The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

If I had to choose a book of the year so far, this would be it. Only vaguely aware of the work of author H P Lovecraft, I came upon the "Creation Oneiros" edition of "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" - by chance or design - in Worcester City Library under the "Occult" category. Do not be put off by the introduction, which, although interesting, for me did not really capture the essence of the book.

"The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" tells the story of a young antiquarian and genealogist, who's studies conjure up evil c18th ancestor Joseph Curwen in 1920s New England. The tale is told in little more than a novella, yet it demonstrates very much that narrative quality need not mean quantity : a lesson sadly lost on many contemporary authors. H P Lovecraft wrote in the first part of the 20th century.

Lovecraft's writing ranges from hauntingly beautiful lyrical descriptions of place (of which I have read few finer), to genuinely scary and suspenseful horror, puctuated by passages of quirky detail and sometimes absurd humour. For instance, when the local c18th worthies gather to run down Joseph Curwen (in his earlier incarnation), "President Manning (is) without the great periwig (the largest in the Colonies) for which he was noted..."

"The Case of Charles Dexeter Ward" is a totally engrossing read from beginning to end, and, its conclusion is suitably ambiguous and disturbing.

The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories

Peter Haining's "Mammoth" selection of modern ghost stories has a section entitled "The Ghost Feelers : Modern Gothic Tales". In his Foreword, Haining writes :

" The Gothic Story also returned re-vitalised to address new generations, thanks to the work of an excellent school of female writers, loosely categorised as "Ghost Feelers". At the forefront was the American Edith Wharton, who claimed it was a conscious act rather than a belief to write about the supernatural. "I don't believe in ghosts", she said, "but I'm afraid of them". Even with this reservation, Wharton and others went ahead to create the "new gothic" of claustrophobia, disintegration and terror of the soul, notably Marie Belloc Lowndes, Eudora Welty, Daphne Du Maurier and Jane Gardam".

Of Haining's selection of women writers, it is Daphne Du Maurier who is perhaps the most interesting. As he notes, Du Maurier "has been credited with shifting the Gothic Mode towards romantic fiction" again in her novel "Rebecca" (1938). Her short stories "The Birds" (1952) and "Don't Look Now" (1966) were also both, in Haining's words, "brilliantly filmed". Du Maurier's story of "The Pool" (1959) in this selection is a tale which finely blends modern psychological insights with sometimes dark and otherworldy visions, which draw the reader in as strongly as they do the character of the young woman who beholds them.

In Praise of Patricia Wentworth

For those who like their "noire" on the light side, I can't praise the mid-c2oth British novelist Patricia Wentworth highly enough. Certainly not as dark as Patricia Highsmith, Wentworth's Miss Silver detective series nevertheless captures the darker side of English post-war life. My recent reads include The Gazebo, The Watersplash and The Benevent Treasure, all of which I've enjoyed immensely.

This Blog is Re-Starting

As of 8.8.2007 this blog has re-started.

This Blog is Relocating

Due to Gremlins (of a technical or censorship nature, possibly both !) this and my other blogs (see below) are relocating for a time to www.witchofworcester.wordpress.com.

Satan Speaks : An Interview with Norman Mailer

Last week BBC Radio 4 "Front Row" presenter Mark Lawson interviewed the US writer Norman Mailer, following the publication of Mailer's latest novel "The Castle in the Forest". This novel gives a fictional account of the birth and childhood of Adolph Hitler which is narrated by an agent of Satan. Not having read this book myself, I do not propose to discuss it here but rather to reflect on Mailer's cosmology as he described this to Lawson.

First, however, it should be said that Norman Mailer undoubtedly has more than a bit of the devil in him, although, by his own admission he has mellowed with age (Mailer in now 84). Never beloved of feminists, Mailer has been married 5 or 6 times, although his "final" matrimony has endured as long as the previous ones, and he now considers himself a happily married man. Mailer was jailed for seriously wounding one of his earlier wives with a knife : something he did not seem unduly contrite about in the interview. Indeed he was rather vitriolic about a current feud with a leading female US review editor.

