The Angelic Avengers by Isak Dinesen

I have two major complaints about this book: first of all, it had to end, second, it's so perfect that I don't want to read anything else ever again. This is basically the ideal Gothic novel, written in the most delightful, chilling style with a wonderfully twisting plot and mysterious events lurking everywhere. I had to stop myself from reading it all without stopping. The writing is exquisite, the style compelling and absolutely perfect. Isak Dinesen manages to create an atmosphere that is supremely horrifying and fantastic, I cannot praise this book enough. I'm a little confused by the gender politics of the book, because on the surface they seem extremely conservative, but I have the feeling that there's a lot lurking underneath that undermines them, I just can't figure out exactly what, and this book is so great that I don't even want to ruin it for myself by analyzing it. It reminds me a lot of Oscar Wilde's writing, and is similarly brilliant and unfortunately brief.