In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu

In a Glass Darkly is a collection of short stories introduced by Dr. Hesselious. The fictional doctor is obsessed with the metaphysical, and his case notes bind each of the otherwise unrelated stories together. Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer who was obsessed with the supernatural. He wrote this collection in 1872, and much of the content reflects his studies of death and the unknown after his wife died. Some sort of sadness or conflict in addition to possible supernatural events haunts all the characters in these stories.

In a Glass Darkly includes five stories: Green Tea, The Familiar, Mr. Justice Harbottle, The Room in the Dragon Volant, and Carmilla. Out of all of them, Carmilla was my favorite, but my opinion was probably colored by The Vampire Lovers (the movie version of the novella, and the way I even found Le Fanu). Green Tea is Dr. Hesselius’s story, where he is called in to save a friend who is haunted by a monkey. The Familiar is very similar, except the man is haunted by a past transgression. Mr. Justice Harbottle is the story of a man haunted by the decisions he has made in the courtroom. The Room in the Dragon Volant has a touch of the supernatural, but this man is haunted more by a beautiful woman he has come to love, not a ghost. Now he fears for his beloved’s life and plots to save her from her dangerous husband. Trouble is, he is staying in the room at the Dragon Volant, and every man who has stayed there has disappeared into thin air. Carmilla was a delightful vampire story tinged with lesbian undertones. The young heroine recounts her adventures with Carmilla almost wistfully.

Carmillla is the most complex story in the collection, followed closely by Dragon Volant. There is more content in these stories to flesh out plot and characters. All of the stories, except Carmilla, have two possibilities. They could be supernatural events or they could just be unusual happenings. If you like Victorian ghost stories, or if any sort of lover of vampire lore, you should definitely take some time to read Sheridan Le Fanu. I have one of his other well-known books, Uncle Silas. I look forward to reading it.

Rating: 4 Purrs