Madam Julia's Tale, and Other Queer Stories.

Bookseller Notes

Royde-Smith's collection of supernatural tales is a scarce book. Her 'Author's Note' emphasises the empirical nature of their background: 'they happened or were told to me', she insists, and she presents them as close to the facts such as have been, directly or indirectly, presented - with their veracity a key aspect of their power ('all good ghost stories are true'). The four ghost stories that constitute the book's first section all, she notes, 'take place in full daylight' - the circumstance in which she has herself 'seen three ghosts of the dead'. The five stories following concern, rather' 'instances of queer behaviour among the living'.