Classic Horror Lovers discussion

We′re starting a buddy read of Tales of the Uneasy , a collection of short stories by Violet Hunt (1911). If you′re interested, feel free to join in. Read at your own pace. When posting, please use spoiler tags.

Some information on the author and book: According to the Wikipedia article on Hunt, the genre scholar E. F. Bleiler described the book as containing “[e]xcellent stories, in which the supernatural is used as a technical device to indicate ironies of fate and the intimate relationship of life and death”; and horror historian R. S. Hadji included it in a list of “unjustly neglected” horror books.

The collection can be freely found at both Google Books and at archive.org. See here for a summary of the relevant links. Ash-Tree Press published an electronic version of the book for $8 that also includes the stories from Hunt’s follow-up collection, More Tales of the Uneasy (1925). It can be found on Amazon’s web site; see here.

Canavan wrote: "We′re starting a buddy read of Tales of the Uneasy, a collection of short stories by Violet Hunt (1911). If you′re interested, feel free to join in. Read at your own ..."

Yay!

Starting tonight, and I'm looking forward to it.

Thoughts on “The Telegram”.

(view spoiler)[I had a bit of a tepid reaction to this story. I do think that it’s well written, but I’m still grappling with what to think about the its characters and larger themes (or maybe I’m just guilty of over-thinking the story). Hunt is sometimes lumped in with the “New Woman” (or first-wave feminist) writers of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. And this story did make think of Anna Lombard, a popular New Woman novel written in 1901 by Annie Sophie Cory (writing as Victoria Cross). I found the two main characters in that novel — the title character and Gerald Ethridge — annoying to say the least. And I seem to see some clear parallels between those two and Alice Damer and Everard Jenkins; in each case the female protagonists come off as manipulating and self-interested to a fault, while the men are so drearily self-effacing that you want to yell at them to wake up and smell the coffee. I found myself wondering whether both pieces of fiction were independently playing with notions of gender reversal or whether “The Telegram” was some sort of odd parody of the novel.

The supernatural facet of the story is almost secondary. To be more specific, for me it’s the least compelling aspect of the story — Everard’s condition is far too obvious to the reader schooled in these kinds of tales and, what’s worse, Hunt allows the conclusion to drag on for far too long.

Afterthought: What does the story’s last line mean? Am I missing something obvious here? (hide spoiler)]

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Canavan wrote: "Thoughts on “The Telegram”.

I had a bit of a tepid reaction to this story. I do think that it’s well written, but I’m still grappling with what to think about the its characters and larger themes ..."

(view spoiler)[ I think the issue here re the supernatural aspect is in the use of the word "uneasy" in the title. Uneasy here for me doesn't necessarily equate to what's going on with the supernatural elements at all (I see it as more along the psychological lines, actually), and I think it's the expectation of uneasiness that gave me the idea that these stories were going to be more supernaturally centered than they actually are. In the stories I've read so far, the strange, otherworldly elements seem to be some sort of "just desserts" for those who've wronged someone else.

I came away with the same impression, however, about the "notions of gender reversal." Alice is most definitely a "new woman" figure, with plenty of money, a house, and independence, but here she's become the "rake," a role that was generally given to men in earlier fiction. In the very little sensation/seduction fiction I've read from earlier periods, it's usually the guy who ends up not having to pay somehow for his cruelty, which by the way, was not seen as being socially unacceptable. At the same time, while Alice's independence gives her freedom, I found it interesting that she seems to blame "the altar of convention" in part for spending as little time with Everard as possible -- not being seen "up the river" with him, or "near his rooms." So to me, it's Alice being cruel but justifying her actions within the accepted confines of society, and Everard has moved into the role of the suffering heroine.

As to the last line, my impression was that Alice meets with an unfortunate accident in the cab, which is why the nurse remembers taking down the cabman's number, and I quote "--afterwards..." It would be fitting as an ending, since Alice had come to his rooms to propose to Everard. (hide spoiler)]

Nancy said (in part):

(view spoiler)[As to the last line, my impression was that Alice meets with an unfortunate accident in the cab, which is why the nurse remembers taking down the cabman's number, and I quote "--afterwards..." It would be fitting as an ending, since Alice had come to his rooms to propose to Everard.

Yes, I see that as a possibility, but, if so, the writing still strikes me as a bit clumsy. (hide spoiler)]

Canavan wrote: "Nancy said (in part):

As to the last line, my impression was that Alice meets with an unfortunate accident in the cab, which is why the nurse remembers taking down the cabman's number, and I quote..."

(view spoiler)[ It's clumsy through the next couple of stories as well. (hide spoiler)]

Currently reading "The Prayer."