I was not aware that the same writer who brought the world The Railway Children was such a capable writer of stories that can chill to the bone. Well, that comes from being thinly read, I suppose. She did though, and here they are, in a very nice Penguin Edt. With a cover that might cause anyone born before 1858 a shudder.
E Nesbitt wrote these stories for children, which is just as well because they deal with some quite adult themes. Not in the sense of being sexually explicit, more like they deal explicity with themes of unrequitted love or unhealthy drives. Theres thwarted love, jealous love and manic melancholia. There is also a degree of non-resolution, where a story will drift off with some things left unsaid or not explained away. We are sometimes not given enough information to dispell the sense of unease, which seems quite intentional as those lack of answers prolong the pleasing terror of the yarns.
There are fourtenn stories contained between the covers, each one a delicous treat. Actually, Naomi Alderman who writes the foreward describes them as 2delicous fireside tales." Very appropriate, as I read this collection in a chair seated next to my own fireplace. Something of a misleading description from me as no fire has burned since I moved in. The chimney piece having been sealed as i have oil fired central heating. Oh How I miss a roaring fire in the hearth.
One of the things which surprised me about these stories is the vein of sadness that ripples through them. Lost love and squandered love, with misunderstandings that lead to despair and grief. Endings that last a lifeteme. You dont get more human than that..
a pleasing melancholy.
