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Two Ghostly Mysteries A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family; and the Murdered Cousin
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54 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 13, 2018
Two Ghostly Mysteries A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family and the Murdered Cousin By Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
These 2 stories have a few themes in common.
*A Female that doesn't feel like their fathers loved them enough.
*Sole Heirs to their family's estates.
*A Plot to kill them.
*A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family (First published 1839)
"My father had never seemed to love, or to take an interest in me. He had desired a son, and I think he never thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate sex. My having come into the world at all as his child, he regarded as a kind of fraudulent intrusion, and, as his antipathy to me had its origin in an imperfection of mine, too radical for removal, I never even hoped to stand high in his good graces."
Fanny Richardson is a member of a family of some distinction in the county of Tyrone.
She marries Lord Glenfallen and they move into a time-orn castle known as Cahergillagh (a southern Glenfallen estate).
The only problem is that two wives are one too many!
"Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of justice of two crimes—first, that you married a second wife, while the first was living, and again, that you prompted me to the murder, for attempting which I am to die"
the Countess Glenfallen Flora Van-Kemp is a 50 year old blind Dutch woman who is still married to Lord Glenfallen.
*The Murdered Cousin” (Originally Published in 1851)
"he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness or improvement, than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own duty would seem to impose.""
When Margaret was about eighteen years of age her father died
Under the Provisions of his will, all his vast property was left to her and to the heirs of her body. In default of such heirs it was to go after her death to her uncle!
the will appointed him her guardian and she went to live with her uncle and her cousins at Carrickleigh.
"I shall not soon forget the impression of sadness and of gloom which all that I saw produced upon my mind. there was an air of neglect and decay about the spot. which amounted almost to desolation."
"On my arrival I had known nothing of the family among whom I was come to reside. except that it consisted of three individuals."
The three family members she went to live with were her uncle Sir Arthur Tyrrell (suspicion of murder ruined him in public opinion and he is in desperate need of funds) and her cousins Emily and Edward.
These 2 stories have a few themes in common.
*A Female that doesn't feel like their fathers loved them enough.
*Sole Heirs to their family's estates.
*A Plot to kill them.
*A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family (First published 1839)
"My father had never seemed to love, or to take an interest in me. He had desired a son, and I think he never thoroughly forgave me my unfortunate sex. My having come into the world at all as his child, he regarded as a kind of fraudulent intrusion, and, as his antipathy to me had its origin in an imperfection of mine, too radical for removal, I never even hoped to stand high in his good graces."
Fanny Richardson is a member of a family of some distinction in the county of Tyrone.
She marries Lord Glenfallen and they move into a time-orn castle known as Cahergillagh (a southern Glenfallen estate).
The only problem is that two wives are one too many!
"Earl of Glenfallen, I accuse you here in this court of justice of two crimes—first, that you married a second wife, while the first was living, and again, that you prompted me to the murder, for attempting which I am to die"
the Countess Glenfallen Flora Van-Kemp is a 50 year old blind Dutch woman who is still married to Lord Glenfallen.
*The Murdered Cousin” (Originally Published in 1851)
"he seemed to take no further interest in my happiness or improvement, than a conscientious regard to the discharge of his own duty would seem to impose.""
When Margaret was about eighteen years of age her father died
Under the Provisions of his will, all his vast property was left to her and to the heirs of her body. In default of such heirs it was to go after her death to her uncle!
the will appointed him her guardian and she went to live with her uncle and her cousins at Carrickleigh.
"I shall not soon forget the impression of sadness and of gloom which all that I saw produced upon my mind. there was an air of neglect and decay about the spot. which amounted almost to desolation."
"On my arrival I had known nothing of the family among whom I was come to reside. except that it consisted of three individuals."
The three family members she went to live with were her uncle Sir Arthur Tyrrell (suspicion of murder ruined him in public opinion and he is in desperate need of funds) and her cousins Emily and Edward.
October 17, 2011
The book contains two stories, the first being the history of the Tyrone Family. As I started reading, it became engrossing, but immediately I had the notion of what the story will be about. Reminded me of the story of Jane Eyre, except that had a happy ending, and it was written more like a romance story, while the History is more of a tragedy, a fact of life, and the author represents the facts like it is without much embellishment or opinions. The second story, the Murdered Cousin was better in my opinion, although it could have become more sinister if the author wished it. The story is about a young heiress, who goes to live with her uncle, where her cousin proposes to her. Although young, she is not naive and understands fully why the proposal is made and hence unfolds the story of her survival in a household of vultures...
