The Old Nurse's Story Book

This is exactly why I bought this collection: to find authors I may not have normally come across. I love Gaskell's style of writing, and I will most certainly be reading more of her work in the future. These two stories are everything I adore in Victorian literature; they are gothic and fear evoking, but they are also approached from a realism angle. I think this is great because it creates a sense of the paranormal in a plain boring world.

Indeed, The Old Nurses Story is an elderly lady narrating her haunting experience with her former mistress to the said mistress' children. She really takes her time with the tale and creates a large amount of suspense, as she reels the listeners in with her story. The house she is staying is haunted, and the residents deny the paranormal presence that is clearly evident. No doubt a denial brought out by a sense of guilt and a lack of admittance that something like this could actually occur in Victorian England.

"'She won't let me open the door for my little girl to come in; and she'll die if she is out on the Fells all night. Cruel, naughty Hester,' she said, slapping me; but she might have struck harder, for I had seen a look of ghastly terror on Dorothy's face, which made my very blood run cold."


It's a perfect little horror story. One that drags children out of their beds in the night as they practically recreate the death of the ghost that roams the snowy darkness. In the process they try to save her, but almost join her in her perpetual agony in the cold night. The tale is a scary thing to tell children, so I'm not entirely sure why the Old Nurse is doing so. Surely, she would want to let the minds of the children rest on happier things before bed? Nonetheless I enjoyed, even if those children probably hated it.

I think this is a great edition in the collection. However, the second story lacked the captivating feel of the first; thus, my rating reflects only the first tale. I think it's time to buy the full collection of Gaskell's Gothic tales.

Penguin Little Black Classic- 39



The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn't help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.