Victorians! discussion

Links to “A New Pass”

Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/monsieurm...
Scroll to page 75 of the scan, which is page 67 of the original text.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/u2_ASE0muJk?si=FcaSg...

A New Pass by Amelia Edwards

The narrator tells the tale of his strange experience while traveling with a friend through Switzerland. They have a lovely day of hiking before eating at an inn where they hear of the amazing new pass which has been engineered across a waterfall. As they travel toward the new pass, the narrator sees a young man flagging them down… But he is the only one who does. As he describes the young man, his companion gasps, since the description exactly matches his dead brother. Here the men part ways, with the narrator choosing to continue forward, and the companion choosing to head back to the inn and the old pass, heeding the apparition’s warning.

The narrator pushes on and before long finds himself in the dark, wet, icy tunnel that crosses the waterfall. But, as he works his way through, he recognizes that the leaking water in the tunnel is increasing. However, he may be too late to heed the ghostly warning and retreat to safety!


How does this story compare to others we have read so far?

This one was so gorgeously written (not that that's anything new with these). For a short story she really manages to put such depth into her characters. As is her talent, she painted the clearest picture in my mind of the environs & I liked the tenderness of the appearance of the ghost. So many of these stories have a bent of horror, this one was of a different shade and the entire story was really pleasant.

Yes! There was a sweetness to this one.

I was struck by the close friendship of the two hikers, the joyful anticipation of the upcoming wedding, the love and regret the vacationing bridegroom felt for his deceased brother, Lawrence. Kind of a cozy ghost story!

I was just reading A Service of Danger and that very thought hit me. So many of these are centered around uncleavable partnerships. Friendship seems to have meant the world to her.

Also, Service of Danger might be the most bittersweet one yet.

Good to know. I haven’t read that one yet.

Having enjoyed a number of invigorating holidays in the European Alps, Amelia Edward’s exquisite descriptions of the high Alpine meadows, trails and chalets brought back many treasured memories of that region. They added greatly to my enjoyment of the story. The descriptions reminded me most of Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass lying between the Jungfrau and Eiger



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleine_...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleine_...

From this mountain pass, a cog railway travels through a tunnel bored through the solid rock almost to the summit of the Jungfrau.

The author’s descriptions of the travellers’ journey and surrounding scenery almost overshadowed the story’s plot, although the rising water inside the tunnel did provide the required element of suspense.

(I remember eating a large and delicious portion of Rösti at Kleine Scheidegg, which kept me going on the hike for the rest of the day.)

What a fabulous validation! Thank you, Trev. I’ve never been to Switzerland, but found the descriptions very vivid. I love that there are still places like it in the world for us to enjoy. :)

With each new story I gain more appreciation of Amelia Edwards. Her descriptions of the countryside are as beautiful as the actual scenery must be. The added mystery of the deceased brother’s appearance and the destruction of the tunnel added the necessary chill to the tale without taking away from those descriptive passages. I plan to read all the stories in this book - so enjoyable!

Agreed! Edwards has a real gift for description.

I just listened to this on youtube, Bitesized Classics, and really enjoyed the narration and the story.
The last part was very tense!
My husband and I were in Switzerland in May and although we didn't do any hiking, we saw many beautiful mountains, lakes and landscapes-and lots of waterfalls because it was melting snow season.
We also went through the old Gotthard Tunnel on a train and much smaller tunnels on foot.

Thanks for introducing us to another lesser known author, Renee.
I enjoyed all her stories.

I’m really enjoying them as well!