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VINTAGE CLASSICS//WEIRD GIRLS: Dive into the depraved, delectable depths of women''s weird fiction, with nine pioneering novels that reevaluate gender and sexuality. A craftsman by day and worshipper of the occult by night, Dirk Renswoude is delicately boned, wildly intelligent, ruthlessly cunning and downright evil. When fate brings the dashing Thierry to his door, the pair are astonished to find their hidden obsessions with the black arts mirrored in another. Under the cover of a hushed midnight sky a sudden, intimate bond is ignited. Lead by Dirk''s wicked brilliance, the young occultists set off on a journey to hone their craft, traversing the weird woodlands and haunted libraries of medieval Europe. As his talents grow, it becomes increasingly clear that Dirk will stop at nothing to fulfil his dark desires and keep Thierry at his side, all while hiding one precious secret. First published in 1909, Black Magic is the rediscovered tale of a dazzling anti-hero, with a remarkable twist. ''A subtle and complex thriller . . . consistently undermines the reader''s expectations: Schemers become saints, murderers turn out to be self-sacrificing and the diabolically wicked gradually earn our sympathy and respect.'' Washington Post
About the author
Marjorie Bowen, born in 1885 as Margaret Gabrielle Vere Campbell, was a prolific British author, writing novels across the horror, romance and historical fiction genres, alongside essays and biographies. Widely celebrated in her day, with admirers including Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle and Graham Greene, Bowen published her bestselling first novel,
The Viper of Milan (1906), at twentyone years old, and went on to publish
Black Magic (1909) at twenty-four years old. Supporting herself and her three sons by her pen, Bowen wrote over 150 books under various pseudonyms through the course of her life. Bowen died in 1952.
