Madam Crowl's Ghost and Other Tales of Mystery


Read by Ben Tucker

(4.2 stars; 12 reviews)

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu...was in his own particular vein one of the best story-tellers of the nineteenth century; and the present volume contains a collection of forgotten tales by him, and of tales not previously known to be his.
He stands absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories. That is my deliberate verdict, after reading all the supernatural tales I have been able to get hold of. Nobody sets the scene better than he, nobody touches in the effective detail more deftly.
Ghost stories and tales of mystery are what this volume contains, and, in order to lure the reader on, I have placed the most striking and sensational of them at the beginning of it. These are also the most recent in date; for, as was natural, Le Fanu made improvements in the proportions and in the conception of his short stories as time went on. If the reader likes Squire Toby's Will and Madam Crowl's Ghost, as I think he must, he will go on to the earlier stories and find in them the same excellent qualities, only slightly overlaid by the mannerisms of the forties and fifties. (Summary by M. R. James from Prologue) (7 hr 37 min)

Chapters

Madam Crowl's Ghost 29:41 Read by Ben Tucker
Squire Toby's Will 1:06:39 Read by Ben Tucker
Dickon the Devil 21:51 Read by Ben Tucker
The Child that Went with the Fairies 20:24 Read by Ben Tucker
The White Cat of Drumgunniol 25:19 Read by Ben Tucker
Some Strange Disurbances in an Old House in Aungier Street 47:50 Read by Ben Tucker
Ghost Stories of Chapelizod 58:35 Read by Ben Tucker
Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling 29:08 Read by Ben Tucker
Sir Dominick's Bargain: A Legend of Dunoran 33:10 Read by Ben Tucker
Ultor de Lacy 52:56 Read by Ben Tucker
The Vision of Tom Chuff 28:51 Read by Ben Tucker
Stories of Lough Guir 23:57 Read by Ben Tucker
Epilogue, Bibliographical and Critical by M. R. James 18:49 Read by Ben Tucker

Reviews

A good bedtime listen


(4 stars)

As a fan of Sheridan Le Fanu, I liked this collection of stories, especially listening to them individually as a bedtime treat. Most worked well and displayed his hallmark narrative device of ominous hints dropped at the beginning ending in a somewhat surprising resolution. I say somewhat, as fans of the genre will be able to surmise a lot of it. Nevertheless the author is excellent at creating the right atmosphere and the resolution did still add some unexpected/ unguessed details. I also appreciated the stories being read by an Irish English speaker, although his delivery was at times quite mumbling and I had to concentrate hard to catch everything (not ideal when you want to be lulled to sleep).


(4.5 stars)

I minus a half star for a not so great Irish accent and mispronounced place names but otherwise great reader.i love Joseph Sheridan le fanu.i suspect some of these stories were written for University Dublin Magazine.One Story reminded me of Dracula's Guest, the judges house and chapters 1and2 of Dracula..