps our hero finds himself billeted in a surprisingly large room, furnished with two beds. He checks with the man at the bureau, but there’s no mistake: it’s all his, a veritable snip at 12 francs a night! What a stroke of luck! And what could possibly connect this alpine idyll with Boston, Massachusetts? E. F. Benson is well known for his Mapp and Lucia novels but his ghost and supernatural stories are marvellous jewels, combining elegant writing and moments of blood-curdling horror.

The Man Who Went Too Far: A Ghost Story by E. F. Benson opens one summer’s day in a beautiful, sequestered garden on the edge of the New Forest. A forty-something artist visits a friend to recuperate from a debilitating illness but is staggered to discover him looking remarkably young and oddly vibrant. He listens as this ‘boy’ explains his new found philosophy, expands on the delight he takes in the natural world all around him and describes the strangely haunting music he has begun to hear in the woods and among the reeds.