Leslie S. Klinger – författare

"Remarkably, a nineteen-year-old, writing her first novel, penned a tale that combines tragedy, morality, social commentary, and a thoughtful examination of the very nature of knowledge", writes Leslie S. Klinger. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often reductively dismissed as a monster film or a cautionary tale about experimental science gone haywire. Illuminating every hidden dimension of the "first truly modern myth", Klinger does for Shelley’s story of early nineteenth-century horror what he did for Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and H.P. Lovecraft, bringing this gothic tale to nightmarish life by reproducing the original text with the most lavishly illustrated and comprehensively annotated edition to date.

"Howard Phillips Lovecraft is beginning to emerge as one of that tumultuous period’s most critically fascinating and yet enigmatic figures", writes Alan Moore. But at the time of his death, Lovecraft was maligned by critics and ignored by the public. Leslie S. Klinger reanimates Lovecraft and charts the rise of the pulp writer. Lovecraft’s vast body of work—a mythos in which humanity is a blissfully unaware speck in a cosmos shared by ancient alien beings—is increasingly being recognised as the foundation for American horror and science fiction. With nearly 300 illustrations and more than 1,000 annotations, Klinger illuminates every hidden dimension of 22 of Lovecraft’s most canonical works.

At the Mountains of Madness is an essential volume of H.P. Lovecraft’s most visionary science fiction. In “From Beyond”, a reckless experiment ruptures the thin membrane separating our world from one teeming with interdimensional lifeforms, while “The Shunned House” tells of the battle of a young man and his uncle against a monstrous presence buried within an abandoned dwelling. In the central novella, “At the Mountains of Madness”, a team of Antarctic researchers discover remnants of a sprawling, ancient civilisation–and the chilling truth of its eventual demise. With Leslie S. Klinger as an indefatigable guide through Lovecraft’s peculiar, spine-tingling universe and featuring an introduction by award-winning author Tamsyn Muir, At the Mountains of Madness is an essential edition for Lovecraft newcomers and devoted fans alike.Praise for The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, Volumes I and II:"Norton’s new volume must surely be the definitive collection. It is meticulously and imaginatively edited, beautifully illustrated and immaculately produced, with a thought-stirring introduction by the graphic novel writer Alan Moore." — New Statesman"Perfect for anyone who enjoys exploring the outer regions of the imagination—and guaranteed to give you the shivers on a cold winter’s night." — Sarah Vine, Daily Mail"Klinger’s depth of knowledge about the world Lovecraft inhabited, and his ability to tease out shades of Lovecraft’s personal experiences in the stories, make this volume the most exciting and definitive collection of Lovecraft’s work out there." — Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times Book Review

"A collection that might have been called CSI: 1912."—Kirkus ReviewsThe seventh book in the esteemed Library of Congress Crime Classics, an exciting new classic mystery series created in exclusive partnership with the Library of Congress. This short story collection features twelve tales of intrigue and suspense, starring Craig Kennedy, the "American Sherlock Holmes."New York City, early 1900s.Craig Kennedy, a university professor who uses science to help catch criminals, investigates crimes in and around NYC boroughs featuring deaths by apparent-but-inexplicable means. These highly imaginative crimes include spontaneous combustion and vengeful spirits, along with less fatal crimes involving kidnapping, safe-cracking, and a missing fortune in diamonds. With his impressive knowledge, friend Walter Jameson (his own Watson!), and use of cutting-edge technology of the day, Kennedy cracks each case using unorthodox yet entertaining means.Arthur B. Reeve's Craig Kennedy stories were so popular in his time that he went on to publish twenty-six books featuring the professor, who also appeared in comic strips and a number of films. Readers of classic crime fiction will delight in this collection of twelve short stories. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will especially appreciate Kennedy's insistence on logic and science over brawn.

