Tag Archives: review

Review: Violet Hunt, (More) Tales of the Uneasy (1911, 1925)

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Every year at Halloween, I dig up a “moldy oldy,” a generally forgotten book of supernatural fiction to read. This year, for a change, I tackled a pair of short stories collections: Tales of the Uneasy (1911) and More Tales … Continue reading →

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Review: the supernatural stories of Gertrude Atherton

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Brian Bixby

After reading an anthology of Victorian-Era ghost stories by women writers, I decided I would read through a volume of supernatural stories by one of the authors with whom I was less familiar. As it turns out, I’ll be reading three … Continue reading →

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Review: Women ghost story writers of the Victorian Age

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Ever since the Women’s Lib movement of the 1960s, editors have produced endless anthologies of stories written exclusively by women to prove that women can write as well as men, and to bring undeservedly obscure female authors to our attention. … Continue reading →

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A Mary Wilkins-Freeman twofer

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Ever hear of Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (1852 – 1930)? It’s not one of those names that has come ringing down the ages. She was one of those female New England regional writers circa 1900,[i] at a time when the … Continue reading →

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Review: Russell Kirk, Ancestral Shadows

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Brian Bixby

There are devils that lead to your downfall, and there are devils that make you extend yourself. My reader Judy of Janthina Images is of the latter kind. Knowing that my personal politics are a bit left, she sent me … Continue reading →

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A birthday, a discovery: Elaine May

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Elaine May (born April 21, 1932) is one of those people I’d heard about, but didn’t really know about. Which is not surprising, because her career was at its peak when I was very young. By the time I grew … Continue reading →

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Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Brian Bixby

There seems to be a rule that “popular” writers are disdained by critics, if not in their lifetime then shortly after they die. After a few decades, if they’re lucky, some influential critics says, in effect, “Although I’m not supposed … Continue reading →

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Alchemists of alchemy: Principe and Jonson

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Everything you know about alchemy is wrong. Well, not everything. Yes, some alchemists tried to discover the Philosophers’ Stone, which could turn base metal into gold and guarantee long life and health. Sort of like going to Vegas. In his … Continue reading →

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Traveling in imagination to Viking Iceland

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Brian Bixby

I’ve recently been reading books on medieval Iceland. It’s a fascinating period in a curious land. The island was settled by Vikings fleeing from the rule of the first major Norwegian king, Harald Finehair (c. 850 – c. 932), or … Continue reading →

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Review: Leigh Eric Schmidt, Heaven’s Bride

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Seeing that today, March 3, is the anniversary of the passing of the Comstock Act in 1873, I thought it appropriate to review a book about one of the victims of the Comstock Act, Ida C. Craddock (1857-1902). First, a … Continue reading →

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