August 17, 2009
"A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family" is a weirdly built short-story...But! People who have read Jane Eyre will find there a story which could have influenced C.Brontë in the creation of her plot concerning the mad woman, the byronic hero and the important use (and meanings!) of mirrors in the novel. Sheridan LeFanu, however, doesn't create a story as gripping as Brontë's Jane Eyre, perhaps because of the size of a short-story or because of his own writing strategy (only a "chapter in the history" where J.E. embraces -almost- the whole life of her heroine). A must-read at least to discover Sheridan Le Fanu or to enjoy J.E. even more!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2023
Having read a few of Fanu's stories I found this the most enjoyable of his supernatural murder tales. While still containing the more annoying parts of his writing (verbose descriptions, plain characters, too much focus on the supposed "realness" of the story), this tale had an interesting mystery and conclusion that helped mitigate these faults.
Read
April 22, 2011Heard on The Classic Tales podcast
May 10, 2011
A nice short gothic story.
September 14, 2023
4.63⭐
I. A Chapter In The History Of A Tyrone Family 5⭐
This short story is one of the chapters of Le Fanu's book The Purcell Papers Vol. III. This book Vol. 1-3 is a collection of thirteen Gothic, supernatural, historical and humorous short stories. The first twelve stories which includes this story purported to be extracts from the 'MS. Papers of the late Rev. Francis Purcell, of Drumcoolagh', a Catholic priest.
A young woman named Fanny is pressured into an advantageous marriage with a Scottish landowner a Lord Glenfallen with a dark past. Fanny finds herself residing in Cahergillagh, one of the Glenfallen estates. To quote her husband Lord Glenfallen when approaching her new home for the first time, "There lies the enchanted castle." Later her husband tells her he shall be her 'Bluebeard' by particularly forbidding her to explore the halls of the back wing as well as the small garden surrounded by a high wall. He claims it is for peace here and for mercy hereafter. Upon entering her room for the first time, she sees a mysteriously disappearing swathe of black cloth which, an old family maid servant Martha tells her that it is a portent of bad things to come: "Whenever something—something bad is going to happen to the Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces". Later she is accosted by a blind Dutchwoman who claims to be the first (and only true) wife of Glenfallen. Le Fanu later reworked this story for his novel The Wyvern Mystery that was written in 1869 after the best-selling success of Charlotte Brontë 's Jane Eyre.
II. The Murdered Cousin 4.25⭐
This short story was later expanded as Le Fanu's famous Victorian Gothic novel Uncle Silas and is a prime example of Victorian sensation fiction. Victorian sensation fiction was a literary genre of fiction which encompassed stories that were allegorical and abstract and included gripping plots which involved scandalous events including murder, adultery, bigamy, fraud, madness, and sexual deviance often perpetrated by seemingly moral and upright individuals in familiar domestic settings. In this story Le Fanu provides the reader with the wicked uncle, the puzzle of the locked room; a heroine in danger, and a once-grand estate in ruins. The Murdered Cousin is earlier along the sensation fiction timeline and retains more of the gothic-style of sensation which includes decrepit sinister castles, a female protagonist in trouble and strange bumps in the night.
I. A Chapter In The History Of A Tyrone Family 5⭐
This short story is one of the chapters of Le Fanu's book The Purcell Papers Vol. III. This book Vol. 1-3 is a collection of thirteen Gothic, supernatural, historical and humorous short stories. The first twelve stories which includes this story purported to be extracts from the 'MS. Papers of the late Rev. Francis Purcell, of Drumcoolagh', a Catholic priest.
A young woman named Fanny is pressured into an advantageous marriage with a Scottish landowner a Lord Glenfallen with a dark past. Fanny finds herself residing in Cahergillagh, one of the Glenfallen estates. To quote her husband Lord Glenfallen when approaching her new home for the first time, "There lies the enchanted castle." Later her husband tells her he shall be her 'Bluebeard' by particularly forbidding her to explore the halls of the back wing as well as the small garden surrounded by a high wall. He claims it is for peace here and for mercy hereafter. Upon entering her room for the first time, she sees a mysteriously disappearing swathe of black cloth which, an old family maid servant Martha tells her that it is a portent of bad things to come: "Whenever something—something bad is going to happen to the Glenfallen family, some one that belongs to them sees a black handkerchief or curtain just waved or falling before their faces". Later she is accosted by a blind Dutchwoman who claims to be the first (and only true) wife of Glenfallen. Le Fanu later reworked this story for his novel The Wyvern Mystery that was written in 1869 after the best-selling success of Charlotte Brontë 's Jane Eyre.
II. The Murdered Cousin 4.25⭐
This short story was later expanded as Le Fanu's famous Victorian Gothic novel Uncle Silas and is a prime example of Victorian sensation fiction. Victorian sensation fiction was a literary genre of fiction which encompassed stories that were allegorical and abstract and included gripping plots which involved scandalous events including murder, adultery, bigamy, fraud, madness, and sexual deviance often perpetrated by seemingly moral and upright individuals in familiar domestic settings. In this story Le Fanu provides the reader with the wicked uncle, the puzzle of the locked room; a heroine in danger, and a once-grand estate in ruins. The Murdered Cousin is earlier along the sensation fiction timeline and retains more of the gothic-style of sensation which includes decrepit sinister castles, a female protagonist in trouble and strange bumps in the night.