"Mysticism, horror, and racial identity merge fluidly in this thrilling tale… The suspense is tangible and the final reveal will leave readers reeling"—Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewFrom groundbreaking Black author Pauline Hopkins comes an uncanny example of classic horror, exploring identity, race, and spiritualityWhen medical student Reuel Briggs reluctantly attends a performance by the beautiful singer Dianthe Lusk, he can't help but fall for her. The very next day, their paths cross again when Dianthe's train crashes. To bring her back from the brink of death, Reuel draws on an eerie power he can't quite name. Soon, the two are engaged, and Reuel sets off on an archeological expedition to Africa to offset his debts before the wedding. But, in Ethiopia, unexpected danger and terror force him to confront the truth about his lineage, his power, and the disturbing history that lives in his very blood.First serialized in Colored American Magazine in 1902, this classic fiction exemplifies Pauline Hopkins's incisive writing and interrogates issues of race, blood, and history that remain urgent today.This edition of Hopkins's classic horror novel is presented by the Horror Writers Association and introduced by award-winning author Nisi Shawl.Includes notes, biographical information about the author, discussion questions for classroom use, and suggested further reading.

Dive into this collection of exquisite, classic horror stories—just make sure to have the lights on and the doors locked!First published in 1904, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary contains eight tales of supernatural horror by genre master M.R. James. Highly regarded as a masterwork of horror, this collection is a must-have for fans of the frightful.The stories in this collection include: "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book," "Lost Hearts," "The Mezzotint," "The Ash-Tree." "Number 13," "Count Magnus," "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad," and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas."

A chilling addition to the acclaimed Haunted Library of Horror Classics series, complete with annotations and extra materialsWithin a decade of the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, another Englishwoman invented a foundational work of science fiction. Seventeen-year-old Jane Webb Loudon took up the theme of reanimation, moved it three hundred years into the future, and applied it to Cheops, an ancient Egyptian mummy. Unlike Shelley's horrifying, death-dealing monster, this revivified creature bears the wisdom of the ages and is eager to share his insights with humanity. Cheops boards a hot-air balloon and travels to 22nd-century England, where he sets about remedying the ills of a corrupt government.In recounting Cheops' attempts to put the futuristic society to rights, the young author offers a fascinating portrait of the preoccupations of her own era as well as some remarkably prescient predictions of technological advances. The Mummy! envisions a world in which automatons perform surgery, undersea tunnels connect England and Ireland, weather-control devices provide crop irrigation, and messages are transmitted with the speed of cannonball fire. The first novel to feature the concept of a living mummy, this pioneering tale offers an engaging mix of comedy, politics, and science fiction.Other books in the Haunted Library of Horror Classics series:The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LerouxThe Beetle by Richard MarshVathek by William BeckfordThe House on the Borderland by William Hope HodgsonThe Parasite and Other Tales of Terror by Arthur Conan DoyleOf One Blood by Pauline HopkinsThe King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers

It takes a thief…“Le Chat” (“The Cat”), an infamous thief, has come out of retirement and is again liberating expensive jewelry from wealthy tourists on the FreRch Riviera. Or is it a “copycat” who is stealing fortunes? John Robie thought he had left his larcenous past behind. Once responsible for a string of daring thefts and escapes, he was caught and sent to prison just before the outbreak of World War II. Freed during the German occupation of France, Robie joined the French Resistance and received unofficial amnesty after the war ended. He retired to a simple life in the country where he befriended the local commissaire, Oriol, and tended his gardens. Now it's 1951, and someone has been at work using his old MO. When the police come to arrest him, Robie escapes to Cannes. There, he reconnects with his former comrade Bellini, who convinces Robie to help catch the copycat. Disguised as a pudgy, middle-aged American businessman, Robie scouts the local nightclubs and casinos and tries to outthink the new thief. When he meets Francie Stevens, the daughter of a wealthy tourist, she becomes Robie's unwelcome ally, and together they hatch a dangerous plan to catch the thief at a gala party. But soon they both realize that Robie really is a thief at heart. With Oriol and the police on his trail, will he escape capture? Will the real thief be caught? And will Robie give up the thief?

