A ghostly child roams the Northumberland moors, while fairytale characters gather at a strange party, in these two Victorian gothic tales. Penguin Little Black Classic No. 39I am a massive lover of Elizabeth Gaskell's writing and her stories, I've read North & South and Cranford so far and have Mary Barton is waiting for me on my shelf. This is the precise reason that as soon as I saw an LBC by her I got my paws on it! Without read the back, I never knew she had written some good old Victorian gothic stories, so it was a surprise when I started reading this, but a nice one. There are two very short stories in her and I enjoyed both of them but I definitely have a favourite.
The first is The Old Nurse's Story, which is about an old nurse telling her charges a ghost story from when she was looking after their mother when she was young in a big old house. This was pretty creepy especially the ending. It has a tiny little family element too which I also like.
The last story is called Curious. if True. This one confused me greatly, a man is walking and when he loses his way he comes across a house that is holding a party. But the guests are a little strange and gradually I began to place them. I just found this a really lovely, amusing and I suppose curious read ;)
Overall I gave this 3.5 stars and I would recommend it for s
ure, especially if you like Elizabeth Gaskell (though it is a different side to her) and/or Victorian gothic as a genre.
Speak soon,
Jade xx
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