Hello,

Does anybody know the complete list of Walter de la Mare´s horror stories? The tales of terror I have read by him so far are:

All Hallows
A: B: O:
Miss Duveen
Out Of The Deep
The Return
Seaton’s Aunt
The Tree
The Vats

I have read somewhere that "Crewe", "Missing", "Miss Miller", "The House" and "A Recluse" are also scary ones but I cannot judge because I have not read them.
Thanks.

P.S. I have tried to contact what seems to be de la Mare official web site but no one has cared to answer me, that´s why I am asking here.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10 Feb 16 | 01:43PM by Minicthulhu.

This is the selection of de la Mare's supernatural fiction gathered by Mark Valentine for Tartarus Press's mammoth collect STRANGER AND PILGRIMS (to which I would add the story he wrote for children entitled "Hodmadod", which is related to "The Scarecrow):

“A:B:O.”
“The Moon's Miracle”
“The Riddle”
“The Giant”
“The Quincunx”
“The Pear-Tree”
“The Bird of Travel”
“Seaton's Aunt”
“The Vats”
“Promise at Dusk”
“The Creatures”
“Miss Jemima”
“The Looking-Glass”
“Out of the Deep”
“Winter”
“The Green Room”
“The Scarecrow”
“Alice’s Godmother”
“Mr Kempe”
“A Recluse”
“All Hallows”
“The Game at Cards”
“Crewe”
“The House”
“ ‘'What Dreams May Come’ ”
“Strangers and Pilgrims”
“A Revenant”
“The Guardian”
“An Anniversary”
“Music”
“Bad Company”

P.S. My computer still attempts to block this site as dangerous when I access.

Thank you very much for the list. That is exactly what I am looking for.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10 Feb 16 | 05:39PM by Minicthulhu.

"The Connoisseur" is a beautifully written exotic tale, with some horror elements. Perhaps his best. Not sure how the abbreviated version fares. I read the complete one.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "The Connoisseur" is a beautifully written exotic
> tale, with some horror elements. Perhaps his best.
> Not sure how the abbreviated version fares. I read
> the complete one.


Watch out for the leper. That is the best section of this episodic story.

Thanks for the tip."The Connoisseur" has been added to my list.

I seem to recall that HPL thought highly of de la Mare.

You are welcome.

I first encountered the abridged version of "The Connoisseur" and was unimpressed until I read the complete version. The three volumes of his stories edited by Giles de la Mare for Giles de la Mare Publishers is a great set for those who enjoy his work. I do not think the "Best Stories" published by Faber & Faber (1943 and periodically reissued) presents a very good case for him. "The Collected Tales" published by Knopf (1950) is much better, but the Tartarus Press collection I mentioned earlier (pricey, but huge, beautifully bound and including an excellent introduction by Mark Valentine - still available for $60 from the publisher) or Giles de la Mare's three volumes are preferable. Do not be put off by the label "children's stories" in Giles de la Mare's third volume - de la Mare did not write down to this audience; thus there is nothing twee or cutesy about these stories.

How did you like his novel The Return?

A guy falls asleep in a graveyard only to find out after his awakening he wears the facial semblance of the dead man the tombstone of whom he slumbered by ... The concept is very intriguing, but the story is unnecessarily long and wordy, sometimes to the point of boring the reader (or at least it was so in my case). I read it several years ago and I can remember being interested by the opening chpaters, they really whetted my appetite, but my enthusiasm gradually waned as the story progressed and finally I ended up being compelled to say the book made no impression on me whatsoever. What a waste of potential ...

I read it a year or so ago & likewise found it more interesting early on than it remained, though I did finish it (a second reading after many years). I have been contemplating an article on de la Mare for the New York C. S. Lewis Society. Here are a few notes:

Lewis’s 11 Nov. 1922 diary: He went for a walk, taking The Return with him. “I understand very little of the dialogue in this book: worth reading for the one sentence ‘We are all like children playing knuckle bones in a giant’s scullery’” (p. 135).

14 March 1293: He encountered Jenkin at Merton St. [= ?]. Jenkin was “finishing De la Mare’s Return. He said it produced exactly the atmosphere of flu. I thought this a sound criticism” (p. 219).

