L. P. Hartley (1895–1972)

I had watched the movie first. Then I got the book. I went into it with a little hesitation since I thought of it as very plot-driven story and therefore "spoiled" by having watched the movie. Boy was I wrong. One thing that comes through much better in the book is the emotional development of the boy even though it's being told from his adult self years later. All of his actions were supported by credible motivations, and there was no feeling that the author put something in "just to make it interesting." And as the plot develops, the boy's thinking gets more complex. For some people the language will be a challenge, but I found I fell right into it and it added a lot to the feeling of distance with the past, as is the boy's past really were a foreign country.… (mere)

L.P. Hartley lived from 1895 to 1972 and wrote quite a number of books, but this one, published near the end of his life, in 1971, is his only openly gay novel. Gregory Woods, in his foreword to this edition, writes: “The fact that E.M. Forster’s novel Maurice was soon to be published at last, though posthumously, may have been a spur to Hartley.”

This is the story of an adolescent, Fergus, who is left behind at his father’s grand house when the latter, a widower, remarries and goes on honeymoon. Fergus’ father, colonel Macready thinks his son is too soft, too bookish. Before he leaves with his new wife, he asks his manly chauffeur, Fred Carrington, to make more of a “man” of Fergus by training him physically. Little does colonel Macready know that both Fred and Fergus are gay.

What unfolds is a tender, sensual, and tragic story that deserves to be wider known. This 2022 edition is only the second time that this forgotten novel has been published.… (mere)

Outstanding little collection of macabre stories that should be generally rated higher than it is. Hartley is a highly accomplished writer who wrote the classic non-supernatural [b:The Go-Between|258079|The Go-Between|L.P. Hartley|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320480023s/258079.jpg|1553524] as well as many other novels and stories outside the outr�� genres. Every story in this book is a classic tale and Hartley's macabre stories deserve to be better known and anthologized. My favorite is "A Visitor from Down Under" with it's punning title (the protagonist has just returned from Australia). Hartley mixes a wry gallows humor in with the truly horrifying, without the humor blunting the edge of the tale.

I read a lot of stories and after decades I can often not remember the details of a particular story, but I can remember the Travelling Grave, Feet Foremost, and Three or Four, for Dinner like I read them yesterday. I like Hartley so much I invested in the expensive Tartarus Press collection despite owning this Arkham House collection.… (mere)