The Invisible Eye

Description

Published in 2002 by Ash-Tree Press.

Emile Erckmann and Louis Alexandre Chatrian began their writing partnership in the 1840s and continued working together until the year before Chatrian’s death in 1890. At the height of their powers they were known as ‘the twins’, and their works proved popular translated into English. After their deaths, however, they slipped into obscurity; and apart from the odd tale reprinted in anthologies, their work has remained difficult to find and to appreciate.

In The Invisible Eye, veteran horror anthologist Hugh Lamb has collected together the finest weird tales by Erckmann–Chatrian.

Introduction – Hugh Lamb
The Invisible Eye
The Owl’s Ear
The White and the Black
The Burgomaster in Bottle
My Inheritance
The Wild Huntsman
Lex Talionis
The Crab Spider
The Mysterious Sketch
The Three Souls
A Legend of Marseilles
Cousin Elof’s Dream
The Citizen’s Watch
The Murderer’s Violin
The Child Stealer
The Man-Wolf
APPENDIX: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Books

Trivia

The Invisible Eye was Hugh Lamb’s second anthology of Erckmann–Chatrian stories, following on from 1981’s (now incredibly rare) The Best Tales of Terror of Erckmann–Chatrian.

The cover art for The Invisible Eye was done by Hugh Lamb’s son, Richard.

Praise

“Collection of short ghost stories (with two novella length stories) written in the mid- to late 1800s by a collaboration of two French writers. Most are set in the vicinity of the Black Forest, era and location adding to the Gothic feel of the work. There are some awkward phrasings here and there, though hard to tell if from the original or from the translation, and the occasional felicitous phrase that really sets the scene. Some of the stories read rather like folklore, or as though inspired by folklore, and so might be of interest to fantasy readers as well as to ghost story fans.

Really, an excellent collection with an informative introduction by the editor, Hugh Lamb.“

Randy Money
Goodreads Reviewer