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Set against the terrifying and tense backdrop of the First World War, this Algernon Blackwood tale is a masterful example of weird literature and a classic short horror story.
First published in 1921, this anti-war tale follows the protagonist as he leaves his Holy Order and finds work with the Red Cross in France. Dedicating his life to helping in the hospitals and convalescent camps, he discovers the true horrors of war. He finds peace and respite during walks in the forest but soon encounters a strange, comely woman who entraps him in her curious rituals.
A propos de l'auteur
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English broadcaster, journalist, novelist, and short story writer who lived from March 14, 1869, to December 10, 1951. He was one of the most productive ghost story writers in history. An expert on literature, S. T. Joshi, said, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's." He also said that his collection of short stories, Incredible Adventures (1914), "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century." The place where Blackwood was born was Shooter's Hill, which is now in southeast London but used to be in northwest Kent. He stayed at Crayford Manor House in Crayford from 1871 to 1880 and went to Wellington College for school. His dad, Sir Stevenson Arthur Blackwood, ran the Post Office, and his mom, Harriet Dobbs, was the ex-wife of the 6th Duke of Manchester. "Though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness," Peter Penzoldt said of his father, "he had appallingly narrow religious ideas." After reading the writings of a Hindu teacher that were left at his parents' house, Algernon became interested in Buddhism and other eastern ideas.
