Introduction by John Pelan. Jacket art by
Jason Van Hollander.
From her earliest
days, Violet Hunt (1866–1942) lived a life steeped in art and literature. Her
father was an artist who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, while her
mother was a novelist. Although the young Violet was groomed for a career as an
artist, she soon switched to the world of letters, where she associated with,
and was a friend of, such luminaries as Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad, Somerset
Maugham, H. G. Wells, May Sinclair, and Ford Madox Ford, with whom she lived for
several years.
Perhaps the
greatest literary influence on Hunt was Henry James; and when Violet began
writing her 'tales of the uneasy' it was James's elegant excursions into the
genre upon which she drew. Her tales explore issues of sin, guilt, personal
relationships, and revenge which do not conform to the standard pattern of their
time. The supernatural, when it intrudes, does so subtly, yet with chilling
style.
More Tales of
the Uneasy completes the series of Violet Hunt's supernatural fiction. This
second volumes contains four stories, originally published in book form in 1925,
and the stories are accompanied by Hunt's own Preface, in which she tells how
Henry James was instrumental in helping her find a suitable title for the
series.
Contents:
- Introduction by John Pelan: 'Violet Hunt — Uneasy Years'
- Preface
- The Night of No
Weather
- The Cigarette Case of the Commander
- Love's Last Leave
- The Corsican
Sisters