The Poems and Stories of Fitz-James O'Brien

Fitz-James O'Brien

Franklin Classics Trade Press

SUBJECT: "A collection of 11 Macabre Tales by this Irish-born American who, from 1852 until his death from a wound during the Civil War (1862-1865), was the preeminent writer of horror stories of his time. PARTIAL CONTENTS: The Lost Room; The Child That Loved a Grave; The Diamond Lens; The Bohemian; Seeing the World; What Was it? A Mystery; A Dead Street; Jubal, the Ringer; and more."

The Supernatural Tales of Fitz-James O'Brien: Volume One: Macabre Tales

Literature & Fiction

United States

DOUBLEDAY

Assembled from the works of the finest masters of the genre, these compelling narratives promise to raise gooseflesh and accelerate pulses with their supernatural scenarios. Featured stories include J. S. LeFanu's "An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street," with a mysterious old mansion as the focal point; Mary E. Wilkins' "The Lost Ghost," in which a strange child's disturbing presence instills fear and foreboding in all those she encounters; Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body-Snatchers"; "Mrs. Zant and the Ghost," by Wilkie Collins; and other gripping works by Charles Dickens, Henry James, Ralph Cram, Mrs. Henry Wood, Amelia B. Edwards, Fitz-James O'Brien, and M. R. James. Rich in detail and ghoulish incidents, this modestly priced collection will thrill readers who appreciate tales of terror as well as devotees of well-crafted literature.

Classic Ghost Stories (Dover Thrift Editions: Gothic/Horror)

Henry, James

Charles, Dickens

J. S. LeFanu

Mrs. Henry Wood

Amelia B. Edwards

Robert-Louis-Stevenson

M.R.James

Wilkie, Collins

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Dover Publications

Weirdies, Weirdies, Weirdies: A Horrifying Concatenation of the Super-Sur-Real or Almost or Not-Quite Real

C.S.LEWIS

Edmund Spenser

Patricia, Highsmith

Emma M. Nakuina

John, Wyndham

F. Marion Crawford

Franz, Kafka

arthur-conan-doyle

Robert, Blair

H.P.Lovecraft

John B.L. Goodwin

A.J. Alan

Franklin Watts, Incorporated

A tremendous number of European immigrants came to the United States during the 1840s and 1850s; many came in search of new economic opportunities. Fitz-James O’Brien (1828-1862) came to America (originally from Ireland) in 1852 looking to make his way in the literary world. With impressive recommendations in hand, he had no trouble finding work and immediately started editing and publishing stories in some of the most influential magazines of the day (e.g., Harper's New Monthly Magazine, The American Whig Review, Putnam's Monthly Magazine, and The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine). When the Civil War broke out, in 1861, he joined the Union army and was fatally wounded in 1862.  O’Brien is one of the most important American writers in between the first and the second half of the nineteenth-century. He serves as an important literary bridge between Romanticism and Realism. His short stories follow the same natural and supernatural horror, philosophical observations of human nature, and social criticisms as those of the great American triumvirate — Irving, Hawthorne, and Poe. It was Poe that had a particularly strong influence on his writing, but the influence of all three of these writers can be seen in his stories. H.P. Lovecraft said of O’Brien, in his important survey of supernatural literature, Supernatural Horror in Literature, “O’Brien’s early death undoubtedly deprived us of some masterful tales of strangeness and terror.”  This collection will be the most complete one-volume edition of O’Brien’s works to date. Included in this edition are all his important stories, the ones that he was most known for during his lifetime (e.g., "What Was It?" "The Diamond Lens," and "The Wondersmith"), as well as others that have never been published since their initial publication in the 1850s. This edition comprises about half his total published short stories during his lifetime. Most O'Brien anthologies contain five to eight of his stories, this edition contains over thirty-five short stories, as well as a sampling of his Gothic poetry. All aspects of O’Brien’s Gothic will be represented in this edition, the supernatural, urban, fantasy, and tragedy. Also included in this edition are some of his satires and the semi-autobiographical and humorous story "Carrying Weight." This volume will be of interest for courses on American Studies as well as courses focusing on Romantic and Gothic Literature, Horror, Science Fiction, or the Humanities.

Fitz-James O'Brien: Gothic Short Stories (Gothic Library Editions)

Short Stories & Anthologies

Bit O'Irish Press, A

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Books by Fitz-James O'Brien