Books with title Canterville Ghost and Other Stories

Oscar Wilde was a prolific and spontaneous storyteller who once declared, "I cannot think otherwise than in stories." Here are a handful of his shorter works that demonstrate his range, versatility, and skill as a storyteller, too often overshadowed by his reputation as a dramatist, critical theorist, and novelist. Wilde shows his wit in the social parodies "The Canterville Ghost," "Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime," "The Sphinx without a Secret," and "The Model Millionare." In "The Portrait of Mr. W.H.," he identifies the mysterious dedicatee of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Finally, the collection is rounded out by a selection of well known fairy tales, including "The Happy Prince," "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Selfish Giant," and "The Devoted Friend."

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Richard Middleton followed the very archetype of the dissipated Romantic poet who died young, but before his death he managed to write some truly unique strange stories. His work had an influence on Arthur Machen, and possibly on Raymond Chandler. CONTENTS: The Ghost-Ship A Drama Of Youth The New Boy On the Brighton Road A Tragedy In Little Shepherd's Boy The Passing of Edward The Story Of A Book The Bird In The Garden Children Of The Moon The Coffin Merchant The Soul Of A Policeman The Conjurer The Poet's Allegory And Who Shall Say----? The Biography Of A Superman Blue Blood Fate And The Artist The Great Man A Wet Day

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"Richard Middleton knew that there was a puzzle; in other words, that the universe is a great mystery; and this consciousness of his is the source of the charm of 'The Ghost Ship.' I declare I would not exchange this short, crazy, enchanting fantasy for a whole wilderness of seemly novels, proclaiming in decorous accents the undoubted truth that there are milestones on the Portsmouth Road.." -Arthur Machen "Unusual, with a strange power of suggestion and a curious probing into life, are those volumes of sketches and short stories....A genius gone too young from these ways of men. 'The Ghost Ship' tells of a vessel blown by a fierce tempest into a field of turnips in a dull little town. A ship such as no man had seen for three hundred years. Strange things forthwith begin to happen in this village - the gathering and roistering of fierce piratical men drinking marvellous new drinks that seem to be blended of honey and fire. Finally, on another gale, the ship blows off again into the unknown, taking with it the village fool. An absurd fantasy you say! Yes, but read it and you will believe and wonder with the villagers. Such is the magic of Middleton's power over words and hearts." -Hearst's International "A collection of strange short stories, in many of which Death plays an uncannily puissant role....In his predilection for the melancholy and the weird, Middleton at times strongly suggests Edgar Allan Poe. If we are to believe Mr. Arthur Machen, who has written an introduction to 'The Ghost Ship' stories, all the material Middleton used in his work was 'placed in the athanor of art, in that furnace of the sages which is said to be governed with wisdom. Lead entered the burning of the fire, gold came forth from it.' Gloomy as the majority of these stories are, several included in the volume are of a delicious and satirically biting wit." -Current Literature "It is clear, direct, and unmannered...'The Ghost Ship' itself is a little masterpiece....Those who like Mr. Belloc and Mr. Chesterton should read Mr. Middleton also." -The Nation "The work of a man who knew how to give to interesting thoughts exquisite expression." -The New York Times "His stories, though they exhibit ingenuity and power, tend to the ugly, even the hideous...but they are interesting." -The Dial "Has no superior as a gently humorous fantasy." -The Outlook CONTENTS: PREFACE The Ghost-Ship A Drama Of Youth The New Boy On the Brighton Road A Tragedy In Little Shepherd's Boy The Passing of Edward The Story Of A Book The Bird In The Garden Children Of The Moon The Coffin Merchant The Soul Of A Policeman The Conjurer The Poet's Allegory And Who Shall Say——? The Biography Of A Superman Blue Blood Fate And The Artist The Great Man A Wet Day

The Ghost Ship And Other Ghost Stories Richard Middleton TALES OF TERROR “I thought it was queer when I saw a drowned sailor float by in the thin air with his hair and beard all full of bubbles. It was the first time I had seen anything quite like that at Fairfield.” Middleton suffered from severe depression, known as melancholia. He spent the last nine months of his life in Brussels, where in December 1911 he took his life by poisoning himself with chloroform, which had been prescribed as a remedy for his condition. His literary reputation was kept alive by Edgar Jepson and Arthur Machen, the latter of whom wrote an introduction to Middleton's collection The Ghost Ship and Other Stories, and later by John Gawsworth. His stories have appeared in several anthologies. An encounter by Middleton with the young Raymond Chandler is said to have influenced the latter to postpone his career as writer. Chandler wrote, "Middleton struck me as having far more talent than I was ever likely to possess; and if he couldn't make a go of it, it wasn't very likely that I could."

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.