Synopses & Reviews
In
The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories.
The Dark Descent, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of Edgar Allan Poe, D.H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton to the contemporary writing of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.
David G. Hartwell is a Senior Editor at Tor/Forge Books. He also is the proprietor of Dragon Press, a publisher and bookseller, and is Chairman of the Board of the World Fantasy Convention. An administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award, Hartwell has edited several other fiction anthologies.
Winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology
In his highly informed and wide-ranging Introduction to The Dark Descent, hailed by many as one of the most important anthologies ever published on the theme of horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell examines the rich history of horror in literature all the way back to the earliest short stories. An omnibus numbering over one-thousand pages, this thorough collection showcases many of Western literature's finest horror storiesfrom the classic yarns of Edgar Allan Poe, D. H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton up to the contemporary tales of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.
"A gigantic, superlatively edited historical overview of horror fiction."Chicago Sun-Times
"For a sample of the current excellence and variety of horror, one could do no better."New York Newsday
"An important work which belongs in every library."The West Coast Review of Books
Review
"A gigantic, superlatively edited historical overview of horror fiction."--
Chicago Sun-Times"For a sample of the current excellence and variety of horror, one could do no better."--New York Newsday
"An important work which belongs in every library."--The West Coast Review of Books
Synopsis
In
The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories.
The Dark Descent, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of Edgar Allan Poe, D.H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton to the contemporary writing of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.
Synopsis
Winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. A gigantic, superlatively edited historical overview of horror fiction." --Chicago Sun-Times
In The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descent showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of masters of the form, including:
Edgar Allan Poe
D.H. Lawrence
Edith Wharton
Flannery O'Connor
Henry James
Ambrose Bierce
Shirley Jackson
Stephen King
Clive Barker
Ray Bradbury
John Collier
H.P. Lovecraft
Harlan Ellison
Robert Bloch
Richard Matheson
Philip K. Dick
Joyce Carol Oates
and many more.
Synopsis
This highly acclaimed anthology traces the evolution of horror, from Nathaniel Hawthorn and Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King. Adopted by colleges across the country to be used in literature courses, "The Dark Descent" showcases some of the finest horror fiction ever written.
Synopsis
In The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descent, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of Edgar Allan Poe, D.H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton to the contemporary writing of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.
About the Author
David G. Hartwell, called "an editor extraordinaire" by Publishers Weekly, is one of science fiction's most experienced and influential editors. As an editor with Berkley Books, Pocket Books, William Morrow, and Tor Books, he has worked with many of the field's best authors and edited many award-winning works. He is the author of Age of Wonders, a nonfiction study of the science fiction field. Among his many anthologies is the bestselling World Treasury of Science Fiction. He is the holder of a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Columbia University, a winner of the Eaton Award, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award twenty-four times.
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART I: The Color of Evil
"The Reach," by Stephen King
"Evening Primrose," by John Collier
"The Ash-Tree," by M. R. James
"The New Mother," by Lucy Clifford
"There's a Long, Long Trail a-Winding," by Russell Kirk
"The Call of Cthulhu," by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Summer People," by Shirley Jackson
"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," by Harlan Ellison
"Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Mr. Justice Harbottle," by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
"The Crowd," by Ray Bradbury
"The Autopsy," by Michael Shea
"John Charrington's Wedding," by E. Nesbit
"Sticks," by Karl Edward Wagner
"Larger Than Oneself," by Robert Aickman
"Belsen Express," by Fritz Leiber
"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," by Robert Bloch
"If Damon Comes," by Charles L. Grant
"Vandy, Vandy," by Manly Wade Wellman
PART II: The Medusa in the Shield
"The Swords," by Robert Aickman
"The Roaches," by Thomas M. Disch
"Bright Segment," by Theodore Sturgeon
"Dread," by Clive Barker
"The Fall in the House of Usher," by Edgar Allen Poe
"The Monkey," by Stephen King
"Within the Walls of Tyre," by Michael Bishop
"The Rats in the Walls," by H. P. Lovecraft
"Schalken the Painter," by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
"The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
"A Rose for Emily," by William Faulkner
"How Love Came to Professor Guildea," by Robert Hichens
"Born of Man and Woman," by Richard Matheson
"My Dear Emily," by Joanna Russ
"You Can Go Now," by Dennis Etchison
"Three Days," by Tanith Lee
"Good Country People," by Flannery O' Connor
"Mackintosh Willy," by Ramsey Campbell
"The Jolly Corner," by Henry James
PART III: A Fabulous Formless Darkness
"Smoke Ghost," by Fritz Leiber
"Seven American Nights," by Gene Wolfe
"The Signal Man," by Charles Dickens
"Crouch End," by Stephen King
"Night-Side," by Joyce Carol Oates
"Seaton's Aunt," by Walter de la Mare
"Clara Militch," by Ivan Turgenev
"The Repairer of Reputations," by Robert W. Chambers
"The Beckoning Fair One," by Oliver Onions
"What Was It?," by Fitz-James O'Brien
"The Beautiful Stranger," by Shirley Jackson
"The Damned Thing," by Ambrose Bierce
"Afterward," by Edith Wharton
"The Willows," by Algernon Blackwood
"The Asian Shore," by Thomas M. Disch
"The Hospice," by Robert Aickman
"A Little Something for Us Tempunauts," by Philip K. Dick