E.F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic “Lucia”novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories which were his most popular works. “At the Farmhouse” exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales.

Now Mayor of Tilling - and married to Georgie Pillson - Lucia is charged with selecting a woman to be her Mayoress. In the name of holding one's friends close and one's enemies even closer, she opts for her rival Elizabeth Mapp-Flint, hoping to keep her muzzled by gratitude. Meanwhile, she is kept busy with local politics, swooping through the village on her bicycle (whilst repeatedly failing to engage the brakes), and attending a seance where the spirit of Blue Birdie - a budgerigar who m...

A grisly spirit turns travelling companion for the unwitting passenger of a London bus; a repulsive neighbour returns from the grave, rejected by the very earth; an innocuous back garden becomes the stage for a nightmare encounter with druidic sacrifice. From deep in the British Library vaults emerges a new selection of E.F. Benson's most innovative, spine-tingling and satisfyingly dark 'spook stories'. Complete with an introduction exploring the fascinating story of Benson's life, and inc...

The first of the autumn frosts had come, scenting the windless morning with its clean undefinable odour, and promising a radiant October day. When Elizabeth Langdon came down to breakfast the sun on this hill-top was already warm, and the air a-sparkle, though down below the cup-shaped hollow of the valley, where the town stood, was full to the brim of white mist. Level as a lake it stretched across the basin and along the course of the chalk stream, but it was fast drying up, and the tops...

What if the nightmare you fear most was only the first chapter of real-world terror?The Room in the Tower follows an ordinary man whose recurring dream becomes a chilling reality when he visits a friend's ancestral estate and is assigned the very room that has haunted his sleep for years. Inside, he confronts an ancient evil that feeds on fear-and on blood. This modern translation sharpens Benson's atmospheric prose for today's reader while preserving every hair-raising ...

The Second E.F. Benson Megapack collects 11 more short stories and 11 novels by E.F. Benson, spanning horror, mystery, suspense, and historical subjects, including such classics as Miss Mapp and Queen Lucia.Included are:THE OUTCASTTHE COUNTESS OF LOWNDES SQUARETHE BLACKMAILER OF PARK LANETHE DANCE ON THE BEEFSTEAKTHE ORIOLISTSIN THE DARKTHE FALSE STEP"PUSS-CAT"THERE AROSE A KINGTHE TRAGEDY OF OLIVER BOWMAN...

E. F. Benson, best known for his irresistible Mapp and Lucia novels set in the fictional town of Tilling, England, was a prolific and beloved novelist. Though the Mapp and Lucia books remain popular to this day, this kindred book will be back in print for the first time since its initial publication.The son of E. W. Benson, archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, the young E. F. Benson was educated at Marlborough School and at King's College, Cambridge. After graduation he work...

"The E.F. Benson Megapack" collects 36 of Benson's horror stories, including such classics as "The Bus-Conductor," "The Room in the Tower," and "The Thing in the Hall." Included are:AT ABDUL ALI’S GRAVETHE MAN WHO WENT TOO FARTHE CATGAVON’S EVETHE DUST-CLOUDTHE SHOOTINGS AT ACHNALEISHTHE BUS-CONDUCTORTHE HOUSE WITH THE BRICK-KILNOUTSIDE THE DOORHOW FEAR DEPARTED FROM THE LONG GALLERYTHE CONFESSION OF CHARLES LINK...

The village of Rieseholm worships Queen Lucia. She completely commands the village, the ever-benevolent dictator of all things that really matter. However, someone had the pleasure of overthrowing a queen so great. And it was Olga Braisley, an opera singer from London. She is a real celebrity, not at all like that queen. Can she do it?

This dual edition includes E.F. Benson's beloved QUEEN LUCIA and its sequel, MISS MAPP. Emmeline Lucas, known to her friends as Lucia, is the undisputed social leader of the town of Riseholme. She is married to Phillip, writer of prose poems. Risholme is also home to an eclectic band of characters which Queen Lucia and Miss Mapp consort with on a regular basis.

A vicar’s stepdaughter escapes a stifling country parsonage to become a governess in London, where her latent gifts for acting ignite a consuming passion for the stage. When she marries a brilliant but dissolute young playwright, she discovers that love alone cannot shield her from betrayal—his drinking fuels his genius, while another woman exploits his weakness with calculated charm.With extraordinary patience and unflinching clarity, she refuses to judge, scheme, or surrender. As...