Nevertheless, Norman Mailer has an interesting take on "god" (which he acknowledged could be female) and the devil (no gender specified), not least because it is resonant of earlier Christian (Medieval/Renaissance) and "Occult" cosmologies. In short, Mailer's universe is run by a kind of diabolic bureaucracy, by order of Satan, with God as the prime creative, but not all powerful, cosmic force : he used the analogy of an artist. Mailer also believes in a form of re-incarnation, and hopes one day to find "a new life" as a black athlete. Although gender was not specified, as I recall there was no suggestion that Mailer wanted to be a woman next time around.

This is hardly surprising because, I would suggest, the dynamic of Norman Mailer's universe is male pride, his own and in its more archetypal forms. This, and the fact that so many women seem to have "fallen" for him, is a testimony to my own belief that men take their "religions" too seriously, and women take men too seriously, foolishly treating them like gods. Therin lies one of the main problems of the human condition, however one may choose to construe good and evil.

The Dover Castle : A Modern Gothic Romance

The Dover Castle is partly inspired by Franz Kafka's "The Castle". The story is largely set in a public house called The Dover Castle and has three main characters :

The Count : This character draws his inspiration from Rory Bremner's impersonation of former Conservative Party Leader, Michael Howard, in whom Bremner found some resemblance to the literary Count Dracula, who shares Mr Howard's Romanian Origins. The Count now runs a public house called "The Dover Castle".

The Heroine : She is a modern Romanian young woman, also hailing from Transylvania. Her name is Gabriela Irmia, and she is one of "The Cheeky Girls" pop group. "The Cheeky Girls" want to put on a show at the "The Dover Castle", but require certain permits for this purpose which only the Count can provide.

The Hero : He is a Liberal Democrat MP for a constituency in Wales, a country with whom the Count also has associations. His name is Lempit Opik. The main role of the Hero is to assist the Heroine with obtaining the necessary documents to enable her to continue her career in the UK. He may also be required to marry her.

To be continued...

The Black House

The Black House is a collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith, who wote The Talented Mr Ripley. The first story concerns a cat called Portland Bill who uncovers foul play. The second is about a "psychic attack", with serious consequences, on one member of a group of friends by the others.

The subject of "psychic attack" is dealt with by the occultist and writer Dion Fortune in her book of the same name. Fortune is more concerned with the kind of psychic attack which is embellished with "black magic". However, as Highsmith demonstates, the consequences of a more mundane persecution can be just as serious.

The moral - if there is one - is know thyself, who and what you are dealing with, choose your friends very carefully, and, possibly, get a familiar. Miaw.

Distinguishing "The Modern Gothic" from "The Modern Goth"

This quotation from from "Black Roses : A Modern Gothic Tarot" (www.thesilkmachine.co.uk) illustrates the merging of "Gothic" and "Goth" in contemporary popular culture :

"The goths were those that belonged to old germanic tribes, who possibly even had associations to certain celtic people. However, as time moved on the word gothic represented the grotesque, dark and mysterious; such words described anything from architecture and heavy ornate art, to supernatural novels and gloomy poems. But when it came to modern society, goth is said to have developed from punk and the new romantics, forming its own philosophy and image. The image of the modern goth has been overwhelmed by the stereotypical all in black depressed figure, but that image becomes too limiting. While punk became synonymous with anarchy, goth developed a philosophy of introspection, and the 'grotesque' of sorts became a dark void to explore, and things that had become taboo through simple etiquette were re-evaluated. Modern goth has become a sort of movement of personal inner exploration. But the problem is although goth is not part of popular society, it is becoming popular through certain circles, and with it the consumer ideas of a popular society, where the image is worth more than the concept behind it."

"The Modern Gothic" is taken here to include contemporary "Goth Culture" but is given a wider context. Matters "grotesque, dark and mysterious", whether in art or life, the outer world or the inner psyche, provide the context for our explorations. Humour may also be an important part of these. Finally, "Modern" is broadly defined, and reference to earlier manifestations of the gothic spirit is important, in throwing light upon the present.