Vernon Lee was the pseudonym of Violet Paget, she was born to British parents in France in 1856. Today she is remembered for her numerous works on art, music and travel, but most especially for her superb supernatural fiction. Although British and writing primarily for an English speaking market, she spent most of her life living and working on the continent. Lee is an inspirational female and feminist figure, who dressed as a man and formed passionate long term lesbian relationships. Her subtle supernatural fiction focussed on the exploration of the enduring themes of haunting and possession and sometimes contains elements of palpable terror. A contemporary, Montague Summers, the eccentric British writer and clergyman, noted for his own literary forays into the uncanny, wrote that in his opinion 'she was the greatest of the modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction.' This gives some indication of the respect in which Lee was held by her peers. She was a personal friend of the writer Henry James, author of that iconic story of malevolent haunting 'The Turn of the Screw, ' and it is logical to assume that this relationship would certainly have had an influence on her fiction. Lees collection Hauntings appeared in 1890, and her famous story 'Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady' appeared in the Yellow Book in 1895. This notorious and hugely influential publication featured the often erotic art of Aubrey Beardsley and the work of notable writers including Max Beerbohm, Arnold Bennett, Henry James, H. G Wells, William Butler Yeats and many others. Although Lee's fame may not have endured as abidingly as some of her contemporaries of the fin de siecle period, she rightly deserves a place in the pantheon of authors of the supernatural and this comprehensive, Leonaur collection is the perfect way for readers to reap the many rewards of her work.
Volume two of this special Leonaur edition of Vernon Lee's excursions into the literature of the other worldly includes the novelette, 'Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady, ' the novel, 'Louis Norbert' and nine short stories including, 'The Doll, ' 'Pope Jacynth' and 'Limbo.'
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.