- Strangers and Pilgrims
- Tales by
- Walter de la Mare
-
- Introduction by Mark Valentine
-
- 'Walter
de la Mare's stories have a claim to be the most subtle
and strangely powerful depictions of the supernatural in
English fiction of the twentieth century.' So says Mark
Valentine in his introduction to these thirty-one uncanny
tales. Amongst this selection are some of the best known
of de la Mare's stories: 'Seaton's Aunt', 'Out of the
Deep', 'All Hallows', and also some of the more obscure:
'Miss Jemima', 'A Game at Cards', Alice's Godmother'. All
illustrate the writer's enigmatic relationship with
alternative layers of existence and a sense of the
unknown, conveyed in beautifully restrained prose.
-
- There
are few overt exterior forces encountered; de la Mare's
characters 'do not have to face monstrosities of any
sort: but they are haunted nevertheless; by loneliness,
by lovelessness, by loss.' This concentration on
'queerness and quiet tragedy' is tempered by the writer's
poetic powers of description, particularly his depiction
of the English countryside. Strangers and
Pilgrims is the definitive collection of de la
Mare's supernatural and psychological stories.
-
- Contents: Introduction, A:B:O., The
Moon's Miracle, The Riddle, The Giant, The Quincunx, The
Pear-Tree, The Bird of Travel, Seaton's Aunt, The Vats,
Promise at Dusk, The Creatures, Miss Jemima, The
Looking-Glass, Out of the Deep, Winter, The Green Room,
The Scarecrow, Alice's Godmother, Mr Kempe, A Recluse,
All Hallows, The Game At Cards, Crewe, The House, 'What
Dreams May Come', Strangers and Pilgrims, A Revenant, The
Guardian, An Anniversary, Music, Bad Company,
Bibliographical Information.
-
- Strangers and Pilgrims is a sewn
hardback of 510 + xiii pages.
-
- Limited
to 500 copies.
-
- Price
£35/$60 inc. p&p.
-
-
- ISBN
978-1-905784-02-8
-
-
Reviews:
-
- 'This is a fantastic (in
every sense) book of tales.' - Ian McMillan,
The Times, 14th
July, 2007.
-
- 'A beautiful edition of
supernatural English fiction, subtle and
disquieting rather than out and out
frightening.' - Stuart Maconie,
The Guardian, 13th
February 2008.
-
- 'Best known as a poet and a
writer of children’s fiction, Walter de la
Mare can also deservedly take his place
amongst the ranks of early twentieth-century
writers of supernatural fiction.' Jenny
McDonnell, The Irish
Journal of Gothic and Horror
Studies.
-
- 'Strangers and
Pilgrims is a rewarding
selection of tales, not a few of which are
masterpieces, by an unduly neglected writer
whose work will never be out of date. I envy
readers who are coming to Walter de la Mare’s
writing for the first time.' Paul Kane,
The
Compulsive Reader
|
Page updated 4th September 2009
|