The World, the Flesh, & the Devil: Fantastical Writings Volume 1

Edited, with an introduction and afterword, by Paul Duncan. Jacket art by Jason Van Hollander.

GERALD KERSH (1911–68) was a prolific story-teller, who wrote long stories, short stories, dramatic stories, bizarre stories, scientific stories, supernatural stories, historical stories, and Biblical stories. His subjects covered almost every type of person you could imagine meeting: wrestlers and boxers, drunks and gamblers, poets and artists, vagabonds and kings, soldiers and reporters, freaks and geeks; and in the course of a writing career which spanned more than thirty years, ending with his death in 1968, he produced more than four hundred stories, none of which have been in print for almost forty years.

For this first volume in Ash-Tree Press's series of The Fantastical Writings, editor Paul Duncan has selected twenty-five of Kersh's stories for your enjoyment and entertainment. Two of the stories are collected here for the first time.

So, settle back and enter the world of Gerald Kersh, where you will encounter the strong, long-living Corporal Cuckoo; the being who became known as 'The Brighton Monster'; the sad tale of Lalouette, the 'Queen of Pig Island'; the story of the final days of Ambrose Bierce; the madness of Dr Pelikan, who warns of the impending death of his colleague Dr Ox; and many, many more.

Kersh has been neglected for far too long. At last, Kersh is back!

Contents:

• Introduction by Paul Duncan
• Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?
• A Legend of Truth
• Comrade Death
• Note on Danger B
• The Epistle of Simple Simon
• A Gentleman All in Black
• The Old Burying Place
• The Brighton Monster
• Wolf! Wolf!
• The Wolf Dies in Silence
• Kannibalsky
• Neither Man Nor Dog
• The Queen of Pig Island
• The Dungeon
• A Vision of a Lost Child
• Miracle of the Winged Rescue
• Men Without Bones
• The White Flash
• One Case in a Million
• The Oxoxoco Bottle
• The Man and the Spirit
• The White-washed Room
• The Unsafe Deposit Box
• Crooked Bone
• Dr Ox Will Die at Midnight
• Afterword: Gerald Kersh, Man of Many Skins
• Bibliography