Books with author John Meade Falkner

Both a mystery and an adventure story, the classic Moonfleet (1898) is a tale of smuggling set among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. It is at once a well-paced account of dramatic action and a celebration of the unregainable freedoms of childhood. Falkner's feeling for history and for the topography of his Dorset setting combine with his gift for storytelling to turn Moonfleet into an historical romance of moving intensity.

The Lost Stradivarius by J. Meade Falkner, is a novel of ghosts and the evil that can be invested in an object, in this case an extremely fine Stradivarius violin. After finding the violin of the title in a hidden compartment in his college rooms, the protagonist, a wealthy young heir, becomes increasingly secretive as well as obsessed by a particular piece of music, which seems to have the power to call up the ghost of its previous owner. Roaming from England to Italy, the story involves family love, lordly depravity, and the tragedy of obsession, all conveyed in a "high" serious tone not uncommon in late Victorian literature.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The Lost Stradivarius (1895), by J. Meade Falkner, is a short novel of ghosts and the evil that can be invested in an object, in this case an extremely fine Stradivarius violin. After finding the violin of the title in a hidden compartment in his college rooms, the protagonist, a wealthy young heir, becomes increasingly secretive as well as obsessed by a particular piece of music, which seems to have the power to call up the ghost of its previous owner. Roaming from England to Italy, the story involves family love, lordly depravity, and the tragedy of obsession, all conveyed in a "high" serious tone not uncommon in late Victorian literature.

Set in Oxford and Naples during the 1840s, The Lost Stradivarius is a tale of demonic possession and of the terrible price paid by "those who would exalt art at the expense of everything else." Though long recognized as a classic and gripping story of the occult, it is also a work which touches the "decadent" years of the nineteenth century at sensitive points--the psychical, the moral, and the aesthetic. This is the only annotated edition available and it contains extensive notes about the Aesthetic Movement, neoplatonism, and musical instruments.

Both a mystery and an adventure story, the classic Moonfleet (1898) is a tale of smuggling set among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. It is at once a well-paced account of dramatic action and a celebration of the unregainable freedoms of childhood. Falkner's feeling for history and for the topography of his Dorset setting combine with his gift for storytelling to turn Moonfleet into an historical romance of moving intensity.