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 Miss Hargreaves
-
- by Frank Baker
-
- With an
Introduction by Glen Cavaliero
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- When
Norman Huntley and Henry Beddow, sheltering from the rain
in a dismal Irish country church, placate the sexton by
telling him that they knew of his beloved pastor (now
departed), there is no reason to suppose that there is
any harm in the invention. It is purely for their own
amusement that they create a fictional mutual friend: an
elderly lady, Miss Hargreaves.
-
- The
sexton does not doubt her existence. For him, Miss
Hargreaves is as real as you or I. And she gradually
assumes a fully-rounded character in the imaginings of
the two young men as they while away their holiday in
expanding the details of her life: her book of poetry,
her parrot Dr Pepusch, her harp, and her hip-bath. It is
merely a continuation of their little joke when they
write to invite her to visit them back in their cathedral
home-town of Cornford.
-
- It is
something of a surprise when Miss Hargreaves accepts
their invitation. And their disbelief turns to confusion
and horror as, one evening soon afterwards, her train
pulls into Cornford Station . . .
-
- As Dr
Glen Cavaliero stresses in his introduction,
Miss Hargreaves is a brilliantly funny and
moving fantasy with an admirable lightness of touch and
wonderful characterisation, but for all that it has a
dark and frightening undercurrent. A burlesque parable of
'the ways of God with man', the book explores how the
creator must live with the consequences of their
creation, no matter how uncomfortable. And if they
renounce their responsibilities, then there is always the
possibility that their power may be turned against
them.
-
- Miss
Hargreaves, first published in 1940 to great
acclaim, is a classic novel of the supernatural. Glen
Cavaliero is a Fellow of St Catharine's College,
Cambridge, and author of The Supernatural and English
Fiction (O.U.P., 1995).
-
- Miss
Hargreaves is a sewn hardback of 266+ix
pages.
-
- Limited
to 300 copies.
-
- Price
£30/$60 inc. p&p.
-
- ISBN
9781872621845.
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- Reviews:
- A
novel whose immediate, refined humor is overshadowed by
an impressively chilling atmosphere of anticipation and
subtle shock. - William Simmons, Hellnotes
- Miss Hargreaves is certainly a
superb 'rayd'! - John Howard, All Hallows
Page updated
1st July 2008
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