The Weird Picture

by John R. Carling

The Weird Picture is a novel that combines elements of supernatural mystery and psychological drama. The story revolves around a mysterious and unsettling painting that serves as the central focus of the plot. This painting is more than just an ordinary artwork; it is imbued with strange and possibly malevolent qualities. The narrative explores how this painting affects the lives of those who come into contact with it, leading to eerie and unsettling events. As the characters investigate the origins and effects of the painting, they uncover secrets and face challenges that test their understanding of reality.

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

Reviews

[Hannah]

On Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61141

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melodramatic gothic novel focusing on a mysterious artist. A fun read, if a bit over-the-top.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Romantic Edwardian thriller—quick to mystify, engaging, humorous, somewhat predictable but not so much that there is nothing left to grip you, with a pleasing hue of purple in the pen.

The landscapes, scenes, and allusions (Lord Byron's "Manfred" explicitly, while I picked up hints of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto" particularly), the uncertainty as to the truth in ghostly apparitions, the themes and characters, are all very pre-Victorian & Victorian, while something in the pace or consciousness of the novel tells its place at the turn of the 20th Century. It's steeped in what has come before while maintaining a (then-) modern freshness.

It's a light though still Gothic read right through to the last chapter, and then anything that might have been said about it being a little unsubstantial as regards real, gripping drama, peril, and horror... remains unsaid. It's a work of art.

[Anna Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, especially the ending.