W W Jacobs

The Monkey's Paw and Others: the Best Horror and Ghost Stories of W. W. Jacobs: Tales of Murder, Mystery, Horror, & Hauntings, Illustrated and with W W Jacobs

Publisher Marketing: One of only two editions of Jacobs' horror stories available in the English-speaking world, this brand new anthology is replete with informed annotations, expository commentary, and chilling illustrations that shed light on one of Britain's most underrated masters of the macabre. Few horror stories have been as timeless, haunting, and fascinating than W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" - it ranks among the first water of supernatural fiction, alongside the thrillers of Lovecraft, Poe, and James. But Jacobs was far from a one hit wonder, and this wholly unique collection of stories strives to showcase the very best of his phenomenal, moving tales of terror. Ranging from psychologically complex tales of murderers hounded by ghastly nighttime torments, to cocksure adventurers crushed into paste by a leering and vindictive universe, to disturbingly ambiguous stories of accidental deaths in old, run-down houses, Jacobs' brand of horror continues in the literary tradition of Edith Wharton and Henry James: packing a devastating punch to human arrogance with eloquent language, shadowy happenings, and complicated characters. Pirate murderers, cursed jewels, hidden corpses, and disfigured recluses populate this fascinating collection of Edwardian terror.