The Top 10 Short Stories - English Gothic: The ten best gothic short stories of all time by English authors

Written by M. R. James, Charles Dickens, Marjorie Bowen and 7 more

Narrated by Ian Holm, Mark Rice-Oxley and Patrick Barlow

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

In this volume our authors present tales of dark, macabre, and disturbing deeds. From the pens of Rudyard Kipling, M R James, Marjorie Bowen, Algernon Blackwood and others many others come carefully crafted literary journeys designed to disrupt reality, jangle nerves and feed upon our souls.

1 - The Top 10 Short Stories - English Gothic - An Introduction

2 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens

3 - The Phantom Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling

4 - The Music on the Hill by Saki

5 - In the Dark by Edith Nesbit

6 - The Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs

7 - The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood

8 - Count Magnus by M R James

9 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson

10 - Thurnley Abbey by Perceval Landon

11 - The Bishop of Hell by Marjorie Bowen

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Copyright Group
• Release date: Nov 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781835478318

M. R. James

Montague Rhodes James was born in 1862 at Goodnestone Parsonage, Kent, where his father was a curate, but the family moved soon afterwards to Great Livermere in Suffolk. James attended Eton College and later King's College Cambridge where he won many awards and scholarships. From 1894 to 1908 he was Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and from 1905 to 1918 was Provost of King's College. In 1913, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University for two years. In 1918 he was installed as Provost of Eton. A distinguished medievalist and scholar of international status, James published many works on biblical and historical antiquarian subjects. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1930. His ghost story writing began almost as a divertissement from his academic work and as a form of entertainment for his colleagues. His first collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was published in 1904. He never married and died in 1936.