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

A grisly spirit turns travelling companion for the unwitting passenger of a London bus; a repulsive neighbour returns from the grave, rejected by the very earth; an innocuous back garden becomes the stage for a nightmare encounter with druidic sacrifice. From deep in the British Library vaults emerges a new selection of E.F. Benson's most innovative, spine-tingling and satisfyingly dark 'spook stories'. Complete with an introduction exploring the fascinating story of Benson's life, and including the never-before-republished story 'Billy Comes Through'.

The energetic, pretentious and sometimes malicious Lucia's reign over Riseholme's gentry is challenged by a dazzling diva, a fraudulent guru and the exposur eof her faulty Italian.

Funny, outrageous,  sometimes touching, and perhaps a little bit naughty - in Queen Lucia, E. F. Benson has created not only a wonderful character study in Mrs. Lucas, but a whole village of memorable characters.

Emmeline Lucas, known to all as "Lucia", and her husband, Peppino, acquire a second home in fashionable Brompton Square in London from a deceased Aunt. When they move there for the season, Lucia's 'subjects' in Riseholme seethe with envy and outrage that she has deserted them for more illustrious circles, where her snobbism and blatant ambition reach new heights.

Fifty of the greatest classic horror stories ever written: 1. "The Beast with Five Fingers" by W. F. Harvey 2. "The Well" by W. W. Jacobs 3. "The Nightmare Room" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 4. "The End of a Show" by Barry Pain 5. "Bagnell Terrace" by E. F. Benson 6. "Fingers of a Hand" by H. D. Everett 7. "The Interruption" by W. W. Jacobs 8. "Gavon’s Eve" by E. F. Benson 9. "The Ring of Thoth" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. "Moon’s Gibbet" by Egerton Castle 11. "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

E. F. Benson, best known for his irresistible Mapp and Lucia novels set in the fictional town of Tilling, England, was a prolific and beloved novelist. Though the Mapp and Lucia books remain popular to this day, this kindred book will be back in print for the first time since its initial publication. The son of E. W. Benson, archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, the young E. F. Benson was educated at Marlborough School and at King's College, Cambridge.

Classic plays and ghost stories, as performed by the residents of Ambridge and friends - plus bonus drama Dead Girls Tell No Tales. Borsetshire's queen of amateur theatricals, Lynda Snell, never misses the chance to put on a Christmas show. Her productions are always a big hit with Ambridge audiences - and now, Archers fans can enjoy these top-notch performances alongside them (as well as eavesdropping on the shenanigans backstage). 

A wonderful collection of 50 of the best classic ghost stories ever written. 'The Missing Model' by Lettice Galbraith, 'Pomegranate Seed' by Edith Wharton, 'The Screaming Skull' by F. Marion Crawford, 'The Ghost in the Cupboard Room' by Wilkie Collins, 'The Shadow on the Blind' by Louisa Baldwin, 'A Ghost's Revenge' by Lettice Galbraith, 'The Lost Ghost' by Mary Wilkins-Freeman, 'On the Northern Ice' by Elia W. Peattie, 'The Cold Embrace' by Mary E. Braddon, 'The Dust Cloud' by E. F. Benson, and many more.

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.

E. F. Benson's (1867-1940) ghost and supernatural stories are marvellous jewels, that combine elegant writing with moments of blood-curdling horror. This collection comprises thirteen of his finest stories: The Man Who Went Too Far; The Horror Horn; The Other Bed; Gavon's Eve; The Room in the Tower; Ali Abdul's Grave; How Fear departed from the Long Gallery; The Shootings of Achnaleish; The Dust-Cloud; The Confession of Charles Linkworth; Caterpillars; At the Farmhouse; The Bus-Conductor.

"Dodo Wonders" is the third and final installment in the "Dodo" series by E. F. Benson. The series was rumoured to be based on Lady Asquith, though she herself claimed that she had little in common with the character of Dodo - except the splendour of her drawing-room, perhaps. The glitzy life of Lady Dodo Chesterford is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of World War I. Along with her husband and their friends, Lady Dodo is faced with the challenge of rapidly adapting to an unfamiliar and dangerous new environment.

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.

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....

Thirty little gems by some of the world's great classic short story writers, including: 'The Flying Man' by H. G. Wells, 'Between Rounds' by O. Henry, 'A School Story' by M. R. James, 'A Pair of Silk Stockings' by Kate Chopin, 'A Deal in Ostriches' by H. G. Wells, 'The Piano Next Door' by Elia W. Peattie, 'Royal Visitors' by E. F. Benson, 'The Stolen Bacillus' by H. G. Wells, 'The Story of Chugoro' by Lafcadio Hearn, 'One Law for the Rich' by Stacy Aumonier, 'My Enemy and Myself' by Vincent O'Sullivan and more.

This collection comprises stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From Allen's "The Arctic Death", through to Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", Stoker's "Dracula's Guest", and beyond. Time immemorial; worlds unimaginable.

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. "Mrs Amworth", with its theme of vampirism, exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales.

A rich collection of diverse and fascinating stories by famous classic authors. 1.The Bus Conductor by E. F. Benson 2.The Murderer by Perceval Gibbon 3.The Death Mask by H. D. Everett 4.Caterpillars by E. F. Benson 5.His Brother’s Keeper by W. W. Jacobs 6.The Secret of the Black Bag by William Le Queux 7.A Joy Ride by A. J. Alan 8.The Perfect Murder by Stacy Aumonier 9.The Furnished Room by O. Henry 10.The Squaw by Bram Stoker 11.The Dust Cloud by E. F. Benson 12.The Idiot by Arnold Bennett

Set in the remote Yorkshire Valleys, the narrator in this story returns to the holiday home of his childhood. He has inherited the house from his uncle and has come to oversee the renovations with a friend. However, it soon becomes apparent the house is haunted by a ghost with an awful secret.

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.

A third collection of 18 classic tales of the weird and supernatural by some of the best known writers in these genres.