Supernatural Tales — Vernon Lee

Pennedat a time when the literature of the fantastic was at its peak, thischilling collection of eerie tales fuses the fantastic with the decadent, creating new artistic forms redolent with satanic imagery, morbid atmospheres, and obsessive notions of decay. Soaked in the intoxicating warmth and aromas of Italian pastoral idylls, these stories are also pervaded by eerie or macabre sensations, particularly when the past suddenly intrudes into the life ofthe protagonists. The storiesinclude "Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady," the tale of a handsome prince who falls for a beautiful woman who may well be a reptile; "A Wedding Chest," a story of love and assassination; "Amour Dure," whichtells of Medea Malatesta, a dangerous beauty so compelling that wretches under the torturer's knife remain hopelessly faithful to her; "A Wicked Voice,"which concerns a Norwegian composer whose style is corrupted by the ghostly voice of a male soprano;"The Legend of Madame Krasinka," the tale of the American wife of a Polish count who is saved from hanging herself by the ghost of a beggar; and"The Virgin of the Seven Daggers," an intricate admixture of several elements, part dream within a dream."