regshoe

You know, I've also wondered about the structure of this collection, because the double theme (realistic vs supernatural) feels a bit disjointed. But since some of the stories tie historical and supernatural elements together, I guess I can see why Broster (and/or her publishers) decided to gather up all her stories in this way. Her other collection seems to be 100% supernatural (some stories in part two of this collection show up, along with some new others) and perhaps that works better!? I hope the whole thing shows up online one day! :)

I think that the short story form looks like an experimentation ground for her--a lot of what we see in the novels is there, but stuff like darker humour and horror/supernatural elements is let loose, and it's very cool. And it's interesting to see her typical, favourite themes and tropes in short story form! Like you say, it would be great to know her writing timeline, and see when they popped up in a story first, or when she revisited them from her novels. And since you're going to read "Almond, wild almond" next, I'm curious if you'll also spot the similarity to one of these stories!

"The Crib" could have definitely done without the "is it a miracle/is it an hallucination?" ending, I agree! I feel it would have had a stronger impact+mysterious vibe if it had ended when the woman tells the priest what she saw...

And I felt the same as you about "Clairvoyance"--the foreign sword being evil feels a bit racist, which is a shame, because she could do better! For example, that "guillotine window" in one of the stories doesn't have that same unfortunate vibe, even with its bloody backstory, right? And in another story (from her other collection), the "evil entity" is just a piece of clothing... or it it? ;)

"The Promised land" is horrifying indeed--it reminded me a bit of Roald Dahl, and I can totally see the Agatha Christie similarity too! I think that she is rather good at writing a sort of psychological horror... which isn't surprising, if we think about how good she is at character description!

And this reminds me that I need to update the Brosterlist! :D