Product Description

THE LOST VALLEY-- Algernon Blackwood spent the first half of 1909 traveling around Switzerland. When he returned to England, he produced around twenty stories, most of which formed the basis for his next collection, The Lost Valley, published by Eveleigh Nash in June, 1910. Here are supernatural nature mysteries, ghost stories and visions galore—tales of loss and redemption, and the horror of the unknown—taking the reader from the stark terror of “The Wendigo” and “Old Clothes” to the light of hope in “Carlton’s Drive” and the spiritual finale, “The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute.” THE WOLVES OF GOD-- By 1920, Blackwood had recovered from the depression of the First World War, and began writing again with a renewed zest, inspired to some degree by his explorer friend, Wilfrid Wilson, to whom he gave co-credit for the 1921 collection, The Wolves of God, though all the stories were by Blackwood. Many of these tales are wilderness stories, like the title story, "Running Wolf," "First Hate" and "The Valley of the Beasts." But The Wolves of God also features some fine supernatural romances like "The Call" and "The Lane That Ran East and West;" ghostly retribution in "The Decoy;" mystery and murder in "Confession;" and the strange call of the past in "The Tarn of Sacrifice." These are strange stories of retribution and mystical intervention, of horror and hope—of the magic and mystery of life. In all, twenty-four stories by the master supernatural writer of the 20th century—Algernon Blackwood!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2129786 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 441 pages

Review
"Algernon Blackwood is the great master of visionary horror." -- Ramsey Campbell

"Algernon Blackwood is the great master of visionary horror." --Ramsey Campbell

"Blackwood's personal quest was to introduce the public to the world beyond this one." -- Simon Clark, from the Introduction

"Blackwood's personal quest was to introduce the public to the world beyond this one." --Simon Clark, from the Introduction

"The Wolves of God ...contains some very good stories…[it] uncovers the magic and mystery in every aspect of life." -- Mike Ashley, Starlight Man

"Algernon Blackwood is the great master of visionary horror." -- Ramsey Campbell

"Algernon Blackwood is the great master of visionary horror." --Ramsey Campbell

"Blackwood's personal quest was to introduce the public to the world beyond this one." -- Simon Clark, from the Introduction

"Blackwood's personal quest was to introduce the public to the world beyond this one." --Simon Clark, from the Introduction

"The Wolves of God ...contains some very good storiesÂ…[it] uncovers the magic and mystery in every aspect of life." -- Mike Ashley, Starlight Man

"The Wolves of God ...contains some very good storiesÂ…[it] uncovers the magic and mystery in every aspect of life." --Mike Ashley, Starlight Man

About the Author
Algernon Blackwood is remembered best for his two superlative horror stories, "The Wendigo" and "The Willows." But in his lifetime he wrote over 150 stories, at least a dozen novels, two plays and quite a few children's books as well. Born in London on March 14, 1869, Blackwood rebelled against his strong Catholic upbringing and began studying Oriental religions and the occult, later joining several occult societies. When he reached twenty, his father sent him to Canada, and there he spent several years before entering the U.S. and becoming a reporter for the New York Sun. Returning to Britain in the late 1890's, he soon began turning some of his strange experiences into stories, beginning with "A Haunted Island," a ghost story set in the remote Canadian backwoods. An acquaintance sent these stories to a publisher and the result was The Empty House, soon followed by many more weird story collections and some truly strange and powerful novels. Storyteller, mystic, adventurer, radio and television personality--Algernon Blackwood has been all of these in his rich and varied lifetime. In fact, as he revealed to his friends, most of his stories were based on actual events. And at the time of his death in 1951, he had become one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the 20th century.

Customer Reviews

Two rare and fantastic collections in one volume!
The tales in "The Lost Valley and Other Stories" (back in print for the first time in God knows how many years) are by turns mystifying, horrifying, intensely moving, funny, incredibly beautiful... and sometimes all of them at once! Algernon Blackwood is mostly remembered as a great writer of ghost stories, but he was SO much more than that - a writer of (mostly) supernatural tales with a truly unique vision. There's hardly a ghost to be found in "The Lost Valley and Other Stories", but it is chock full of other kinds of weird manifestations that are so original they are very hard to describe. Blackwood was one of a kind, and deserves to be much more widely read than he is.

As a great bonus, "The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories" is also included in this volume. This rare collection contains a number of excellent and memorable stories, although it is from Blackwood's later, post-World War I period, when his work had lost some of the wild visionary quality that makes his early work so special. But he was still a master story-teller, and no true fan of supernatural fiction will want to be without this. The collection also includes at least a couple of stories from Blackwood's "golden period" which never found their way into the earlier collections (such as "The Man Who Found Out" and "The Empty Sleeve").

Contained in this volume:

"The Lost Valley and Other Stories":
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The Lost Valley
The Wendigo
Old Clothes
Perspective
The Terror of the Twins
The Man From the "Gods"
The Man Who Played Upon the Leaf
The Price of Wiggins' Orgy
Carlton's Drive
The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute

"The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories":
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The Wolves of God
Chinese Magic
Running Wolf
First Hate
The Tarn of Sacrifice
The Valley of the Beasts
The Call
Egyptian Sorcery
The Decoy
The Man Who Found Out
The Empty Sleeve
Wireless Confusion
Confession
The Lane That Ran East and West
"Vengeance is Mine"

A tantalizingly mysterious collection
The Lost Valley / The Wolves of God reprints two hard-to-find anthologies of fantasy, horror, and occult short stories in a single volume. Written by Algernon Blackwood, who forsook his Catholic upbringing to explore Oriental religion and the occult, the stories were created during the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, and reflect the changing world of that tumultuous era. A tantalizingly mysterious collection, especially recommended for fans of gaslight horror and occult tales by more widely publicized authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

Incredible
This collection is, in a word, incredible. I can only hope that Stark House will continue to issue more of his harder to find work.

In my opinion Algernon Blackwood was the greatest practicioner of supernatural literature, he has no equal; and the stories in these two volumes will not disappoint. Blackwood has such command of narrative, that he sweeps you into his tales and leaves you quite breathless at the end. More than being frightening, the majority of these pieces will fill you with a sense of wonder and awe.

Overall, the Lost Valley is probably my favorite in the collection. It is a very emotional and tragic story, differing in style a bit from some of his other works. Most surprising to me was The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute. Just the title is humorous, and sure enough, what ensues is a very comical and unusual tale......but then all of a sudden, he hits you with a powerful ending.

Ghosts are few and far between in this one, and that is actually a good thing. Once again, his stories are more mystical in nature.

Anybody who enjoys authors like Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, or even Neil Gaiman should read this book, and anything else you can find of his.