October 1, 2021
If Jane Austen had ever turned her talents to the genre of the thriller — and I am certain she would have done so brilliantly — she might well have produced something akin to Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Two Ghostly Mysteries.
This collection was precisely what my mind needed: a carefree stroll through the shadowy paths of the supernatural, undertaken in perfect safety. 👻👻👻
The atmosphere is unique; the descriptions masterful — so vivid that each setting seems to materialise around you. One can almost touch the teacups, warm one’s feet by the story’s hearth, and hear the wind battering at the windows, even under the bright midday sun of Greece. The language is exquisite — not merely promising literary refinement but fulfilling it in every paragraph. And the chills it evokes belong to that rare, refined category which shuns crude shocks, instead cultivating a subtle, shared sense of mystery in concert with the reader.
💀💀💀
Αν η Τζέιν Όστιν υπηρετούσε το είδος του θρίλερ και είμαι σίγουρη πως θα το έκανε εξαιρετικά, θα έγραφε κάτι παρόμοιο με το εν λόγω βιβλίο του Joseph Seridan Le Fanu.
Το two gostly mysteries ήταν ό,τι ακριβώς χρειαζόταν το μυαλό μου για να πραγματοποιήσει έναν ξέγνοιαστο περίπατο στα σκοτεινά μονοπάτια του μετά- φυσικού με ασφάλεια.
👻👻👻
Μοναδική ατμόσφαιρα, αριστοτεχνικές περιγραφές που ζωντάνευαν το εκάστοτε σκηνικό σε τέτοιο βαθμό αληθοφάνειας που σε έκανε να αγγίζεις φλιτζάνια με τσάι, να ζεσταίνεις τα πόδια σου στο τζάκι της ιστορίας και να ακούς τον άνεμο να σφυροκοπάει μέρα μεσημέρι στην ηλίολουστη Ελλάδα, υπέροχη γλώσσα που δεν υπόσχεται μόνο αλλά πραγματώνει το λογοτεχνικό της σκοπό σε κάθε παράγραφο και υπέροχες ανατριχίλες που ανήκουν σ' εκείνη τον ιδιότυπη κατηγορία που δεν προκαλεί μέσω της προφανούς χοντροκοπιάς, αλλά καλλιεργεί την υποδόρια αίσθηση του μυστηριακού σε συνεργασία με τον αναγνώστη!
This collection was precisely what my mind needed: a carefree stroll through the shadowy paths of the supernatural, undertaken in perfect safety. 👻👻👻
The atmosphere is unique; the descriptions masterful — so vivid that each setting seems to materialise around you. One can almost touch the teacups, warm one’s feet by the story’s hearth, and hear the wind battering at the windows, even under the bright midday sun of Greece. The language is exquisite — not merely promising literary refinement but fulfilling it in every paragraph. And the chills it evokes belong to that rare, refined category which shuns crude shocks, instead cultivating a subtle, shared sense of mystery in concert with the reader.
💀💀💀
Αν η Τζέιν Όστιν υπηρετούσε το είδος του θρίλερ και είμαι σίγουρη πως θα το έκανε εξαιρετικά, θα έγραφε κάτι παρόμοιο με το εν λόγω βιβλίο του Joseph Seridan Le Fanu.
Το two gostly mysteries ήταν ό,τι ακριβώς χρειαζόταν το μυαλό μου για να πραγματοποιήσει έναν ξέγνοιαστο περίπατο στα σκοτεινά μονοπάτια του μετά- φυσικού με ασφάλεια.
👻👻👻
Μοναδική ατμόσφαιρα, αριστοτεχνικές περιγραφές που ζωντάνευαν το εκάστοτε σκηνικό σε τέτοιο βαθμό αληθοφάνειας που σε έκανε να αγγίζεις φλιτζάνια με τσάι, να ζεσταίνεις τα πόδια σου στο τζάκι της ιστορίας και να ακούς τον άνεμο να σφυροκοπάει μέρα μεσημέρι στην ηλίολουστη Ελλάδα, υπέροχη γλώσσα που δεν υπόσχεται μόνο αλλά πραγματώνει το λογοτεχνικό της σκοπό σε κάθε παράγραφο και υπέροχες ανατριχίλες που ανήκουν σ' εκείνη τον ιδιότυπη κατηγορία που δεν προκαλεί μέσω της προφανούς χοντροκοπιάς, αλλά καλλιεργεί την υποδόρια αίσθηση του μυστηριακού σε συνεργασία με τον αναγνώστη!
November 24, 2017
Interesting but lightweight tales from the author of “Carmilla.”
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews