Yleistieto

Virallinen nimi: Campbell, Gabrielle Margaret Vere (birth name)
Long, Mrs. Arthur
Syntymäaika: 1885-11-01
Kuolinaika: 1952-12-23
Sukupuoli: female
Kansalaisuus: UK (birth)
Syntymäpaikka: Hayling Island, Hampshire, England, UK
Kuolinpaikka: London, England, UK
Asuinpaikat: London, England, UK
Koulutus: Slade School
Ammatit: novelist
biographer
horror writer
children's book author
short story writer
Lyhyt elämäkerta: Marjorie Bowen was the principal pen name of Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, née Campbell. She was born on Hayling Island, Hampshire, England, and had a difficult childhood. The family moved constantly to escape debt. Her father was an alcoholic who disappeared and was later found dead on the streets of London. Marjorie did not go to school, but was self-educated in libraries and museums. She published her first novel, The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy, in 1906 at age 21, and thereafter was the breadwinner for an ungrateful family. Under this financial pressure, she produced more than 150 books using half a dozen pseudonyms, most of them historical fiction, Gothic novels, romance novels, and crime stories. She also wrote history, children's books, biographies, short stories, literary criticism, and tales of the supernatural. Her writing was widely admired by other authors, including Graham Greene. She was married twice: her first marriage took her to Italy, where she lived during the years of World War I. She wrote an autobiography, The Debate Continues (1939).

Jäseniä

Keskustelut

THE DEEP ONES: "Kecksies" by Marjorie Bowen, The Weird Tradition (kesäkuu 2021)

Kirja-arvosteluja

Black Magic Tekijä: Marjorie Bowen

Very good plot and well developed characters. The 'secret' is really well done! Holds the interest of the reader even after more than a century...

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aravind_aar | 1 muu arvostelu | Nov 21, 2021 |

The bishop of Hell and other stories Tekijä: Marjorie Bowen

An excellent collection of tales by an early twentieth century writer. Ms. Bowen was also a historical novelist, and she set all but two of these stories in the past. She had a gift for creating people who were often more frightening than the supernatural element.

The best tales, to my taste, were: "The Fair Hair of Ambrosine," a grim tale of fate; "The Crown Derby Plate," which showed a deliciously nasty sense of humor; "Elsie's Lonely Afternoon," a Katherine Mansfield-ish tale with a nasty twist; "The Bishop of Hell," with the most despicable of her rakehell villains; "The Scoured Silk," a tale that any reader of true crime stores knows is not impossible; and "Kecksie," a masterpiece so enjoyably depraved that I was surprised she could publish it even in the 1920s.… (lisätietoja)

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Coach_of_Alva | 4 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jan 10, 2020 |

The Bishop of Hell & Other Stories (Tales of Mystery… Tekijä: Marjorie Bowen

I’m a big fan of the Wordsworth Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural series, but the Marjorie Bowen anthology, The Bishop of Hell & Other Stories, is one entry in the series that I really struggled to get through. Most of these twelve stories are predictable, pedestrian tales, of little style, substance, or atmosphere. As I was reading, each story had an air of familiarity in some way or other. It was an odd feeling; and then each time I suddenly realized that Bowen is repeating herself with her thematic strokes: multiple stories of self-fulfilling prophecy, of unhappy marriages, of womanizing cads, of murderous revenge; and a pair of stories that both begin by basically saying that “this strange tale that follows needed to be stitched together from various sources...”. It’s just a bit off-putting, and perhaps an indication that the author did not have a lot of fresh ideas and therefore lifted from her prior work. Ultimately it says that the weird fiction genre was not a strong suit in her literary output.

While most of the stories barely moved the needle for me, there were a few that were compelling: (1) “Elsie’s Lonely Room” - A sad story about a little girl’s miserable life, with an even sadder gut-punch ending; (2) “The Adventure of Mr John Proudie” - Strange visitors one night intrude on the mundane life of a meek apothecary, who then witnesses some ghastly occurrences. The story is actually rather tame, but it is suspenseful and well-paced, and titling it an “adventure” playfully underscores just how unremarkable Mr John Proudie’s life actually was. (3) “The Scoured Silk” - an excellent horror story in which young Elisa Minden, soon to be wed to the older Humphrey Orford, becomes frightened and suspicious as her fiancé displays some unusual quirks, particularly with regard to his first wife, who died under mysterious circumstances some twenty years earlier.… (lisätietoja)

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ghr4 | 4 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Feb 8, 2019 |

Black Magic Tekijä: Marjorie Bowen

Like with the other novels I’ve read by this author, “Black Magic” features numerous quality scenes with a good plot, but at times the narrative reads too slow, plus the way the syntax is mixed-up to make the dialogue more authentic is irritating. At times it’s hard to understand.

On the whole, though, this is an enjoyable read, with high suspense, good characterisation, and vivid descriptive passages. The horror and supernatural elements are handled well, though some scenes are tame compared to today’s standards.

So not a classic, but certainly worth reading.… (lisätietoja)

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PhilSyphe | 1 muu arvostelu | Nov 22, 2018 |

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