BOOKCELLAR NOTES (5/28/03 WED):
---Received this solicitation for:
“COLLECTED GHOST STORIES
by MRS MOLESWORTH
ISBN: 0-9542953-0-7.
300 numbered copies. Hardback 320 pages. Illus. £30.00 inc. p&p
SIDE REAL PRESS is pleased to present for the first time in a single volume
the complete collected ghost stories of noted Victorian Authoress Mrs.
Molesworth.
Mary Louisa Molesworth (1839-1921)produced over one hundred books in her
lifetime. Known primarily as a writer for children and young adults, she,
like her contemporaries Rhoda Broughton and Mary Braddon, also tried her
hand at the supernatural genre, ultimately producing ten tales. The majority
of these were collected into two, now rare, volumes, Four Ghost Stories
(1888) and Uncanny Tales (1896).
COLLECTED GHOST STORIES gathers these, and other ghost stories scattered
from her more general collections together with ‘A Ghost Of The Pampas’,
the only known ghost story by her son Bevil (1870-1898).
Avoiding the normally ornate style of the typical Victorian ghost story,
she produced tales with “a refreshing sharpness and lucidity......invested
with wit, charm, intelligence and subtle chills” (Penguin Encyclopedia Of
Horror And The Supernatural) .
Edited and introduced by J.N. Smith the volume is presented as a numbered
limited edition hardcover of 300 copies. The cover reproduces the original
four colour design of the original U.K. edition of Uncanny Tales . This
edition also includes the original illustration accompanying ‘Old Gervais’
from Sunday Magazine,(1892).
Contents: Introduction, Lady Farquhars Old lady, Witnessed By Two,
Unexplained, The Rippling Train, The Shadow In The Moonlight’, The Man With
The Cough, At The Dip In The Road, Not Exactly A Ghost Story, Old Gervais, A
Strange Messenger, A Ghost Of The Pampas*. * By Bevil Molesworth
SIDE REAL PRESS has been founded as in Imprint specialising in
supernatural/weird literature past and present. Each volume will be printed
as a limited edition quality hardback. All items can be ordered direct from
the publisher.
COLLECTED GHOST STORIES costs £30.00 retail”
---Anyone interested? I am not sure what the $ cost would be. Maybe in the $50 range. I could possibly give a 15% discount, but I would need to crunch numbers first.

---Email sent to Belgium:
“Not much VHS recording here lately. I joined Netflix DVD rental service and have not used the VCR nearly as much. If you have any particular USA broadcast TV shows you like (ANGEL, BUFFY, etc.), but you probably get them there even better. I don't have cable TV so lots and lots of movies (as well as, fortunately, sports) give me a miss here. The DVDs I rent more than make up for any sense of deprivation. Even whole seasons of TV-show series can be accessed, such as on HBO which I hitherto only would hear or read about. If any made-for-TV thing comes along I record that might be of interest I will set it aside for you. Cost of VHS tapes is less than $1 so it is enough if occasionally I can send you something you might be of interest. I thought a promising show was a Rose Red-prequel (or something) executive produced by Stephen King that debuted recently, but I could not watch it (finding it unwatchable) and the reviews were bad so I ended up rewinding the tape after ten minutes and recording over it--this weeks NOW (with Bill Moyers on PBS) or FRONTLINE or Charlie Rose or Austin City Limits. Maybe I should have stuck it out or sent it along, but I didn't.”

---Music played:
- THE SPECIALTY STORY: Disc 4
- my CD COMP 4 (still available by request with any book shipment)