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.

The publication of Leslie S. Klinger's brilliant new annotations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's four classic Holmes novels in 2005 created a Holmes sensation. Klinger reassembles Doyle's four seminal novels in their original order, with over 1,000 notes, 350 illustrations and period photographs, and tantalizing new Sherlockian theories. Inside, readers will find:A Study in Scarlet (1887)—a tale of murder and revenge that tells of Holmes and Dr. Watson's first meeting;The Sign of Four (1889)—a chilling tale of lost treasure...and of how Watson met his wife;The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901)—hailed as the greatest mystery novel of all time; andThe Valley of Fear (1914)—a fresh murder scene that leads Holmes to solve a long-forgotten mystery.Whether as a stand-alone volume or as a companion to the short stories, this classic work illuminates the timeless genius of Conan Doyle for an entirely new generation.

"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.

Presenting nine fantastical works by one of literature’s “most critically fascinating and yet enigmatic figures” (Alan Moore), At the Mountains of Madness: And Other Tales of Weird Science 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. At the center of the collection is the novella “At the Mountains of Madness,” in which a team of Antarctic researchers discover remnants of a sprawling, ancient civilization—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.

The King in Yellow is a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published in 1895. The book is named after a play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories.The first half of the book features highly esteemed weird stories, and the book has been described by critics as a classic in the field of the supernatural. There are ten stories, the first four of which ("The Repairer of Reputations", "The Mask", "In the Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign") mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it. "The Yellow Sign" inspired a film of the same name released in 2001.

"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.

First published in 1923, Jim Hanvey, Detective is a collection of seven stories that originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and features private eye Jim Hanvey in classic whodunit style mysteries. Described as the "backwoods Nero Wolfe," the genial Hanvey befriends "good guys" and criminals alike to get the job done.Bank robberies, jewel heists, and all-purposes cons—none are a match for Octavus Roy Cohen's waddling sleuth.

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

Manfred, the lord of the castle of Otranto, has long lived in dread of an ancient prophecy: it's foretold that when his family line ends, the true owner of the castle will appear and claim it. In a desperate bid to keep the castle, Manfred plans to coerce a young woman named Isabella into marrying him.Isabella refuses to yield to Manfred's reprehensible plan. But once she escapes into the depths of the castle, it becomes clear that Manfred isn't the only threat. As Isabelle loses herself in the seemingly endless hallways below, voices reverberate from the walls and specters wander through the dungeons. Otranto appears to be alive, and it's seeking revenge for the sins of the past.

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.

William Hope Hodgson's "cosmic horror" classic continues the Haunted Library of Horror Classics series.In a ruined house at the edge of an abyss lies the diary of a madman…Two friends on a fishing trip make an unsettling discovery when the river they've been following abruptly ends and reappears some 100 feet below the edge of an abyss. If that wasn't unnerving enough, the river runs along the remains of an oddly shaped house, half-swallowed by the pit.Within the ruins, they discover the moldering journal of an unidentified man—the Recluse—who had lived in the house years ago. Its pages reveal the man's apparent descent into madness—why else would he chronicle haunted visions, trips to other dimensions, and attacks by swine-like creatures that have followed him home? After a horrific vision in which he witnesses the end of the earth and time itself, the Recluse awakens in his study to find nothing has changed—except that his dog has dissolved into a pile of dust. And then the "swine things" return...Introduced by modern horror master Ramsey Campbell as "an enduring classic of cosmic terror," The House on the Borderland has inspired dozens of other classic horror novels and indelibly changed the genre. Influencing writers from H.P. Lovecraft to Terry Pratchett, this 1908 masterpiece shucks the conventions of Gothic horror and presents an eerie mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural.

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.

In the follow-up to the nationally bestselling A Study in Sherlock, a stunning new volume of original stories from award-winning Sherlockians Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger.The Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were recently voted as the top mystery series of all time, and they have enthralled generations of readers—and writers! Now, Laurie R. King, author of the New York Times-bestselling Mary Russell series (in which Holmes plays a co-starring role), and Leslie S. Klinger, editor of the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, have assembled a stellar group of contemporary authors from a variety of genres and asked them to create new stories inspired by that canon. Readers will find Holmes in times and places previously unimagined, as well as characters who have themselves been affected by the tales of Sherlock Holmes. The resulting volume is an absolute delight for Holmes fans both new and old, with contributions from Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Dirda, Harlan Ellison, Denise Hamilton, Nancy Holder, John Lescroart, Sara Paretsky, Michael Sims, and more. The game is afoot—again!

A masterful collection of horror fiction by widely acclaimed authors whose contributions to the genre have been lost in the shadow of Poe, by one of America's foremost anthologists.Edgar Allan Poe did not invent the tale of terror. There were American, English, and Continental writers who preceded Poe and influenced his work. Similarly, there were many who were in turn influenced by Poe’s genius and produced their own popular tales of supernatural literature. This collection features masterful tales of terror by authors who, by and large, are little-remembered for their writing in this genre. Even Bram Stoker, whose Dracula may be said to be the most popular horror novel of all time, is not known as a writer of short fiction. Distinguished editor Leslie S. Klinger is a world-renowned authority on those twin icons of the Victorian age, Sherlock Holmes, and Dracula. His studies into the forefathers of those giants led him to a broader fascination with writers of supernatural literature of the nineteenth century. The stories in this collection have been selected by him for their impact. Each is preceded by a brief biography of the author and an overview of his or her literary career and is annotated to explain obscure references. Read on, now, perhaps with a flickering candle or flashlight at hand . . . Stories by: Ambrose Bierce, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Theodor Gautier, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lafcadio Hearn, M. R. James, Bram Stoker, and many others.

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.