by I.U. Tarchetti (1992)
"Giulia's corpse ... rests in her shroud as if wrapped in the veils of her virginal bed. Her beauty has lost none of its seductiveness. A white dress, light, almost diaphanous, covers her modest figure ... Her pure white hands lie at her sides with the gentle surrender of sleep, and only her feet, pointing upward and joined together, bear witness to the horrible rigidity of death." This passage from "Bouvard," a macabre evocation of obsessive love beyond the grave typifies the eerie narratives in Fantastic Tales. The first Gothic tales published in the Italian language, Tarchetti's strange stories recall and sometimes imitate those of Edgar Allan Poe, E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Mary Shelley. In "A Spirit in a Raspberry," a nobleman is possessed by the soul of a servant girl; "The Letter U" recounts a man's mysterious phobia about that letter; the unexpected gift of everlasting life becomes a dreaded, endless curse in "The Elixir of Immortality." William Weaver, translator of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco, writes: "While current Italian literature in English translation is closely followed by publishers, critics, and readers, the Italian writers of the past ... are largely ignored. Lawrence Venuti now presents the nineteenth-century writer Iginio Ugo Tarchetti--a strange, romantic figure now almost forgotten even by Italian readers. But, as Venuti's probing introduction to this collection of tales indicates, Tarchetti is emblematic, the child of his times and their taste. These stories are enjoyable to read simply for themselves, but they also illustrate a literary culture of notable fascination. The translations flow, yet retain the flavor of their period and are true to the style and personality of their curious, gifted author." Mercury House is pleased to present the first English translation of Fantastic Tales, in a fine edition illustrated by San Francisco.
Libba Bray
It has been a year since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Having bound the wild, dark magic of the realms to her, Gemma has forged unlikely friendships with Ann and Felicity and Kartik, the exotic young man whose companionship is forbidden. She has also come to an uneasy, tenuous truce with the fearsome creatures of the realms.
Michael Buckley
Hoping to save their family and the citizens of Ferryport Landing from the evil plans of Mirror, Sabrina and Daphne Grimm seek counsel from the other magic mirrors, who advise them to join forces with the Scarlet Hand.
D.D. Everest
Archie's cousin, Thistle, is about to start his apprenticeship at the Museum of Magical Miscellany. But when it comes to his initiation, the firemark that burns into Thistle's hand is a strange one, and Archie and Bramble are given it too. The Golden Circle is the mark of an ancient alchemist's club and when Archie and his cousins learn about a curse that threatens their beloved museum, they have no choice but to start their own alchemist's club, and face the darkest kind of magic. Welcome to a wonderful, magical world where bookshelves are enchanted, librarians are sorcerers and spells come to life.
Barbara Hambly
The City of Mandrigyn was conquered and its men enslaved in the foul mines of the evil Wizard King, Altiokis. Now the women of the city, led by Sheera Galernas, had come to hire the mercenary army of Captain Sun Wolf. But Sun Wolf was too wise to become involved in fighting against wizardry... --- until he woke to find himslef kidnapped and offered a grim choice by Sheera. He could train and lead the ladies of Mandrigyn against Altiokis--or he could die from the anzid they had given him and for which only they had the antidote.