The Gentlewomen of Evil

The Gentlewomen of Evil: An Anthology of Rare Supernatural Stories from the Pens of Victorian Ladies is an anthology edited by Peter Haining (1967).

Editions

• Taplinger Pub. Co., 1967. ISBN 0800831756.

Contents

• Introduction
• "Transformation" by Mary Shelley
• "The Open Door" by Mrs. Margaret Oliphant
• "The Italian's Story" by Miss Catherine Crowe
• "The Ghost" by Mrs. Henry Wood
• "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
• "The Phantom Coach" by Miss Amelia Edwards
• "The Lifted Veil" by Mary Ann Evans
• "Eveline's Visitant" by Miss Braddon
• "Sandy the Tinker" by Mrs. Riddell
• "A Tale of a Gas-Light Ghost" by Anonymous
• "Eyes of Terror" by Mrs. L. T. Meade
• "At the Dip of the Road" by Mrs. Molesworth
• "The Gorgon's Head" by Miss Gertrude Bacon

Illustrations

• p.48: "The beautiful Mary Shelley"
• p.49: "In supernatural stories by Victorian women it was not uncommon for the phantom to appear when the heroine was in bed. Here are to almost identical scenes from two completely different stories: "A Horrible Honeymoon" by Mrs. Edith Cuthell and The Figure in White by Anonymous
• p. 65: "Quite a number of the occult stories written by women during Victoria's reign contained a strong moral lesson -- as in this case where the phantom is rebuking the terrified mother for ill-treating her child."
• p.66: "The Victorians had very fixed ideas on what ghosts looked like and how they behaved -- this clever mock-up by a photographer of the period illustrates their convictions exactly."
• p. 145: Four Gentlewomen of Evil. Photographs of Margaret Oliphant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Eliza Riddell, and George Eliot.
• p. 146: Two illustrations for stories. "Illustrated heading for a vampire story by Miss Mary Elizabeth Braddon, published in 1896." (Good Lady Ducayne) and "The brilliant Victorian artist, George Cruikshank illustrated several macabre tales by women -- here is a typical example of his extraordinary and evocative skill entitled 'The Death of Lady Rockwood.'"
• p.161: "Some of the illustrations which accompanied tales by the Gentlewomen of Evil reached a high standard of artistic merit. And -- as in this case -- were quite unnervingly ghoulish."
• p.162: "Another favourite subject with women novelists of the period were staring, disembodied eyes which came to terrorize in the night. These illustrations are from "The Horror of Studley Grange" by Mrs. Benson, and from "The Eyes of Terror" by Mrs. L. T. Meade, which is included in this anthology.