Supernatural Short Stories

The only single-volume edition in print of Dickens's tales of the supernatural, enriched with pictures and additional material on his life and worksCharles Dickens wrote a number of supernatural and horror stories, some of which were included in his longer works, while others were published in magazines. This collection gathers them together in one volume, providing an invaluable insight into the author's storytelling apprenticeship and his steady growth towards excellence. As well as offering a further dimension to the world of his better-known masterpieces, these tales, from "A Madman's Manuscript" to "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton" to the celebrated "The Signalman," illustrate Dickens's well-known love of a spooky story told around a blazing fire, the pastime of a bygone age to be rediscovered for our own delight.

From Booklist

Ghosts, goblins, hauntings, and enchantments—those might sound like the elements of a contemporary YA novel, but as this new collection shows, they were also important interests of the doyen of Victorian fiction, Charles Dickens. While Dickens is widely celebrated for his “social novels” that explore the real-world hardships of the lower classes, these tales offer a window into the paranormal, bizarre, and supernatural themes that fascinated Dickens despite his reputation as a realist. While handling the elements we associate with genre fiction, Dickens never succumbs to convention but injects these stories with the same wit and effervescence that distinguish his most famous works. In these pages we meet a bossy, enchanted chair that offers relationship advice, a host of magical mail carts, a grumpy gravedigger whisked away by a group of goblins, and other unforgettable characters. With its classic takes on perennially exciting themes, this volume will delight Dickens enthusiasts as well as the casual reader eager to hear an eerie tale told by one of the English language’s greatest raconteurs. --Brett Beasley

Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Poe and gas lamp fantasy may find a new tale or two to love."

Booklist

"With its classic takes on perennially exciting themes, this volume will delight Dickens enthusiasts as well as the casual reader eager to hear an eerie tale told by one of the English language’s greatest raconteurs."

About the Author

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) is one of the most influential and popular authors in the English language.

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