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Uncanny Tales
"Uncanny Tales" by Mary Louisa Molesworth. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
228 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1896
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Mrs. Molesworth
454 books22 followersMary Louisa Molesworth, née Stewart was an English writer of children's stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs. Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, Lover and Husband (1869) to Cicely (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M.L.S. Molesworth.
She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.
Mrs. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while The Carved Lions (1895) "is probably her masterpiece."
Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.
Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.
She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title Four Ghost Stories, and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title Uncanny Stories. In addition to those, her volume Studies and Stories includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her Summer Stories for Boys and Girls includes "Not Exactly a Ghost Story."
A new edition of The Cuckoo Clock was published in 1914.
She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
[Wikipedia]
She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.
Mrs. Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while The Carved Lions (1895) "is probably her masterpiece."
Mary Louisa Molesworth typified late Victorian writing for girls. Aimed at girls too old for fairies and princesses but too young for Austen and the Brontës, books by Molesworth had their share of amusement, but they also had a good deal of moral instruction. The girls reading Molesworth would grow up to be mothers; thus, the books emphasized Victorian notions of duty and self-sacrifice.
Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.
She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title Four Ghost Stories, and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title Uncanny Stories. In addition to those, her volume Studies and Stories includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her Summer Stories for Boys and Girls includes "Not Exactly a Ghost Story."
A new edition of The Cuckoo Clock was published in 1914.
She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
[Wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 4, 2019
This is a collection of seven suspenseful tales published in 1896 by Mary Louisa Molesworth, who is known mostly as a children's author. They are as follows:
"The Shadow in the Moonlight"
I found this one tedious and too much of a traditional ghost story. The child characters were also rather annoying.
"The Man with the Cough"
Now this one I liked. It was much more in the genre of early weird fiction with its reeling atmosphere of displacement and simply bizarre course of events. The ominous town reminded me a bit of Ferenc Karinthy's Metropole , one of my favorite works of fiction in translation.
"'Half-Way between the Stiles'"
The story itself was okay but too sentimental for my tastes.
"At the Dip of the Road"
Again, too much of a traditional ghost story. At least this one was very short.
"'-- will not take Place'"
I liked the concept: that of a man who abruptly breaks of his engagement with no explanation but is clearly deeply troubled by what he has done, and the ending was very satisfying. But it was also rather dragged out.
"The Clock That Struck Thirteen"
This had some creepy imagery and was fun to listen to. But the ending was predictable and I didn't care for the "silly little wimmin, that's what you get for traveling alone" message. Helen standing up to her fiancee's benevolent sexism and asserting her independence is portrayed as spoiled and bratty and something for which she needs to feel guilty and apologize.
"The Shadow in the Moonlight"
I found this one tedious and too much of a traditional ghost story. The child characters were also rather annoying.
"The Man with the Cough"
Now this one I liked. It was much more in the genre of early weird fiction with its reeling atmosphere of displacement and simply bizarre course of events. The ominous town reminded me a bit of Ferenc Karinthy's Metropole , one of my favorite works of fiction in translation.
"'Half-Way between the Stiles'"
The story itself was okay but too sentimental for my tastes.
"At the Dip of the Road"
Again, too much of a traditional ghost story. At least this one was very short.
"'-- will not take Place'"
I liked the concept: that of a man who abruptly breaks of his engagement with no explanation but is clearly deeply troubled by what he has done, and the ending was very satisfying. But it was also rather dragged out.
"The Clock That Struck Thirteen"
This had some creepy imagery and was fun to listen to. But the ending was predictable and I didn't care for the "silly little wimmin, that's what you get for traveling alone" message. Helen standing up to her fiancee's benevolent sexism and asserting her independence is portrayed as spoiled and bratty and something for which she needs to feel guilty and apologize.
May 30, 2025
varied collection, mostly supernatural melodramas, but also a crime story and a tourist nightmare tale.
November 17, 2017
(Actually, I read this in the Project Gutenberg ebook edition.)
I knew Molesworth through her children's books, which aren't bad for Victorian children's books. Since I love tales of the uncanny, I was pleased to find that she'd written them, too.
"Uncanny" is the proper word here: there's only two actual ghost stories; the others are tales of the weird. "The Tapestry Room" was for me the creepiest, with the shadow of the unseen figure circling and circling. And, somehow, when kids are involved and frightened, it's scary for me, too. "At the Dip in the Road" is the other ghost story: not much plot, but a lot of sympathy for the poor ghost. "The Man with the Cough" is a strange story of malice and strange happenings. "Half-way Between the Stiles," "--Will Not Take Place," and "The Clock that Struck Thirteen" work hard to be tense and mysterious, but will not frighten.
Not for those looking for a solid scare, but a fun and entertaining read for late October.
I knew Molesworth through her children's books, which aren't bad for Victorian children's books. Since I love tales of the uncanny, I was pleased to find that she'd written them, too.
"Uncanny" is the proper word here: there's only two actual ghost stories; the others are tales of the weird. "The Tapestry Room" was for me the creepiest, with the shadow of the unseen figure circling and circling. And, somehow, when kids are involved and frightened, it's scary for me, too. "At the Dip in the Road" is the other ghost story: not much plot, but a lot of sympathy for the poor ghost. "The Man with the Cough" is a strange story of malice and strange happenings. "Half-way Between the Stiles," "--Will Not Take Place," and "The Clock that Struck Thirteen" work hard to be tense and mysterious, but will not frighten.
Not for those looking for a solid scare, but a fun and entertaining read for late October.
April 22, 2012
A warning: some of these stories are not 'uncanny' but the first two in the collection are excellent and worth reading if you read nothing else.
July 2, 2023
Charming and descriptive but only two stories are really uncanny. The others are written beautifully spooky - but then the author ruins them with moralistic jingoism.
Spooky house in the country? Don’t worry your pretty little head, your fiancé knows best.
Fiancé seems enchanted and drops his marriage? Nope, he’s sick and it’s for her own good.
State secrets being hijacked? That’s one I’ll never figure out. It’s like the author writes the script for a deliciously spooky tale from the crypt - but turns it into a Barney episode about listening to your elders. Le sigh.
I listened to the LibriVox recording.
Spooky house in the country? Don’t worry your pretty little head, your fiancé knows best.
Fiancé seems enchanted and drops his marriage? Nope, he’s sick and it’s for her own good.
State secrets being hijacked? That’s one I’ll never figure out. It’s like the author writes the script for a deliciously spooky tale from the crypt - but turns it into a Barney episode about listening to your elders. Le sigh.
I listened to the LibriVox recording.
July 9, 2017
These were unexpectedly cool stories. Some were ghostly, some were as the title suggests uncanny, and a few were simply mysterious. But I enjoyed them all, and hope the author wrote more stories in this vein. Many thanks to the hard work of all the Librivox volunteers who narrated this book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews