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I entered the church...It struck me suddenly that all this crowd of
men and women standing all round, these priests chanting and moving
about the altar, were dead... Vernon Lee was a polymath whose
copious writings include deeply learned studies of art, music,
literature, and history, but also a small but exquisitely crafted
group of Gothic tales, most of which first appeared in fin de
siecle periodicals including the iconic Yellow Book. In these
stories of obsession and possession, transgressive desire reaches
out from the past - through a haunting portrait, a murdered poet's
lock of hair, the uncanny voice of a diabolical castrato - dragging
Lee's protagonists to their doom. Among those haunted by Lee's
'spurious ghosts' was Henry James, who praised her 'gruesome,
graceful...ingenious tales, full of imagination'. This new edition
includes Lee's landmark 1890 collection Hauntings complete, along
with six additional tales and the 1880 essay 'Faustus and Helena',
in which Lee probes the elusive nature of the supernatural as a
'vital...fluctuating...potent' force that resists definite
representation. Aaron Worth's contextual introduction, drawing upon
Lee's newly published letters, reassesses her place in the pantheon
of the fantastic. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford
World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature
from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's
commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a
wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions
by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text,
up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
An empirical study of imaginative responses to music.
It is the reproduction of the old book published long back (1923)
It is the reproduction of the old book published long back (1923)
During her lifetime Violet Paget, who wrote as Vernon Lee, was
referred to as 'the greatest of modern exponents of the
supernatural in fiction', and yet today she remains on the
periphery of the genre. This collection of her uniquely weird short
stories and dark fantasies proves why she was once considered among
the best of the genre, and why she deserves to return to those
ranks today. From modernised folk tales such as 'Marsyas in
Flanders' and 'The Legend of Madame Krasinska' to ingenious
psychological hauntings such as the titular 'A Phantom Lover' and
'A Wicked Voice', Lee's own voice is just as distinctive and
captivating - her weird imaginings just as freshly unsettling - as
in her fin-de-siecle heyday.
An empirical study of imaginative responses to music.
Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life (1909) is a collection of
essays by Vernon Lee. Published at the height of her career as a
leading proponent of Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian
Renaissance, Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life follows in
the footsteps of Walter Pater, a pioneering art historian of
Victorian England. A principled feminist and committed pacifist,
Lee was virtually blacklisted by critics and publishers following
her opposition to the First World War. Through the efforts of
dedicated scholars, however, interest in her works has increased
over the past several decades, granting her the readership she
deserves as a master of literary horror. "It is a plant of noblest
utility, averting, as the ancients thought, lightning from the
dwellings it surrounded, even as disinterested love for beauty
averts from our minds the dangers which fall on the vain and the
covetous; and curing many aches and fevers, even as the
contemplation of beauty refreshes and invigorates our spirit.
Indeed, we seem to be reading a description no longer of the
virtues of the bay laurel, but of the virtues of all beautiful
sights and sounds, of all beautiful thoughts and emotions."
Although she is more widely known for her stories of supernatural
horror, Lee was also a gifted researcher whose knowledge of art
history shines in Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life. This
collection of essays begins with the image of the bay laurel, a
symbol of artistic achievement and divine beauty since the days of
ancient Greece. Determined to prove that beauty is an aspect of
reality separate from truth and goodness, and therefore worthy of
its own pursuit in art, Lee looks back on the work of Pater while
offering her own arguments in defense of Aestheticism. Lyrical and
personal, meditative and instructive, these essays are essential to
her reputation as a leading artist and intellectual of her time.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Vernon Lee's Laurus Nobilis: Chapters
on Art and Life is a classic work of art history reimagined for
modern readers.
The Countess of Albany (1886) is a biography by Vernon Lee.
Published at the height of her career as a leading proponent of
Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian Renaissance, The Countess
of Albany is a biography of Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern,
whose unhappy marriage to Charles Edward Stuart, also known as
Bonnie Prince Charlie, often obscured her reputation as an
independent and interesting woman in her own right. A principled
feminist and committed pacifist, Lee was virtually blacklisted by
critics and publishers following her opposition to the First World
War. Through the efforts of dedicated scholars, however, interest
in her works has increased over the past several decades, granting
her the readership she deserves as a master of literary horror. "On
the Wednesday after Easter the bride and bridegroom made their
solemn entry into Rome; the two travelling carriages of the Prince
and of the Princess were drawn by six horses; four gala coaches,
carrying the attendants of Charles Edward and of his brother the
Cardinal Duke of York, followed behind, and the streets were
cleared by four outriders dressed in scarlet with the white Stuart
cockade." Although she is more widely known for her stories of
supernatural horror, Lee was also a gifted researcher whose
knowledge of Italian history and literary gift collide in The
Countess of Albany. This biography is the story of Louise, a German
princess who married Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant to
the English throne. By the time of their acquaintance, Bonnie
Prince Charlie was a man passed his prime, beaten down by years on
the run after the failed uprising of 1745. Focusing on her
independent spirit and relationship with Count Vittorio Alfieri of
Italy, Lee provides invaluable insight on the life of a woman who
forged her own path in a world dominated by men. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition
of Vernon Lee's The Countess of Albany is a classic work of
historical biography reimagined for modern readers.
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Hauntings (Paperback)
Vernon Lee; Contributions by Mint Editions
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R255
R215
Discovery Miles 2 150
Save R40 (16%)
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Hauntings (1890) is a short story collection by Vernon Lee.
Published at the height of her career as a leading proponent of
Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian Renaissance, Hauntings
collects four of her most chilling tales of the supernatural.
Employing formal techniques to mimic diary and letter writing, Lee
brings her reader face to face with the psychological unease
embodied in her characters. A principled feminist and committed
pacifist, Lee was virtually blacklisted by critics and publishers
following her opposition to the First World War. Through the
efforts of dedicated scholars, however, interest in her works has
increased over the past several decades, granting her the
readership she deserves as a master of literary horror. "They are
things of the imagination, born there, bred there, sprung from the
strange confused heaps, half-rubbish, half-treasure, which lie in
our fancy, heaps of half-faded recollections, of fragmentary vivid
impressions, litter of multi-colored tatters, and faded herbs and
flowers, whence arises that odor (we all know it), musty and damp,
but penetratingly sweet and intoxicatingly heady, which hangs in
the air when the ghost has swept through the unopened door, and the
flickering flames of candle and fire start up once more after
waning." Vernon Lee's world is one where ghosts and humans walk
together, often without taking notice of one another. In those
instances when they do, however, strange and terrible things are
likely to occur. The stories in this collection record such fateful
encounters: a German academic becomes obsessed with a lady of the
Italian Renaissance; a young girl is discovered alone on the
Italian coast following a brutal storm; a painter grows uneasy at
the resemblance of a subject to one of her distant ancestors; and a
composer hears the voice of a famous castrato dead for centuries.
Hauntings is a masterful work from the mind of Vernon Lee, one of
history's most terrifying storytellers. With a beautifully designed
cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vernon
Lee's Hauntings is a classic work of supernatural fiction
reimagined for modern readers.
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A Phantom Lover (Paperback)
Vernon Lee; Contributions by Mint Editions
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R184
R159
Discovery Miles 1 590
Save R25 (14%)
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
A Phantom Lover (1886) is a story by Vernon Lee. Published at the
height of her career as a leading proponent of Aestheticism and
scholar of the Italian Renaissance, A Phantom Lover is a chilling
tale of psychological unease featuring a strange married couple and
a doppelganger from across the centuries. A principled feminist and
committed pacifist, Lee was virtually blacklisted by critics and
publishers following her opposition to the First World War. Through
the efforts of dedicated scholars, however, interest in her works
has increased over the past several decades, granting her the
readership she deserves as a master of literary horror. "Yes; I
began the picture, but it was never finished. I did the husband
first. I wonder who has his likeness now? Help me to move these
pictures away from the wall. Thanks. This is her portrait; a huge
wreck. I don't suppose you can make much of it; it is merely
blocked in, and seems quite mad." Vernon Lee's world is one where
ghosts and humans walk together, often without taking notice of one
another. In those instances when they do, however, strange and
terrible things are likely to occur. In this story, a painter in
desperate need of a commission accepts the opportunity to paint the
portraits of William and Alice Okehurst. At their rural home, he
attempts to get to know them before sitting down for the long
sessions required in his line of work. Taking note of William's
jealousy, he soon understands why: Alice is a strikingly beautiful
woman. Obsessed with an ancestor from the seventeenth century, also
named Alice, Mrs. Okehurst wears ornate antique dresses and carries
herself with the air of a woman not quite of this world. A Phantom
Lover is a masterful work from the mind of Vernon Lee, one of
history's most terrifying storytellers. With a beautifully designed
cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vernon
Lee's A Phantom Lover is a classic work of supernatural fiction
reimagined for modern readers.
Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life (1909) is a collection of
essays by Vernon Lee. Published at the height of her career as a
leading proponent of Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian
Renaissance, Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life follows in
the footsteps of Walter Pater, a pioneering art historian of
Victorian England. A principled feminist and committed pacifist,
Lee was virtually blacklisted by critics and publishers following
her opposition to the First World War. Through the efforts of
dedicated scholars, however, interest in her works has increased
over the past several decades, granting her the readership she
deserves as a master of literary horror. "It is a plant of noblest
utility, averting, as the ancients thought, lightning from the
dwellings it surrounded, even as disinterested love for beauty
averts from our minds the dangers which fall on the vain and the
covetous; and curing many aches and fevers, even as the
contemplation of beauty refreshes and invigorates our spirit.
Indeed, we seem to be reading a description no longer of the
virtues of the bay laurel, but of the virtues of all beautiful
sights and sounds, of all beautiful thoughts and emotions."
Although she is more widely known for her stories of supernatural
horror, Lee was also a gifted researcher whose knowledge of art
history shines in Laurus Nobilis: Chapters on Art and Life. This
collection of essays begins with the image of the bay laurel, a
symbol of artistic achievement and divine beauty since the days of
ancient Greece. Determined to prove that beauty is an aspect of
reality separate from truth and goodness, and therefore worthy of
its own pursuit in art, Lee looks back on the work of Pater while
offering her own arguments in defense of Aestheticism. Lyrical and
personal, meditative and instructive, these essays are essential to
her reputation as a leading artist and intellectual of her time.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Vernon Lee's Laurus Nobilis: Chapters
on Art and Life is a classic work of art history reimagined for
modern readers.
The Countess of Albany (1886) is a biography by Vernon Lee.
Published at the height of her career as a leading proponent of
Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian Renaissance, The Countess
of Albany is a biography of Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern,
whose unhappy marriage to Charles Edward Stuart, also known as
Bonnie Prince Charlie, often obscured her reputation as an
independent and interesting woman in her own right. A principled
feminist and committed pacifist, Lee was virtually blacklisted by
critics and publishers following her opposition to the First World
War. Through the efforts of dedicated scholars, however, interest
in her works has increased over the past several decades, granting
her the readership she deserves as a master of literary horror. "On
the Wednesday after Easter the bride and bridegroom made their
solemn entry into Rome; the two travelling carriages of the Prince
and of the Princess were drawn by six horses; four gala coaches,
carrying the attendants of Charles Edward and of his brother the
Cardinal Duke of York, followed behind, and the streets were
cleared by four outriders dressed in scarlet with the white Stuart
cockade." Although she is more widely known for her stories of
supernatural horror, Lee was also a gifted researcher whose
knowledge of Italian history and literary gift collide in The
Countess of Albany. This biography is the story of Louise, a German
princess who married Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant to
the English throne. By the time of their acquaintance, Bonnie
Prince Charlie was a man passed his prime, beaten down by years on
the run after the failed uprising of 1745. Focusing on her
independent spirit and relationship with Count Vittorio Alfieri of
Italy, Lee provides invaluable insight on the life of a woman who
forged her own path in a world dominated by men. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition
of Vernon Lee's The Countess of Albany is a classic work of
historical biography reimagined for modern readers.
|
The Spirit of Rome (Hardcover)
Vernon Lee; Contributions by Mint Editions
|
R349
R290
Discovery Miles 2 900
Save R59 (17%)
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
The Spirit of Rome (1906) is a memoir by Vernon Lee. Published at
the height of her career as a leading proponent of Aestheticism and
scholar of the Italian Renaissance, The Spirit of Rome is a
captivating meditation on the author's experiences in Rome. Raised
in the city, she returns as an adult to find it as mysterious and
magical as before, a place where any day could offer a chance to
lose or discover oneself in history, art, or unrivalled beauty. A
principled feminist and committed pacifist, Lee was virtually
blacklisted by critics and publishers following her opposition to
the First World War. Through the efforts of dedicated scholars,
however, interest in her works has increased over the past several
decades, granting her the readership she deserves as a master of
literary horror. "I was brought up in Rome, from the age of twelve
to that of seventeen, but did not return there for many years
afterwards. I discovered it anew for myself, while knowing all its
sites and its details; discovered, that is to say, its meaning to
my thoughts and feelings." Vernon Lee's world is one where ghosts
and humans walk together, often without taking notice of one
another. Although she is more widely known for her stories of
supernatural horror, Lee was also a gifted art historian and travel
writer. In these diary entries written over the course of a decade,
she returns to the city of Rome, where she spent the formative
years of her youth. Walking through villas and the Vatican,
standing on cobblestone streets or in the hollow expanse of the
Pantheon, she discovers herself anew in the same ancient places,
filled with the ghosts of lost friends and lovers, of the woman she
was long ago. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally
typeset manuscript, this edition of Vernon Lee's The Spirit of Rome
is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern
readers.
|
Hauntings (Hardcover)
Vernon Lee; Contributions by Mint Editions
|
R491
R402
Discovery Miles 4 020
Save R89 (18%)
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
Hauntings (1890) is a short story collection by Vernon Lee.
Published at the height of her career as a leading proponent of
Aestheticism and scholar of the Italian Renaissance, Hauntings
collects four of her most chilling tales of the supernatural.
Employing formal techniques to mimic diary and letter writing, Lee
brings her reader face to face with the psychological unease
embodied in her characters. A principled feminist and committed
pacifist, Lee was virtually blacklisted by critics and publishers
following her opposition to the First World War. Through the
efforts of dedicated scholars, however, interest in her works has
increased over the past several decades, granting her the
readership she deserves as a master of literary horror. "They are
things of the imagination, born there, bred there, sprung from the
strange confused heaps, half-rubbish, half-treasure, which lie in
our fancy, heaps of half-faded recollections, of fragmentary vivid
impressions, litter of multi-colored tatters, and faded herbs and
flowers, whence arises that odor (we all know it), musty and damp,
but penetratingly sweet and intoxicatingly heady, which hangs in
the air when the ghost has swept through the unopened door, and the
flickering flames of candle and fire start up once more after
waning." Vernon Lee's world is one where ghosts and humans walk
together, often without taking notice of one another. In those
instances when they do, however, strange and terrible things are
likely to occur. The stories in this collection record such fateful
encounters: a German academic becomes obsessed with a lady of the
Italian Renaissance; a young girl is discovered alone on the
Italian coast following a brutal storm; a painter grows uneasy at
the resemblance of a subject to one of her distant ancestors; and a
composer hears the voice of a famous castrato dead for centuries.
Hauntings is a masterful work from the mind of Vernon Lee, one of
history's most terrifying storytellers. With a beautifully designed
cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vernon
Lee's Hauntings is a classic work of supernatural fiction
reimagined for modern readers.
Vernon Lee writes in the Preface to Hauntings, "My ghosts are what
you call spurious ghosts... of whom I can affirm only one thing,
that they haunted certain brains, and have haunted, among others,
my own." First published in 1890, Lee's most famous volume of
supernatural tales occupies a special place in the literature of
the fantastic for its treatment of the femme fatale and the allure
of the past, along with the themes of thwarted artistic creativity
and psychological obsession. This collection, which includes the
four stories originally published in Hauntings and three others,
enables readers to consider Lee's work anew for its subtle
redefinitions of gender and sexuality during the Victorian
fin-de-siecle. The appendices, which include extensive excerpts
from writings by Lee's predecessors and peers, including Algernon
Charles Swinburne, Walter Pater, and Lee's brother Eugene
Lee-Hamilton, allow the reader to see how Lee takes on the themes
and preoccupations of the late-Victorian period but adapts them to
her own purposes.
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