Hauntings and Other Fantastic Tales by Vernon Lee

I can't possibly overstate my delight with this book. I was supposed to read only one story for class, but absolutely could not stop. I usually have a hard time finding short stories I like, but every single one of these was perfect. I would say that they read like something between Oscar Wilde and George Eliot; highly literary, full of allusions, with fantastically rich language and gorgeous atmosphere. The stories are truly haunting, what happens in them, though interesting, is nowhere near as wonderful as the way they are told. This is the peak of the fin-de-siecle decadent Gothic, and utterly bewitching. My favourites ones were probably 'Amour Dure' (about a Lucretia Borgia-like Renaissance femme fatale seducing the main character from beyond the grave) and 'A Wicked Voice' (about an 18th century castrato singer driving a 19th century Wagner wannabe insane, also from beyond the grave). I think these stories are getting more critical attention these days, but they haven't gotten much of it yet, which is surprising, since they deal so much with gender and sexuality and are really so fantastically written. It's a real shame that Lee has been forgotten by most people, and I'm glad there are scholars editing and re-issuing her works.