Originally published in 1945, V as in Victim was the first crime novel to feature ordinary cops as the main characters, launching the subgenre known as “police procedurals” and earning Lawrence Treat an important place in the history of mysteries.“So Mitch knew in general why he was a cop. ...But Jub Freeman was different, and the difference bothered Mitch.”New York City Police Detective Mitch Taylor doesn’t love being a cop, but it’s a decent, respectable job—except for the paperwork. He files his cases as “investigations,” not crimes, so that failure to solve them won’t jeopardize his promotion. Lab tech Jub Freeman never wanted to work for the police, but landing in the lab suited him well. When they’re called to the scene of a hit and run accident, Mitch is annoyed with the witnesses. None noted the license plate number of the car, but one insists that she heard a woman scream just before the accident.Interviewing the woman in her apartment overlooking the accident, Mitch and Jub are surprised to learn that her scream had nothing to do with the hit and run: she’s discovered her cat died, for no apparent reason. When her date doesn’t show up either, she grows worried and asks the police to check out his apartment at a nearby hotel. There, they find her friend bludgeoned to death.Are the cases related? With no brilliant amateur detectives in sight, can regular police solve these puzzles? Schooled in the ways that real law enforcement operates, Treat takes the readers along on a satisfying ride to justice.

First published in 1918, this collection of tales of Abner’s investigations, told by his nephew and chronicled by the prolific Melville Davisson Post, was hailed as the most important volume of American crime fiction since the work of Edgar Allan Poe."It is a world…filled with the mysterious justice of God!”The titular Uncle Abner is a man with extraordinary powers of observation, a close reader of the Bible, and a towering code of morality, and he does not shy from taking matters into his own hands when the law is too slow or too blind to dispense justice. A landowner in nineteenth-century West Virginia, Abner is a fountainhead of God’s wisdom and justice for the territory. Post’s stories and novels were highly popular, appearing in national magazines and book form. Though the stories are little read today, there is nothing old-fashioned about the terrible crimes committed in the backwoods or Abner’s extraordinary skills as an observer of men and evil.

"One of the most famous ghost stories that no one has actually read" (New York Times), The Phantom of the Opera is the first in the Haunted Library Horror Classics series presented by the Horror Writers Association. An unabridged edition of the novel that inspired the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Deep beneath the Paris Opera House, a masked man lives in silence…Every night at the Palais Garnier, hundreds of guests sit on the edge of velvet-covered seats, waiting for prima donna La Carlotta to take the stage. But when her voice fails her, La Carlotta is replaced with unknown understudy Christine Daaé, a young soprano whose vibrant singing fills every corner of the house and wins her a slew of admirers, including an old childhood friend who soon professes his love for her. But unknown to Christine is another man, who lurks out of sight behind the heavy curtains of the opera, who can move about the building undetected, who will do anything to make sure Christine will keep singing just for him…This curated edition of The Phantom of the Opera, based on the original 1911 English translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, brings an iconic story of love and obsession to today's readers and illuminates the timeless appeal of Leroux's masterpiece.

Nine spine-tingling stories from the creator of Sherlock HolmesMournful cries in an ice-bound sea, a potion that allows the user to commune with ghosts, an Egyptian priest who cannot die, and a mesmerist of unrivaled power. Brace yourself for these and other chilling encounters in The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror. Even before he created Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle terrified and delighted readers with tales of suspense, haunted by mysterious forces that defy rational explanation. These stories capture the unique draw of the uncanny and the curiosity that compels us all to ask, "Could it be true?"Presented by the Horror Writers Association, and introduced by award-winning author Daniel Stashower, this collection illuminates Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's talent for the macabre and the supernatural. The Parasite and the other stories in this collection showcase Conan Doyle at his most inventive, sure to entertain both new readers and his most dedicated fans.

