The Lumber Room & Other Tales: The Ghost Stories of Mary Ann Bird

Synopsis

Edited and with a Biography by Alastair Gunn Foreword by Johnny Mains Mary Ann Bird’s collection entitled Spell-bound; or Tales of the Supernatural, published in 1865, is a largely-forgotten and exceedingly rare classic of Victorian supernatural short fiction, containing ten excellent tales of the weird and ghostly. Only very occasionally anthologised, and never since reprinted, these neglected macabre tales by a vanished Victorian author are well-deserved of reappraisal and are long-overdue a resurgence of interest. This volume from Wimbourne Books contains all the tales from Spell-bound, as well as four other previously uncollected supernatural tales by the same author, representing a comprehensive edition of these important works in the evolution of the supernatural fiction genre. Mary Ann Bird (1815-1898) was the daughter of poet Edwin Atherstone (1788-1872), a man whose intriguing life may have had a poignant influence on his youngest daughter. Despite limited facts about her life, in this volume anthologist Alastair Gunn reconstructs her life story; one of personal struggle, emotional turmoil, destitution and ostracism, but perhaps most interesting of all, a woman’s fight for recognition and independence against all the odds in patriarchal Victorian society. This volume contains a complete Biography and Bibliography of the author as well as a Foreword by renowned anthologist Johnny Mains.