I take it that this refers to the weariness, the unreal feelings felt by Lawford, and de la Mare’s ability to convey them to the reader. Much of the time Lawford seems pretty passive, experiencing and thinking about his feelings but not taking decisive steps. The Herberts (Herbert and Grisel) talk with him a lot. She does encourage him to resist. At one point they feel he has “won through” & this expression comes up several times.

Thank you both, for your comments. I have not read The Return yet. I shall deem it an inspiring challenge to see if I can enjoy the latter part of it more than you have. De la Mare is often a very subtle writer.

I had made some home-baked marzipan, and I had a bottle of port wine, and wanted to read "The Almond Tree" along with it. Because I knew, by coincidence, that there was mention of 'marzipan' in this story. To get in the mood.

"The Almond Tree" is not a supernatural story. I was slightly disappointed (and the port I had poured into my glass was cheap). But rewarded. It is existentially demanding, subtly questioning, balancing doubts and ennui for life against continued motivation for life. I wonder if it might not be, at least partly, autobiographical, for I doubt de la Mare could have made such dark observations of family, childhood, parents, and marriage, and then alternating it with invigorating glimmerings, if he had not lived through it.

Written around 1923, and much more insightful than the confusion, conceit, and intellectual folly of our modern age. I think we have stepped back instead of making genuine progress.

I've been tempted to buy the complete short stories of de la Mare in two volumes, edited and published by Giles de la Mare, but I've been burning through my book budget rapidly of late. I have the first of the two volumes from the library and would say the print is at the smaller end of acceptable type size, but type size is getting to be more of a consideration these days. The stories (other than some unpublished or scattered ones) are available online, of course, but if I want the majority of the stories in books, I might go for the old Knopf editions, which have a nicer type size.

(The "complete" stories doesn't include a third volume of stories for children.)

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
MUCH SNIPPED...

>
> Written around 1923, and much more insightful than
> the confusion, conceit, and intellectual folly of
> our modern age. I think we have stepped back
> instead of making genuine progress.

I'm going 'way off topic here, but for a very long time (20-30 years?) I've been obsessed with common connotations of specific words. "Progressive" is one such.

"Progressive" carries with it a sort of positive connotation, as if the underlying belief is that the future holds an inexhaustibly bright promise, everlasting.

So to label one's self as "progressive" is to sort of pat one's self on the back, publicly. In some circles--actually, most, nowadays--it's an acceptable form of self-aggrandizement. Tooting one's own horn in good taste, so to speak.

Now consider the following commonly used words:

tolerance
diversity
inclusiveness

Can these be anything but glowingly positive? And can there ever be any circumstance when questioning whether any form of their appropriateness is less than benighted? Could diversity ever be a negative trait?

I mean, supporting footbinding and female circumcision would indeed be inclusive, and increase diversity, right? How about ritual body scarring and polygamy? Consumption of still-living fish in restaurants?

Tolerance and diversity is always good, right? Aids expression of multi-culturalism, another positively charged term.

I wonder if adopting public squat toilets, such as are found in India, can be considered progressive?

:^)

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was aware of that meaning. But I hoped not to use the word 'progress' in a political way. Why should the left wing liberals exclusively be allowed to own that word?

Say if you were attempting to read a "tough" book, say Hodgson's Night Land as a notorious example, and I asked after a week, "Are you making any progress?" Now that wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Or if a scientist is making geological excavations, or doing laboratory research. Or if you started your own part-time business, or entered a study course. Progress is a vital part of life.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've been tempted to buy the complete short
> stories of de la Mare in two volumes, edited and
> published by Giles de la Mare, but I've been
> burning through my book budget rapidly of late. I
> have the first of the two volumes from the library
> and would say the print is at the smaller end of
> acceptable type size, but type size is getting to
> be more of a consideration these days. The
> stories (other than some unpublished or scattered
> ones) are available online, of course, but if I
> want the majority of the stories in books, I might
> go for the old Knopf editions, which have a nicer
> type size.
>
> (The "complete" stories doesn't include a third
> volume of stories for children.)

Here is the third volume: Short Stories for Children.

My Walter de la Mare collection is mainly in three other books: The Collected Tales of Walter de la Mare (1950, Knopf) which has the full version of "The Connoisseur", Strangers and Pilgrims (2007, Tartarus Press), and Eight Tales (1971, Arkham House). And a small book of poetry too.