A dazzling collection of rare art and documents illuminate the life of Sherlock Holmes beyond the page.  As one of the most beloved characters in the English language, Sherlock Holmes sometimes seems to have a life of his own, one that leaps beyond the pages of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery stories. Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects aims its magnifying glass toward a host of overlooked extra-literary objects that tell the story of the famed detective’s publication history outside of Doyle’s original canon.​Drawing on their extensive collection of Holmes-related bibliographic material, Cathy and Glen S. Miranker brings to light exhibits ranging from original manuscripts, handwritten letters, business correspondence, vintage book art, pirated editions, and more, all presented in thematic clusters that highlight their significance to the case at hand. Throughout, the Mirankers invite readers to share in the collector’s enthusiasm for the kinds of rarities and oddities that help decipher the appeal of Sherlock Holmes in ways that transcend what can be found on the page.

Long thought to be statistical anomalies in an otherwise sound justice system, wrongful convictions—we are just beginning to learn—happen with frightening regularity. But very few people understand just how they happen and, more importantly, the consequences. Now, Anatomy of Innocence tells the stories of more than a dozen innocent men and women who were convicted of serious crimes and cast into the maw of a vast and deeply flawed American criminal justice system before eventually being exonerated. Here, each “exoneree” is paired with a high-profile mystery and thriller writer to produce a unique collaboration. By joining such master storytellers with exonerees, Anatomy of Innocence presents the tragedy of wrongful conviction with a stark and fiery clarity.

In 2014, The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft was published and devoured by the Lovecraft community and general readers alike. The landmark volume included twenty-two stories but there are many others worthy of attention, including Lovecraft’s favourites.In this follow-up, twenty-five more Lovecraft stories are re-presented as well as a number of never-before-seen revisions and collaborations with other authors. Included are “Rats in the Wall”, a post–First World War story about the terrors of the past and the newly contextualised “The Horror at Red Hook”, which has been adapted recently by Victor LaValle. The stories magnify the creative ideas and writing processes of the literary genius. Best-selling author and editor Klinger reanimates Lovecraft with clarity and historical insight, offering a revelatory volume in which the author’s story-writing method is uncovered, his vivid dreams are recorded and first drafts of stories are seen in immaturity. In addition to his ground-breaking writing, we glimpse a personal side of Lovecraft: his favourite stories are highlighted and his vulnerability as a young writer is obvious.With hundreds of annotations and dozens of rare images, Beyond Arkham provides the complete picture of Lovecraft’s achievements in fiction. No lover of Gothic literature will want to be without this literary keepsake.

Devoured by the Lovecraftian community and general readers alike, Leslie S. Klinger’s best-selling The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, Volumes I and II were hailed as classics of the genre. Now Klinger returns with the ideal annotated primer not only for Lovecraft devotees eager for a more portable version but also students, literature-lovers and curious newcomers looking for a scare.In “Dagon”, one of Lovecraft’s earliest stories, the terrifying idea of an unknown being at the bottom of the ocean is introduced for the first time; in “The Call of Cthulhu”, the horror spreads beyond the sea. The iconic “Rats in the Walls” relates a journey into the depths of a haunted house and mind, while “The Outsider” is a twisted tale that will make the reader question everything. A necessity for any library, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories is an indispensable companion for anyone looking to experience a master at the height of his craft.A paperback original.

Following their acclaimed Ghost Stories and Weird Women, award-winning anthologists Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Morton present a new eclectic anthology of ghosty tales certain to haunt the reader long past the closing page.In Haunted Tales, the reader will enjoy discovering masterpieces like Algernon Blackwood’s terrifying “The Kit-Bag,” Oscar Wilde’s delightful “The Canterville Ghost,” and F. Marion Crawford’s horrific “The Screaming Skull,” as well as lesser-known gems by some of literature’s greatest voices, including Virginia Woolf’s “A Haunted House,” H. G. Wells’s “The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost,” and Rudyard Kipling’s “They.” Haunted Tales also resurrects some wonders that have been woefully neglected, including Dinah Mulock’s “M. Anastasius” (which Charles Dickens called “the best ghost story ever written”); E. F. Benson’s “The Bus-Conductor” (the source of one of the most iconic lines in horror); and E. and H. Heron’s “The Story of the Spaniards, Hammersmith” (the debut adventure of Flaxman Lowe, fiction’s first psychic detective). Whether the stories are familiar or overlooked, all are sure to surprise and astonish the reader long past the closing of this book’s cover.

