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Some of the best of Fred Urquhart's ghost stories are gathered in this volume. They include humorous and satirical tales, depicting an afterlife in which dispirited spirits, although perhaps unionised themselves, are oppressed by what they see as the banal horrors of modernity. Other stories, such as 'The Saracen's Stick' and 'Proud Lady in a Cage', convey a real sense of evil, often rooted in the genuine horrors of the historical past. The title story reflects Urquhart's lifelong interest in the theatre, economically telling the story of the great actress Ellen Terry through the reminiscences…mehr

Produktbeschreibung
Some of the best of Fred Urquhart's ghost stories are gathered in this volume. They include humorous and satirical tales, depicting an afterlife in which dispirited spirits, although perhaps unionised themselves, are oppressed by what they see as the banal horrors of modernity. Other stories, such as 'The Saracen's Stick' and 'Proud Lady in a Cage', convey a real sense of evil, often rooted in the genuine horrors of the historical past. The title story reflects Urquhart's lifelong interest in the theatre, economically telling the story of the great actress Ellen Terry through the reminiscences of her ghost. Throughout he displays the great skill in characterisation and dialogue that he is noted for, and, as in all his work, his native Scotland is seldom far away.
Autorenporträt
Fred Urquhart (1912-1995) was born in Edinburgh and spent much of his childhood there, where his grandparents lived, and later he worked in an Edinburgh book shop for some years ('my university'). He is best known as a superb short story writer. When he began to write it was the heyday of short story magazines, and this was the only obvious way to earn a living as an author. He spent the war in the north-east of Scotland, a conscientious objector relegated to farm work: his stories of this are agreed to rival Grassic Gibbon and Jessie Kesson. But later he went to London, finding the louche world of Soho more to his taste than Edinburgh correctness. Later he lived in the country in a 'happy homosexual marriage' and he did not return to Scotland until 1991, after his partner's death. The Ferret Was Abraham's Daughter (1949) and Jezebel's Dust (1951) are his two great novels of Edinburgh's poorer citizens in wartime.