This book is a translated version of stories from France in the 1890s.  The current author and translator did a wonderful job keeping the old-time feel of the read.  With the glorious use of language this is the perfect read for this time of year.  The stories have the edge of scary; you know that place where it takes a little thought to realize exactly how far your fear can go? This is a collection to bring back memories of your childhood and the ghost stories told in dark rooms with only flashlights under your chin. It is a short book that can be enjoyed in one sitting or bit by bit to be lingered over.  The silhouette art is the perfect complement to these stories.

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SUMMARY

Stories to Read by Candlelight contains eight stories first published in the 1890s by the French author, Jean Lorrain, translated here into English by Patricia Worth. Jean draws the reader back in time to his provincial childhood when his grandmother’s seamstress would tell him stories that gave him goose bumps and made him jump under the covers. Here he recounts these same stories, or invents new half-lived half-dreamed stories born of objects found in an attic or an old house. The characters have a mythical quality, whether they be fantastical beings who long to be real, like the embroidered Princess Mandosiane, or real people like Madame Gorgibus, accused of being a wicked fairy. The stories fall between legends and fairy tales, a genre favoured by a few Decadent authors protesting against realism and regretting technological progress.