A masterful collection of ghost stories that have been overlooked by contemporary readers—including tales by celebrated authors such as Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton—presented with insightful annotations by acclaimed horror anthologists Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Morton.  The ghost story has long been a staple of world literature, but many of the genre's greatest tales have been forgotten, overshadowed in many cases by their authors' bestselling work in other genres. In this spine-tingling anthology, little known stories from literary titans like Charles Dickens and Edith Wharton are collected alongside overlooked works from masters of horror fiction like Edgar Allan Poe and M. R. James. Acclaimed anthologists Leslie S. Klinger (The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes) and Lisa Morton (Ghosts: A Haunted History) set these stories in historical context and trace the literary significance of ghosts in fiction over almost two hundred years—from a traditional English ballad first printed in 1724 through the Christmas-themed ghost stories of the Victorian era and up to the science fiction–tinged tales of the early twentieth century.  In bringing these masterful tales back from the dead, Ghost Stories will enlighten and frighten both longtime fans and new readers of the genre.   Including stories by: Ambrose Bierce, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Olivia Howard Dunbar, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, M. R. James, Arthur Machen, Georgia Wood Pangborn, Mrs. J. H. Riddell, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Walter Scott, Frank Stockton, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton.

From two acclaimed experts in the genre, a brand-new volume of supernatural stories showcasing the forgotten female horror writers from 1852–1923.While the nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley may be hailed as the first modern writer of horror, the success of her immortal Frankenstein undoubtedly inspired dozens of female authors who wrote their own evocative, chilling tales. Weird Women, edited by award-winning anthologists Lisa Morton and Leslie S. Klinger, collects some of the finest tales of terror by authors as legendary as Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Charlotte Gilman-Perkins, alongside works of writers who were the bestsellers and critical favorites of their time—Marie Corelli, Ellen Glasgow, Charlotte Riddell—and lesser known authors who are deserving of contemporary recognition. As railroads, industry, cities, and technology flourished in the mid-nineteenth century, so did stories exploring the horrors they unleashed. This anthology includes ghost stories and tales of haunted houses, as well as mad scientists, werewolves, ancient curses, mummies, psychological terrors, demonic dimensions, and even weird westerns. Curated by Morton and Klinger with an aim to presenting work that has languished in the shadows, all of these exceptional supernatural stories are sure to surprise, delight, and frighten today’s readers.

This entertaining short story collection features Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen, nicknamed "The Thinking Machine"-a brilliant but abrasive scientist who proves time and again that any puzzle can be solved by the application of logic.Could you beat the world chess master in one try if you'd never played or studied the game? Or plot and execute a successful escape from an inescapable prison cell? And could you do it at the turn of the twentieth century, without benefit of modern technology? Sound impossible?Never use that word in the presence of The Thinking Machine-it angers him greatly and does not give him a favorable impression of the user. Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen knows that both feats are indeed possible, having accomplished them himself. But he also applies his superior intellect and deductive reasoning to more official ends-namely helping the police solve "impossible" crimes.With assistance from reporter Hutchinson Hatch, who is only too happy to suggest potential cases and then write about the outcome, The Thinking Machine proves that no puzzle is unsolvable-not corporate espionage, nor a kidnapped baby, nor a pilfered necklace, And certainly not a "perfect murder."

Nightclub singer Margaret Odell, the famous Broadway beauty and ex-Follies girl known as "The Canary", is found murdered in her ransacked apartment, her jewelry stolen. It appears at first to be a robbery gone wrong, but the police can find no physical evidence to pinpoint a culprit. No one witnessed anyone entering or leaving, and the only unwatched entrance to the apartment building was bolted from the inside.Who could have killed the Canary in her locked cage? The victim was seeing a number of men, ranging from a high society gentleman to ruthless gangsters, and more than one man visited her apartment on the night she died. When the D.A. is stumped, he turns to his friend Philo Vance, an erudite and snobbish aristocrat, who applies his brilliant observations of human nature during a poker game with the suspects to determine who in fact knocked the Canary from her perch-permanently.