Wylder's Hand

By Sheridan Le Fanu

Wylder's Hand is a novel from Gothic and mystery writer Sheridan Le Fanu. "There was a little fair-haired child playing on the ground before the steps as I whirled by. The old rector had long passed away; the shorts, gaiters, and smile -- a phantom; and nature, who had gathered in the past, was providing for the future.

The pretty mill-road, running up through Redman's Dell, dank and dark with tall romantic trees, was left behind in another moment; and we were now traversing the homely and antique street of the little town, with its queer shops and solid steep-roofed residences. Up Church-street I contrived a peep at the old gray tower where the chimes hung; and as we turned the corner a glance at the "Brandon Arms." How very small and low that palatial hostelry of my earlier recollections had grown! There were new faces at the door. It was only two-and-twenty years ago, and I was then but eleven years old.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sheba Blake Publishing
• Release date: Jun 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329573376

Sheridan Le Fanu

J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873) was an Irish writer who helped develop the ghost story genre in the nineteenth century. Born to a family of writers, Le Fanu released his first works in 1838 in Dublin University Magazine, which he would go on to edit and publish in 1861. Some of Le Fanu’s most famous Victorian Gothic works include Carmilla, Uncle Silas, and In a Glass Darkly. His writing has inspired other great authors of horror and thriller literature such as Bram Stoker and M. R. James.

Reviews for Wylder's Hand

[jbd1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The second of Le Fanu's novels that I've read, and this one's about on par with Uncle Silas. I liked it very much, although there is a bit of a structural difficulty when the narration begins in first-person and then shifts suddenly to omniscience and then back again without much warning. Other than that, though, some really excellent characters and a good Victorian-style thriller, with dark copses between fancy country houses, mistaken identities, and complicated financial machinations. Good stuff!

[harrymacdonald · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First published in London in 1864, this is the work of a genial writer, but certainly no genius. If you enjoy the discursive mid-Victorian style, you probably be able to overlook the clunky plot-mechanics and improbabilities of this story of disappearance and and confused identities. If he is remembered at-all, Lefanu is generally regarded as one of the founders of the modern tale of suspense, and by extension, the modern mystery-thriller. If WYLER'S HAND is any indication, those genres grew up as much despite him as because of him. Still, I enjoyed it, though if there had been just one more late-night walk between the rural houses, I probably would have pitched it --r myself -- into the sea.

[eleanor_eader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Mark Wylder, engaged by convenience to his cousin, Dorcas Brandon, disappears with only a few unaddressed letters giving hint to his movements, the marriage and estate falls into the hands of Stanley Lake, a schemer ruled by his temper and jealousies; but is the change merely seized upon by Lake, or influenced by him from the beginning? And why is his sister Rachel thrown into despair by his – and her own – actions? Le Fanu’s novel, though not perfect, sustains a tense air of mystery and subtle horror. The strengths of the novel are the charm of the narrative, the author’s crafty suspension of the mystery, and the liveliness of the characters, both vile and sympathetic… the self-interested attorney, Larkin and the naïve Vicar, William Wylder, are a splendid contrast, particularly when the one arrays himself against the other, and that part of the story is utterly satisfying. The narrator, however, begins well and is then proven a pointless addition to the cast, disappearing for hundreds of pages at a time while merrily recounting events he can have had no knowledge of, after his own part had dwindled into the distance… this was somewhat irritating, for had he been absent from the start, the reader would have needed no ‘on scene’ narrator, but once he’d been introduced, the question of his absentee storytelling, and the distraction of suddenly encountering the immediate ‘I’, seemingly for the sake of letting the reader know that the author hadn’t forgotten how he’d begun, detracted from the story quite a bit.There’s a pacing problem… it’s not too apparent but for a lag in the middle, until the end, when the mystery of Wylder’s disappearance is resolved with an almost negligent summarising, and part of it is resolved unsatisfactorily, to my mind.It was, however, worth the read; the air of mystery and menace were skilfully handled, and I enjoyed each and every character encountered. I read Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon only last year, and rate that much more highly, but Wylder’s Hand is still a reasonably engaging work of classic crime fiction.

[mariaalhambra · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A rather underwhelming and weak mystery novel, marred as well by inconsistencies in the narrative voice, as it switches unnanouced from a first person witness narrative to an omniscient one.

[jolynnsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dickensian intrigue with the merest hint of the supernatural. Atmospheric, with quite a good ending.Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish author, probably best known for the short story 'Carmilla' about a female vampire. Carmilla was a great influence on Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and has been used as the basis of many horror films. Le Fanu was the author of many other excellent gothic horror short stories. His best known novels are Uncle Silas and The House by the Churchyard, both dripping with gothic chills.