The Ghost Stories of Mary E. Penn

This publication from The Wimbourne Collections Series presents all eight ghost stories of author Mary E. Penn. The identity of this late-Victorian author is a complete enigma. Scholars of the macabre have been unable to discern any details of her person, origin or character (assuming she was indeed female). We only know that from the 1870s to the 1890s this author published a number of stories in periodicals, most commonly in The Argosy, but disappeared completely from the literary world after 1897. However, in his Introduction to this volume, author Alastair Gunn presents some circumstantial evidence that Mary E. Penn was a pseudonym of renowned author Ellen Wood (1814-1887). But, whoever Mary E. Penn was, she left a legacy of eight extremely commendable tales that stand up well in the huge canon of Victorian traditional ghost stories. After being unavailable for many years, this book brings Penn's much-sought-after ghost stories once again to a contemporary audience. Contains a complete bibliography of Mary E. Penn's works.

Contents:

At Ravenholme Junction
Snatched from the Brink
How Georgette Kept Tryst
Desmond’s Model
Old Vanderhaven’s Will
The Tenant of the Cedars
In the Dark
The Strange Story of Our Villa