Edwards, Amelia B.

Amelia B. Edwards
7 June 1831 - 15 April 1892

English poet, novelist, suffragette, and Egyptologist. A friend of Charles Dickens, she published a number of her short stories in his magazines, especially the Christmas annuals. The multiple titles of a number of her works is a consequence of periodical publication/re-publication.

Sites:
Amelia Edwards page
Includes biography and bibliography. [Celebration of Women Writers]
Amelia B. Edwards page
Includes biographical information. [Gaslight]
Biographical note
[Wikipedia]
Biographical note
[History's Women]
Edwards links
A thinly developed site emphasizing Edwards' place in Egyptology. [Darlene Hedstrom, Wittenburg U]
Bibliography
[FantasticFiction]
Portraits
[National Portrait Gallery, London]


Etexts:
All texts below are from Gaslight unless otherwise noted

"The 4.15 Express" [1867]  (64K)

"An Engineer's Story" [1866]  (44K)
a.k.a. "The Engineer" and "No. 5 Branch Line: The Engineer"
For another railroad-themed ghost story, check out Charles Dickens' "No. 1 Branch Line: The Signalman"

"How the Third Floor Knew the Potteries" [1863]  (33K)
a.k.a. "Number Three"

Monsieur Maurice [1873]
This novella wears its supernaturalism lightly; more focused on the relationship between the young German girl who narrates the tale and the titular character, a Napoleonic war hero (and something of a Renaissance man) on the wrong side of history, this is nonetheless a charming and deftly constructed tale. Aside from its direct concern with early C19 political and military intrigue, this work may interest contemporary readers for its indirect engagement with issues of race and the colonialist mindset. (Maurice, btw, is pronounced "morris" if you're English, or a serious Anglophile.)
- at Project Gutenberg (138K)
- at BlackMask [Table of Contents]
- at HorrorMasters [PDF]

"The North Mail" [1864]  (33K)
a.k.a. "The Phantom Coach" and "Another Past Lodger Relates His Own Ghost Story."

"A Service of Danger" [1873]  (40K)

"The Story of Salome" [1874] [PDF @ HorrorMasters]

"Was It an Illusion?" [1881]
- here at LitGothic a LitGothic etext
Although also in PDF (and printable), this version (unlike those at the sites listed just below) has explanatory notes. It also has the story's subtitle, which is probably not irrelevant in any consideration of the work's theme(s). Edwards, in this tale, has engaged several issues of deep concern to Victorian society, particularly family and morality, and along the way she endorses the widespread Victorian interest in physiognomy. (physiognomy, btw = "The art of judging character and disposition from the features of the face or the form and lineaments of the body generally" (Oxford English Dictionary). And what's that pitchfork a symbol of? And don't forget that the Devil, in some Christian traditions, is often associated with limping and/or cloven hooves instead of feet....
- at HorrorMasters [PDF; not printable]
- at Munsey's / BlackMask [multiple formats]

"Amelia Edwards."