The Face in the Glass and Other Gothic Tales

Book excerpt: A young girl whose love for her fiance continues even after her death; a sinister old lady with claw-like hands who cares little for the qualities of her companions provided they are young and full of life; and a haunted mirror that drains the beauty from those who gaze into its depths and reflects back a withered old age. These are just some of the haunting and terrifying tales gathered in this new collection of macabre short stories. The Face in the Glass highlights the deliciously dark imagination of Mary Elizabeth Braddon, an author increasingly seen as one of the finest and most entertaining of her generation. This is the first selection of Braddon's supernatural short stories to be widely available in over 100 years. By turns curious, sinister, haunting and terrifying, each tale explores in dazzling fashion the dark shadows beyond the rational world. The Face in the Glass is edited and introduced by Greg Buzwell, Curator of Printed Literary Sources at the British Library and co-curator of the major exhibition Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination."