Isabella Bruschi

A cura di I. Bruschi
 
 Six short stories having ghosts and other mysterious presences as their common topic, which are particular and recurring elements of anglophone literature.
 Taken from top-level writers, such as J. S. Le Fanu, C. Dickens, B. Stoker, A. B. Edwards, A. Bierce, W. W. Jacobs, the stories are pervaded by gothic atmospheres and sinister and disquieting figures, typical features of the irrational and supernatural realm.
 Beside the authors’ biographies, extensions on short stories and ghost stories and on historical-cultural aspects connected to the contents of the short stories are found in this book. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Transcripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Sei storie che hanno come soggetto comune i fantasmi e altre presenze misteriose, elementi peculiari e piuttosto ricorrenti della letteratura anglofona.
 Tratte da autori di grande livello, come J. S. Le Fanu, C. Dickens, B. Stoker, A. B. Edwards, A. Bierce, W. W. Jacobs, le storie sono tutte pervase da atmosfere gotiche e ricche di figure inquietanti e sinistre, tipiche caratteristiche del regno dell’irrazionale e del soprannaturale.
 Oltre alle biografie degli autori sono presenti schede sulle short stories e ghost stories e su aspetti storico-culturali collegati ai contenuti dei vari racconti.

Introduction

Amelia B. Edwards

The Phantom Coach

Extension: The conception of gender in Victorian England

Charles Dickens

To be taken with a Grain of Salt

Extension: Dickens the reformer

J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Dickon the devil

Extension: Famous ghosts and haunted places (I)

Bram Stoker

The Judge’s House

Extension: Old dark houses

Ambrose Bierce

The Moonlit Road

Extension: Famous ghosts and haunted places (II)

W.W. Jacobs

The Monkey’s Paw

Extension: The British Empire in India

In some of Le Fanu s stories the strange events can be interpreted in many ways: as a hallucination, or a sign of the spiritual world, or, at an allegorical level, as a consequence of the dissolution of Protestant values. The Green Tea, one of his most famous tales, depicts the horrors of Reverend Jennings who is pursued by an evil spirit, a monkey, but nobody else sees it. Finally Jennings cuts his throat with his razor. Doctor Hesselius concludes that Jennings drank too much green tea, which unluckily opened his patient s inner eye. In this idea the character of the Doctor is guided by Swedenborg s book Arcana Caelestia, in which the Swedish philosopher wrote:  When man s interior sight is opened, which is that of his spirit, then there appear the things of another life, which cannot possibly be made visible to the bodily sight...  As a journalist Le Fanu opposed all attempts to loosen the political union between Ireland and the rest of the UK, but in his 14 novels he avoided the politics of his day. The novels did not have supernatural elements, although their atmosphere could hint at unexplained phenomena. Uncle Silas (1864) created effectively suspense without ghosts. The protagonist is a young girl, Maude, whose mother has died. After the death of her wealthy father, the sinister Uncle Silas becomes her guardian. Silas has his own plans about Maude and the fortune she will inherit. He tries to force her to marry his son Dudley, who already has a wife. Dudley kills the frightening French governess, Madame de la Rougierre, and Maude is saved. Uncle Silas was developed from a short story entitled A Passage from the Secret History of an Irish Countess. Le Fanu often refashioned his tales; An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street was the first version of Mr Justice Harbottle, whose protagonist has sent an innocent man to be hanged. Carmilla was published in the collection In a Glass Darkly (1872). Its erotic, especially lesbian, undertones have been noted by many film directors, among them Roger Vadim. In the story Laura, the narrator, meets Carmilla for the first time in her childhood, and then again at the age of 19. Carmilla is a vampire, Countess Mircalla Karnstein, who has lived hundreds of years. She is tracked to Karnstein castle where her grave is opened and she is killed with the ancient practice   a sharp stake is driven through her heart. Laura travels with her father to Italy, but she cannot forget Carmilla. 48 

BEFORE READING   Dickon the Devil 1 m 2 One of these buildings is the house where the story is set. Read the title of the story again, observe the pictures carefully and decide which one it is. Listen to the three sentences and choose the one you think is the most appropriate for the story you are going to read.   a. Leave me, leave me alone. I won t see you any more!   b. See him! He s back!   c. No, no please, you re hurting me! 49 

"Six short stories" di I. Bruschi offre avvincenti racconti con fantasmi e presenze misteriose, arricchiti da risorse online per insegnanti.

Great Ghost Stories - Collana Rainbows

Level C1 • Post-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

Great Ghost Stories

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