None of my stuff was any knock on you, K. I just have always been bemused by the phenomenon of popular connotation because I tend to use words for what I take to be their primary *literal* meaning, and can sometimes get into trouble when the word I've used has connotations that cause a sort of backlash.

...which 9 times out of 10 I sneeringly laugh off... ;^)

Ta, ta, for now!

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 6 Jul 21 | 01:23PM by Sawfish.

Sawfish Wrote:

> I wonder if adopting public squat toilets, such as
> are found in India, can be considered
> progressive?

From progressive New York! --

[www.foxnews.com]

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sawfish Wrote:
>
> > I wonder if adopting public squat toilets, such
> as
> > are found in India, can be considered
> > progressive?
>
> From progressive New York! --
>
> [www.foxnews.com]
> erity-of-laws-against-public-urination-drunkenness

Another giant step FORWARD!

I agree with Pangloss: we live in the best of all possible worlds...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martinus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I seem to recall that HPL thought highly of de la
> Mare.


"The Return" was one of his favorites. I was mildly surprised to see "Willows" excluded from the list of de la Mare's ghostly tales, as its ending has haunted me, or perhaps confused me is more accurate. It is included in his third collection, ON THE EDGE. Most of the stories there were serialized and a bit longer than those in his first volume, THE RIDDLE & other stories. Now can anyone please explain to me the ending of "Willows", my favorite of his yarns?

jkh

I am guessing that one of the "short stories" in On the Edge, "At First Sight" (a very long novelette) bears similarity to his earlier novel, Memoirs of a Midget, a book once pointed out to me by a friend who has read Moby Dick 3 times. That way lies despair, as someone said. Regarding "Willows"...the characterization of the supposedly dead poet's mother is very fine, and the dream-like effect of the idealized setting on the protagonist is conveyed very effectively, but I was curious about how anyone else may have interpreted the ending. "The Vats", btw, is Machenesque.

jkh

Though several of de la Mare’s books are on my shelves, none of the story collections are. I thought about the recent pair of omnibuses edited by Giles de la Mare, but the print was a bit small for my aging eyes. I might have ordered copies anyway if the pages were in sewn signatures like Dover paperbacks were 50 years ago.

Here's a 1980s adaptation of "Seaton's Aunt" -- of some interest, but not really all that impressive. For some reason, the complete story is shown and then mostof it starts afterwards in the video. Knygatin, those are Swedish subtitles, right?

[www.youtube.com]

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a 1980s adaptation of "Seaton's Aunt" -- of
> some interest, but not really all that impressive.
> For some reason, the complete story is shown and
> then mostof it starts afterwards in the video.
> Knygatin, those are Swedish subtitles, right?
>

Those are Norwegian subtitles. The two languages are quite close.

Did you ever take a beginner's course in Swedish?

No, though I would have been interested if it had been offered in school.

Kipling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was mildly surprised to see "Willows" excluded from
> the list of de la Mare's ghostly tales, as its
> ending has haunted me, or perhaps confused me is
> more accurate. It is included in his third
> collection, ON THE EDGE. Most of the stories there
> were serialized and a bit longer than those in his
> first volume, THE RIDDLE & other stories. Now can
> anyone please explain to me the ending of
> "Willows", my favorite of his yarns?
>

Intrigued by this, I read "Willows". A beautiful story! And here de la Mare uses prose to reveal something of the poet's most intimate condition. In outer structure somewhat similar to the much heralded "Seaton's Aunt", but I prefer "Willows". It has a pastoral setting, and a nice old house which I would like to visit; luckily I already have, and am invited again to visit it any time I like in the future, through de la Mare's infallible prose! "Willows" appears not to be officially categorized as a supernatural tale, and perhaps it isn't. But you never know for sure with the subtle de la Mare! At least this one has a mystical layer, I think.

Not sure which part of the ending you refer to, there a few accumulative turns. Generally I interpret it as that the poet never died, but went into hiding from an unappreciative and uncomprehending world. And at the very end Mr. Forbes keeps his promise to the poet's mother to remain discrete.

Another beautiful story by de la Mare is "The Green Room", ... a very subtle ghost story.