Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls
Benjamin Hope author of fantasy novel Procurement of Souls
Exploring the world of Victorian inventions for #inventorsmonth got me reflecting on all my own devices and creations within the world of The Procurement of Souls. So, I thought I'd do a series of vignettes showcasing a few. I start tonight with the viroscope, used in the story by Clementine in an attempt to track... Continue Reading →
Well, as a self-confessed beardy of late (you can't deny it when it's on your face, after all!) I felt I had to mark World Beard Day this year. It would appear that I have endowed a number of my characters in The Procurement of Souls with a moustache at the very least! Here's a... Continue Reading →
To celebrate the wonder of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein this 'Frankenstein Day', here's an extract from my novel, The Procurement of Souls. Have you concocted fiendish machines in your own fiction or have a favourite monster in literature? I'd love to hear from you: leave a comment below!
Genre: (Gothic) Mystery Publisher: Phoenix (Trade Edition 2004) Barcelona. 1945. Upon taking The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Daniel is drawn down a dangerous path of discovery to find the truth behind the author’s life. The shadowy backstreets and crumbling mansion settings ooze gothic atmosphere and Zafón’s... Continue Reading →
Genre: Gothic; Mystery; Horror; Supernatural Publisher: Virago When Dr Faraday attends the Ayres’ Hundreds Hall estate, he quickly becomes a family friend and privy to their troubles: Roderick’s lingering post-war trauma; Mrs Ayre’s grief for her late daughter; their collective struggles to maintain the increasingly dilapidated estate. Waters’ haunting narrative has shades of Shirley Jackson... Continue Reading →
I couldn't resist recommending another of Poe's gothic short-story masterpieces: Genre: Gothic Horror Publisher: Various – Public Domain When the Red Death follows Prince Prospero and his revellers to their masquerade ball, no one is spared. Poe’s ruthless allegorical tale of human mortality is saturated with gothic tradition: from the castellated abbey setting; to the visceral... Continue Reading →
Genre: Gothic Horror Publisher: Various – Public Domain Fortunato’s latest insult will be his last when Montresor leads him in a vengeful plot to his live-entombment. The narrative is unashamedly macabre; the description vivid and sinister. The king of the 19th century American short story sucks all glimmer of hope from this brutal tale until... Continue Reading →
Genre: Alternate History; Gothic Horror Publisher: Corvus Books When Michael Crawford inadvertently attracts a vampiric Nephilim for a life-mate, it gruesomely murders his bride in their wedding-bed. Crawford fleas, befriending Keats and other Romantics, Shelley and Byron, whose own viciously jealous Nephilim are at once the source of their creativity and of their isolation. Gory... Continue Reading →
Genre: Mystery; Gothic Horror Publisher: Penguin (Modern Classics) A family poisoned by arsenic. Two surviving sisters made pariahs of their community. The tension spirals; the atmosphere grows thick with a leaden dread. This a mystery heavily laced with gothic horror: in the Blackwood’s sprawling, ramshackle grounds; in Merricat’s superstitious rituals; in the insidious, underlying violence... Continue Reading →
Genre: Gothic horror, Naturalism, Psychological Publisher: Penguin (Classics) This is the stuff of nightmares. A quick but far from easy read, such is the power of Zola’s narrative which he weaves with classic 19th-century gothic themes: psychological terror and madness; violent power-play; the supernatural; transgressive sexuality. The narrative is suffocating and Thérèse and Laurent’s world... Continue Reading →
Benjamin Hope: Author of The Procurement of Souls 